Fillmore, the new Cobot (collaborative robot) is a UR5 from Universal Robots. CoValence have incorporated some fittings, like the wrist camera, from Robotiq as well.
The company’s overarching goal is to improve efficiency in the Filling Department, while simultaneously reducing repetitive use injuries among the staff and free them up to work on what humans do best compared to robots – which is creative tasks i.e., problem solving or process improvements.
Another great point to note about the cobot is that is it completely safe – these particular cobots have been designed to work with humans. If the cobot comes into contact with an object that should not be there, it comes to a stop and the program must be restarted.
But, the best part is that UR line from Universal Robot is easy to program. There was a two hour online course that each project participant took before an eight hour training day before they were off and running.
Return on investment is usually seen in a three month time frame for most companies, sometimes faster depending on how simple the tasks are. CoValence believes we will be closer to the three month mark, as the production processes call for a new program for each filling batch.
Additionally, the company needs to design and engineer some equipment to present the components to Fillmore in a logical manner. As you can see from the video, CoValence have been creating tables and trays from objects around in building, but have a company coming in soon to start building studier versions.
