At Arrow, we understand that an ongoing innovation strategy is critical not only to our success but also to the organic growth of our customers. That’s why we’ve carried on a tradition, started by our forefathers in 1923, of adopting technology that offers improved, cost-effective efficiencies, helping to move our industry forward.
In this month’s blog, we’ll have a look at some of the newest technology we’ve installed at a number of our locations and how we use them to help our customers enjoy enormous profits.
New Machining Centers In Cambridge
Our Cambridge facility is the new home of our massive, high-speed, high-torque 5-axis machine. What’s unique about this machine is that it can fabricate extremely large parts and contains special software that allows us to control it remotely.
CCTV cameras on the cell allow us to see which parts are welding from any location. We can then correlate what we’re seeing on the screen to the parameters the system is recording on a part-to-part basis. The system can also do calculations on the fly to correct any minor irregularities in the joins. These features help keep production moving round the clock, increasing our capacity to help our customers get their products sooner.
Using Cobots To Support Human Machinists
In our Stratford facility, collaborative robots, also known as cobots, work alongside human machinists to help develop parts and components for ballistic applications.
We employ certified ballistic welders for our defence contracts and pair them with cobots to help increase production. The ballistic welder will use the arm of the cobot to create a join between two parts on a particular project. At the same time, the cobot’s “brain” is storing the information for when the project goes into production. The cobot can then work parallel to the ballistic welder, doubling production, while the welder can certify that the part was welded to the welder’s exact standard.
Another practical use of cobots is for the heavy grinding of the part after it’s welded. Cobots with grinding heads can handle grinding duties on large production runs, allowing the ballistic welder to focus on his primary tasks.
We’re also developing cobot technology to enable the machine to weld within its cell, enabling us to triple our productivity ratio and increase efficiency.
New Machining Centre In Guelph
Our Guelph facility is updating our gaging stations with a shop floor coordinate measuring system (CMS).
Before CMS, operators would spend a lot of time gaging parts in the lab. The learning curve of manually gaging a part to determine its geometries and tolerances and compare them with the available drawing is relatively high. There is also much room for error with this manual method.
At Arrow, many customer projects involve huge metal parts, high cycle times, and very tight tolerances. Gaging these parts would be nearly impossible with the lab method. However, CMS technology automatically takes and records all the measurements, provides a report, and communicates the data back to the machining center. This process can also trigger a design retrofit if necessary.
Read More: About
Robots For Helping Humans, Not Replacing Them
At Arrow, our people are at the heart of everything we do. Adopting robot technology isn’t a means of taking humans off the line; instead, it is meant to help them with their daily tasks.
For example, in the case of stacking welds, human welders can create the initial 90° join before passing the piece to the robot to do the complex work that completes the job. Having robots support humans in this way reduces production time by 50 percent, helping customers optimize scheduling and get their products to market sooner.
Additionally, robot technology can assist humans in extending the life of consumable tools such as welding wires. Robots can be programmed to clean the welding wire at regular intervals, helping extend the tool’s life and reduce the frequency of replacement. Adopting this technology also allows for better tool life predictability, which helps us understand our costs more precisely and be more competitive when we quote new projects.
Our robots also help enhance workplace safety by taking on tasks that can be dangerous or strenuous for human workers, reducing the risk of accidents and minimizing the physical strain on human operators. Creating a safer work environment helps Arrow attract and retain the best-skilled talent, ensuring better products for our customers.
Read More: From Assembly Line To Automation – The Role Of Robotics In Machining And Fabrication
Helping Our Customers Reap Bigger Profits
Arrow’s ongoing investments in robots help us increase capacity, improve production, and cut costs, assisting our customers in achieving sustainable organic business growth, a goal we’re happy to help them reach.
Feel free to reach out to an Arrow expert if you have any questions about how we can use robot technology to increase your company’s profits.