The Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM) Institute’s Robotics Manufacturing Hub team recently completed a proof-of-concept demonstration for Keystone Ridge Designs. The prospective end user is an American designer and manufacturer of commercial-grade site furnishings located in Butler, Penn.
At no-cost to the manufacturer, the Robotics Manufacturing Hub team designed a robotic welding and grinding system for welded parts. They tested and compared grinding finish results of different abrasive, force, and speed combinations along with robot path planning. The team also compared the results of manual welding with those achieved by robotic welding.
The ARM Institute’s research showed to Keystone Ridge not only that it is possible to adapt their manual processes to automated ones, but also physically showed that the desired quality of finish can be achieved through robotics.
This work culminated with a highly-interactive half day in the Robotics Manufacturing Hub lab at the ARM Institute’s Mill 19 facility in Pittsburgh, Penn. Keystone Ridge leadership and employees saw the results of the proof-of-concept and got hands-on training with the robot teach pendant user interface, ensuring that the company’s workforce was familiar and ready to work with the robotic system.
The ARM Institute has put together technical requirements for the robotic system and is currently helping Keystone Ridge obtain quotes and a best fit for a robotic systems integrator for deployment. All of the work completed to date was free for Keystone Ridge and did not require a commitment to actually installing a system.
Robotics Manufacturing Hub offers free services for SW Pennsylvania manufacturers
The ARM Institute's Robotics Manufacturing Hub is a federally funded, free service for small and medium sized manufacturers in the Pittsburgh region, including Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Cambria, Fayette, Greene, Indiana, Lawrence, Washington, and Westmoreland counties.
As a free service, and part of the Southwestern Pennsylvania New Economy Collaborative, ARM said its team will work with potential industrial manufacturing robotics end users to:
- Complete a free automation assessment
- Help them understand where robotics can strengthen their operations
- Prototype robotics solutions at no cost with no commitment to installation
- Help them find a path forward to full integration if they choose to do so
The ARM Institute said its Robotics Manufacturing Hub can act as a free manufacturing research and development department, acting as an extension of end users’ teams to help improve global competitiveness, understand where robotics can play a role, and seek the highest possible ROI.
The Institute said it can help end users get hands-on with robotics equipment they may otherwise not be able to access, and prepare their workforces to work with a selected system. The Robotics Manufacturing Hub leverages the ARM Institute’s national network of over 400 member organizations, which contribute their robotics and manufacturing experts to help improve U.S. manufacturing.
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