Cobot Parts Feeder Case Study with Card-Monroe

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We're here at Card-Monroe
checking in on their application with the recently installed Cobot Feeder.
Let's take a look at how they're doing.
Reid, what do you guys do here at Card-Monroe?
So we are a tufting manufacturer, so
we build the machines that go into the carpet industry
and not only carpet, but as well as turf machines.
What were the challenges
you were facing here at Card-Monroe that led to you wanting to automate?
So when we first got this robot, we had to load the material
by hand each time it ran.
So and that's what I think is one of the downfalls to
machine tending is having to keep reloading the machine.
So that's why this is a perfect solution for our application
where it takes the operator out of it,
having to reload the machine where the cobalt feeder does that for us.
Feeder allows us to do is we can utilize our machinists to do other tasks now.
When you got the machine, what was the installation process like?
It was very simple.
I think it took two days to set this up.
All of the integration and logic and everything was completed
before we got here and we were off and running.
Reid, I know when we
first delivered the Cobot Feeder to you, it didn't have the UR Cap.
Has that UR Cap made a difference in the operation of the system?
It makes a huge difference,
in the one, in the programing side of things,
but then two, where I feel like it's going to have
the biggest impact will be that you don't have to have the operator
use the HMI at all, now it is all through, done through the robot.
So the robot calls which tray needs to be ran.
So yeah, it's, it's very simple now.
Do you guys do more high mix or high volume machining here?
Our shop is more of a high mix, low volume.
With the 17 different trays, we're able
to, with slight adjusting for each run.
we're able to run a lot of different jobs.
Is there any more need within your shop for potentially another system like this?
Yes, I think we can.
There's some different applications that I think we could use it on a lathe
tending application or even some assembly applications in our sub assembly.
So how is your experience
been with the Applied Cobotics team and the customer service you’ve received?
Our experience has been great.
whole cobotics team has been phenomenal.
From quote to the install, it's been great.
Learn more at pbclinear.com.

To avoid tying up operators and equipment for a range of high-mix, low-volume parts, the company looked to implement lights-out manufacturing with a cobot (collaborative robot) feeder. One of the challenges they faced was the need to produce small batches of precision components — many of which, despite being relatively simple, were difficult, expensive, and time-consuming to manufacture using traditional methods, according to Card Monroe mechanical engineer Reid Smith.

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