UR10 Robots Revolutionize the Painting Process
Oct 31, 2024 — Brandt A/S, a well-established Danish company with over 60 years of experience in the painting industry, has taken a significant step towards innovation by implementing UR10 cobot solutions in its production process to achieve consistent quality and increase efficiency. With technology from UR+ partner Nordbo Robotics’ Mimic software, the robot can replicate the operator's movements one step at a time, then execute them with unprecedented precision. The implementation of the cobots has transformed the way the company handles painting tasks, leading to significant improvements in productivity and quality.
© Universal Robots
The business transformation
When Brandt A/S began its journey more than six decades ago, it specialized in car painting. Over the years, their tasks expanded to include industrial painting, and eventually, they became experts in powder coating.
Despite Brandt A/S's high quality and consistency standards, the company faced challenges with the manual painting processes that weren’t always able to deliver the accuracy and consistency the company aimed for. This initiated their search for possible automation solutions. "We have been searching high and low for robots that we could use in our touch-up department," says CEO of Brandt A/S, Rene Damgaard Hansen.
With the introduction of two new UR10 cobots in their powder coating process, Brandt A/S has been able to achieve an unprecedented level of accuracy and consistency. These robots can perform touch-up tasks that were previously difficult for manual operators to execute with the same precision. This integration of robotic technology has not only improved product quality but has also increased productivity by freeing up employees for more complex tasks.
How They Did It
Before the introduction of the cobots, employees performed manual spray painting 24/7. Now, Brandt A/S uses the Mimic technology from Nordbo Robotics that via a pose tracker sensor records the painters' movements and transfers them to the cobot, which performs touch-up tasks with unprecedented precision. The cobot works closely with operators and is designed to mimic their every move.
Universal Robots’ cobot is integrated with Nordbo Robotics programming unit and G.A. Hansen's Gema powder box. This enables seamless communication between the robot and peripheral equipment, resulting in consistent quality from run to run. Operators can easily create programs on the line track, and the cobot automatically detects the start of each item, ensuring continuous and efficient production.
"We started with two robots, but we also have other platforms where we need to implement them because we believe robots and digitization - that’s the future." noted Rene Damgaard Hansen, CEO of Brandt A/S
With the UR+ ecosystem, Brandt A/S has access to a wide range of components, software packages, and applications tested to seamlessly integrate with UR cobots, including Nordbo Robotics' Mimic software. This has enabled operators to program the cobot intuitively without needing in-depth technical knowledge. "We have taken the spray gun that the operators normally use and made it possible for them to program the robot just as they would usually use the spray guns," says CCO at Nordbo Robotics, Sabina Kethelz, emphasizing the user-friendly approach and minimal need for operator interaction, highlighting Universal Robots' focus on delivering a comprehensive and accessible automation solution. The system is also approved for Zone 22 with extended ATEX approval, which is an EU directive that the system complies with.
"In fact, you don't need to have a particularly large batch before it makes sense to implement a painting robot. And it doesn't require extensive training to use the robot" says Sune McDonald Bertelsen, Country Manager, Universal Robots.
