![]() MiR provided a week of onsite MiR Academy training, including for DENSO employees who could be groomed into super-user roles to support the project long-term. They have grown with us, they have become a partner, and they are instrumental in how we are now expanding.” It’s not just a vendor that we’ve bought something from. He adds, “The information-sharing has been huge. We looked at some companies that just didn’t have that same support structure, and didn’t have that history, and we didn’t think that they could keep up.” ![]() “MiR was prepared to support us, as Denso North America, from the numbers we were going to roll out. Olinger explains how MiR as a company also stood out. MiR stands out from a business-model and support standpoint DENSO has also integrated the robot to automatically open the door in and out of a clean-room area, using the MiR I/O modules to send wireless signals to the roll-up door controller. Working with MiR partner Advanced Control Solutions (ACS), DENSO was able to develop an information flow using REST API to support on-time deliveries, manage charging and proximity cues to prioritize missions, and allow associates on the floor to call for the robots. It was just extremely intuitive compared to the other platforms that we looked at.” Olinger says, “MiR stood out from the ability to use REST API calls, the intuitive nature of the Fleet, the ease of mapping, ease of mission creation, ease of changing locations. The MiR robots bring significant advantages in flexibility, safety, and user-friendliness, and uniquely met other DENSO requirements as well. Standardizing on the MiR250 shelf-lifter and ROEQ carts allows DENSO to expand quickly into other areas using the same cart base and customizing it for each use. ![]() The MiR250 had recently been introduced, and the team was attracted to its two-meters-per-second speed, the payload of 250 kilograms to handle heavy metal parts, and the ability to navigate narrow spaces. MiR250 offers significant advantages, including use of REST APIs The team tested MiR autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) against competitors and were quickly impressed by their performance. Additional challenges included narrow aisles for maneuvering and heavy metal parts to be transported. The engineering team knew that the cost and lack of flexibility of automated guided vehicles (AGVs) couldn’t address the company’s dynamic environment that would require regular route changes. ![]() Research showed that DENSO associates were walking up to 12 miles per day moving material between production and the warehouse, spending about 60 percent of their time pushing carts. He adds, “We wanted to pay people to make parts for us that makes us money, and not pay them to move parts that cost us money.” “But if we have people that are only conveying parts, then that’s a non-value-added activity, and we had plenty of open jobs for value-added activities within the production environment.” “We knew we had a lot of people that were getting paid to move parts all day long, walking carts from one place to the other,” explains TIE engineer Travis Olinger. Like most manufacturers, DENSO is always looking for ways to increase efficiency and productivity.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |