Page 39 - Metalforming Magazine April 2022
P. 39
Old-School Manufacturer with a Fresh Automation Approach
Polar’s decision to take the leap into robotic automation became a reality in 2019 when Figueroa and his team surveyed the cobot landscape, impressed with the ability to, with little training, program and deploy them. However, he says, investing in automation without any prior expe-
rience still seemed daunting and dif- ficult for company ownership to jus- tify. Enter Formic Technologies, Inc., an automation partner that not only serves as project manager, but also purchases all of the equipment, per- forms any custom engineering required, takes care of all installation costs, and continues to maintain uptime and performance over the life
Polar stamps these grab handles by the tens of thousands, perfect long-running jobs for the firm’s initial foray into press automation via cobots. With the cobot, installed in September 2021, the cobot- tended press produces at 85 strokes/hr., compared to 40 to 60 strokes/hr. manu- ally. That equates to nearly a 50-percent reduction in ‘labor’ cost, as the firm pays an hourly rate of $8 for the cobot.
www.metalformingmagazine.com
MetalForming/April 2022 37
