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Van Trierum automates its Nakamura, Takisawa and Microcut machines with RoboJob

Van Trierum automates its Nakamura, Takisawa and Microcut machines with RoboJob

Extra colleagues that keep working after hours

Van Trierum automates its Nakamura, Takisawa and Microcut machines with RoboJob

Van Trierum Metaalbewerking, a supplier of machined components and assemblies in Lunteren, the Netherlands, has worked with RoboJob since 2016. Three RoboJob systems, on a Nakamura-Tome WT-150, a Takisawa TS-4000YS and a Challenger Microcut VMC-1300, keep producing after working hours, giving the company extra capacity without extra shifts.

Key facts

Machining for engineering, medical and maritime industries

Founded in 1990, Van Trierum Metaalbewerking machines and assembles components for the engineering, medical-orthopaedic and maritime industries. Certified to ISO 9001 and ISO 13485, it can serve medical customers directly. Its modern machine park stands in a temperature-controlled workshop, with a conditioned measuring room and an assembly area, and handles both series and one-off production.

Why automate: competing internationally

“As a Dutch supplier, we can’t avoid the fact we’re working in an international market today. For instance we increasingly have to engage in an international competitive struggle, especially for the serial work. We can only win that struggle by keeping our company up-to-date, by efficiently utilizing our machine capacity and recruiting good technical personnel.”

— Arie van Trierum, Operational Director and Co-Owner, Van Trierum Metaalbewerking

Like many manufacturers, Van Trierum finds it hard to recruit technical staff. So it wants to use its experienced craftsmen as efficiently as possible: “Why should we let an experienced operator load and unload a machine, while there’s a robot for doing this! It makes more sense to let him set up another machine, while the robot does the physical, repetitive work.”

Choosing RoboJob, together with the operators

Van Trierum first met RoboJob at the Technishow and then compared several suppliers. It chose RoboJob for two reasons: RoboJob’s roots in the machining industry, which makes it easy to understand each other and find solutions, and the products themselves. The Turn-Assist and Mill-Assist can be set up and changed quickly, handle a wide range of parts, offer options such as a vacuum gripper and an axis extension, and work with a light screen instead of a fence.

Before deciding, Van Trierum visited RoboJob in Belgium with four of its operators. They were free to try the robots and even set them up themselves. That went so easily that the operators were convinced too, and their opinion was part of the purchase decision.

Three RoboJob systems on three machine brands

In 2016, RoboJob installed the first two systems on existing machines that had no robot interface: a Turn-Assist Essential on a Nakamura-Tome WT-150 and a Mill-Assist Essential on a Challenger Microcut VMC-1300. RoboJob brought in a third party to get the right signals from the machines, and the cells were placed so that they would not get in the way of daily work. A Turn-Assist 270 on a Takisawa TS-4000YS followed later.

Van Trierum Metaalbewerking

The result: an extra team after hours

“With these two robots we now have an extra team, as it were. At Van Trierum we only work with a day shift, and now we can use our robot after working hours or on the free day of an employee. Consequently we get more capacity out of the machine because of course it’s there night and day.”

— Arie van Trierum

During the day, the machines remain available for one-off parts. Status notifications by SMS or e-mail let the team keep an eye on things after hours. Installation, training and daily use have run smoothly, and Van Trierum appreciates that RoboJob is open to feedback: several of its suggestions have already been used to improve the product.

Frequently asked questions

Which machines did Van Trierum Metaalbewerking automate with RoboJob?

Van Trierum Metaalbewerking in Lunteren, the Netherlands, runs three RoboJob systems: a Turn-Assist Essential on a Nakamura-Tome WT-150, a Turn-Assist 270 on a Takisawa TS-4000YS and a Mill-Assist Essential on a Challenger Microcut VMC-1300. The company has been a RoboJob customer since 2016.

Which supplier can automate a Nakamura-Tome WT-150?

RoboJob automated a Nakamura-Tome WT-150 at Van Trierum Metaalbewerking with a Turn-Assist Essential. Heemskerk Fijnmechanica runs three RoboJob Towers on Nakamura-Tome NTY3 lathes. See all Nakamura-Tome automation projects.

Can a Takisawa TS-4000YS lathe be automated?

Yes. Van Trierum Metaalbewerking automated its Takisawa TS-4000YS with a RoboJob Turn-Assist 270. See the Takisawa automation page.

Can an existing CNC machine without a robot interface be automated?

Yes. At Van Trierum Metaalbewerking, RoboJob automated a Nakamura-Tome WT-150 and a Challenger Microcut VMC-1300 that had no robot interface, bringing in a third party to obtain the right signals from the machines. Meca Technic in France had a similar experience with a Quaser MV184.

How can a company with only a day shift run its machines at night?

Van Trierum Metaalbewerking works only a day shift. With RoboJob automation on its Nakamura-Tome, Takisawa and Challenger Microcut machines, it runs production after working hours and on employees’ days off, and receives status notifications by SMS or e-mail. During the day, the machines remain available for one-off parts.