Problem
A Korean manufacturer of cutting tool products, like milling cutters, drills, and forming tools, was looking to improve its delivery processes. Within its warehouses, simple, repeating tasks, like delivering heavy materials, can cause worker fatigue and eventually lead to injuries.
In particular, the manufacturer faced challenges with moving products from one side of the warehouse to the other, a common issue in manufacturing. Workers had to manually move heavy materials using a three-stage steel cart.
The company was interested in integrating an autonomous delivery system within its current system. To do this, it needed to establish basic infrastructure that would allow it to transition from manual deliveries to automated. It was also important to the cutting tools manufacturer that its automation partner was responsive and could react quickly when called upon to answer questions or troubleshoot.
Solution
Eventually, the company settled on working with Yujin Robot, a South Korean manufacturer of autonomous mobile robots (AMRs). Yujin offers a line of AMRs, called GoCarts, that the company says can be used in various dynamic environments and logistics applications. The manufacturer implemented two Yujin GoCarts in one of its facilities.
Yujin’s line of GoCarts includes four different robots with payloads ranging from 180 kg (around 397 lbs) to 500 kg (1,102 lbs). The AMRs’ features include a fleet management system, 3D SLAM and navigation based on Yujin’s 3D lidar, a smart interface that works with automatic doors and elevators, and an industry-accredited PL-d safety system.
For the cutting tools manufacturer, Yujin’s AMRs stood out because of its specifications around payload, driving method, and stable movement. The company also appreciated the rapid and efficient response from Yujin’s team.
The manufacturer also said that Yujin’s expertise in robotics also meant they could offer innovative systems backed by in-depth knowledge. This helped the company overcome the implementation challenges that came with integrating the autonomous delivery system seamlessly. Yujin was also available to handle any necessary repairs.
Results
Within eight months of deploying the robots, the manufacturer began seeing benefits from the two GoCart AMRs. First, the delivery process had become more streamlined, with increased productivity. And material mishandling, which previously led to quality issues, was down.
The company is still in the early stages of implementing Yujin’s GoCart AMR technology, and exact metrics are still being calculated. However, it anticipates a 5% increase in production line efficiency as a direct result of using two GoCart AMRs.
The manufacturer also reports that its human workforce is satisfied with their new robot co-workers. In particular, the workers enjoy the improved working environment, reduction in movement time, and ability to concentrate on higher-level tasks.
With the GoCarts, the manufacturer feels that its shortcomings in manual delivery processes are being addressed. The company is also laying a foundation for future productivity gains. It expects to add six additional GoCarts at other manufacturing sites moving forward.
