Application guides
Ten jobs that small and midsized manufacturers automate first. Each guide covers what the cell looks like, an illustrative cost range, and the honest disqualifiers, stated before the pitch.
Palletizing
Stacking cases onto pallets is the most common first robot in a small plant, and one of the few applications where the payback math is usually obvious. Here is how to tell whether yours is a fit, and when it is not.
CNC machine tending
If your operator spends most of the cycle watching the machine run, a tending robot buys you spindle hours you already paid for. If your work changes every hour, it probably does not.
Welding
Welding automation is usually bought because the welders are not out there to hire. It works well on repeat weldments in batches, and poorly on one-off repair work.
Pick and place
Moving parts between stations is the broadest category in automation and the easiest to get wrong, because the robot is rarely the hard part. How the parts arrive is.
Packaging and case packing
Hand packing lines with a few people on them are a natural fit for a cell, as long as your product formats are stable and your upstream flow is consistent.
Assembly and screwdriving
Repetitive fastener runs are a good robot job, especially when torque has to be documented. Mixed low volume assembly usually is not.
Inspection
Machine vision works when you can define the defect. If two of your own inspectors disagree about what a defect looks like, no camera will settle it for you.
Material movement
AMRs replace the walking, not the work. They pay off on scheduled runs between stable points, and struggle on chaotic floors.
Sanding and finishing
Sanding is dusty, repetitive, hard on people, and hard to staff. It automates well when the part geometry repeats and the finish can be specified.
Press brake tending
This is the deepest integration of the ten applications here, and the one where the honest answer is most often not yet. When it fits, it fits very well.
Not sure which one fits?
Describe the job in plain words and Joe will tell you which application it actually is, and whether it is worth automating at all.