Micron Products, a entirely owned subsidiary of Micron Solutions Inc., is a contract manufacturer in Fitchburg, Mass. that specializes in precision machining, thermoplastic injection molding, mold making and more. To reduce costs and improve quality, Micron wanted to automate the choose and place procedure of the refined plastic clips it produces for a vehicle seat manufacturer.

Micron additionally wanted to preserve a first-class product besides slowing down cycle times. Producing the clips was already partly automated, however Micron added an ABB IRB 360 FlexPicker, Keyence imaginative and prescient system, and Soft Robotics gripper to further roboticize the process.

Challenge

Micron Products manufacturing engineer Taylor Breau says the preliminary needs going into the task were:

Cut out both operators on this machine

Avoid a sizeable discount in cycle time

Breau says the cost-savings would come from the income savings from the operators.