Axistek is about to increase capacity as their new robot cell reaches completion. After 12 months of design and development, the robot ran its first production dry cycles this week, a long-held goal for the owners finally realized.
Axistek came to us first to work out what was actually possible. Once that was clear, we were engaged to deliver the safety systems, programming, and integration for the cell. It’s not the last robot project on their agenda either, this is the first of more to come.
What the cell actually does is load and unload parts into Axistek’s machines without anyone standing over it. The racks hold 30 pallets, loaded up with raw parts before the shift ends. The cell runs through the night in what’s called “lights out” manufacturing, no operators, no lights, just the robot working. The team arrives the next morning to 30 pallets of finished, machined parts, ready to load up and go again.
This is the kind of automation that doesn’t replace people, it gives them their nights back and lets the factory keep running when nobody’s there to run it.
If you’re looking at a similar setup for your own machines, see how we approach machine tending robot systems.