Seco is one of the largest tool suppliers in the world. The company is part of Sandvik Machining Solutions, which is the tooling Business Area of the Sandvik Group. Seco has its headquarters in Fagersta, Sweden. The company has a presence in more than 75 countries and it provides employment to 4,100 people. As with RoboJob, Seco's mission is to maximise the productivity and profitability of its customers.
Daniel Jacky, Production Director – Tooling systems: « Automation is obviously nothing new at SECO Tools. We always focus on productivity, not only for our customers, but also in our own production process. We have, for instance, been working on automation in various forms and with different suppliers for a long time already. But on this occasion we were specifically looking for automation that could provide us with more flexibility, certainly for batches of 10 pieces. This led us to RoboJob.
We came upon RoboJob at a trade fair in Germany. There we could look at different solutions, and the Racks system in particular caught our attention. The rough components are placed in a metal rack. From there they enter the machine, and the robot then places the finished parts in another metal rack. This is ideal for larger series, but also for parts that are difficult to stack. Depending on the cycle time, the robot can keep the machine working unattended for hours! Meanwhile, the operator can ensure another machine keeps on turning as well.
It is very useful for us to be able to load the workpieces not only horizontally with the robot, but also vertically. This enables us to load and unload flanges as well as shafts. Programming is very simple, but this automation is also designed in such a way that there is no cage around it. The intangible barrier keeps the entire setup open, visible and accessible.
Our DMG CTX GAMMA 2000 TC was delivered first, which gave us the opportunity to get to know the machine before the robot was added. That happened in November 2018 and the installation of the 70kg robot proceeded smoothly. Just last month we received additional training, specifically on loading the shafts.
Looking back, I am very happy with the combination of the DMG with RoboJob Racks automation. The machines provide more capacity and we are less dependent on the availability of our operators. Despite the fact that we work with multiple shifts in our production area, we also want to be able to produce with fewer people or even without people at all. That is now possible with this solution from RoboJob. This robot works continuously, and everything remains stable. Even heavier pieces do not present a problem. I am glad that we have chosen this solution from RoboJob with Seco ! »
