Aerospace Manufacturer Doubles Production And Significantly Cuts Labor And Scrap Costs

Tool Gauge is a precision metal and plastic parts manufacturer for the aerospace industry based in Tacoma, Washington. 

And like many U.S. manufacturers, they were up against two major problems:

1. A super tight labor market

2. Global competitors with cheaper labor

Hiring new people wasn’t working out. There weren’t enough people to hire.

This is especially true for repetitive and menial jobs like applying glue to plastic parts or standing at a CNC machine all day to rinse and box parts. 

To top it off, Tool Gauge had long-term customer contracts that weren’t up for renegotiation. So, they needed to up their game despite the labor challenges.

It was time for a change. And cobots were the shift they needed.

After implementing two (very small) cobots, they got BIG results! 2X the production output while cutting costs.

The Labor Challenge: Repetitive Work Was Dragging Them Down

Not only was repetitive work making it difficult to hire new staff, but it was also causing a 15% scrap rate for a certain part. 

Likewise, the cost of repetitive, monotonous work was amplified due to the cost of manual labor. If the task is ripe for automation, yet you do it manually, you are wasting money. Tool Gauge sure did. After automation, they saved $9,000 just on labor reduction in the packing of one copper machined part, and that was just from a single order.

So, labor constraints for repetitive manufacturing tasks were affecting them in more ways than one.

Manual glue application required extreme precision. It fatigued workers and led to repetitive strain.

CNC tending involved pulling out hot copper parts, rinsing them, drying them, and placing them in boxes. All day. Not exactly value-added work.

“The area the glue needs to be applied is incredibly narrow, so over time, operators were seeing fatigue in their hands with potential injury being concern. Scrap rates were also high,” said Steve Ouzts, manufacturing engineer at Tool Gauge.

Why Collaborative Robots?

Tool Gauge and collaborative robotics are an absolute match. They needed every advantage cobots could provide, so it was a no-brainer.

“We chose Universal Robots because number one, they are cobots: We were always kind of afraid of using automation because there’s a huge capital investment, but that isn’t the case with the Universal Robots. Two, we were concerned about walling off portions of our manufacturing to put in automation cells, which we don’t have to do with UR. And three, we can configure the UR cobots to do hundreds of different things; they’re highly configurable and they’re easy to move around. So for us, it was really the only solution,” said Lee.

They knew they needed to hire about 100 additional staff members, but the UR cobots helped them drop that number by 50%. 

Finally, cobots are far easier to program than traditional robotics.

“When switching to Universal Robots, the intuitive nature of the graphic user interface is what really drew me in. I really appreciate how all the terms in the software are in layman’s terms,” said Steve Ouzts, manufacturing engineer.

Small Cobots. Big Changes.

Introducing just two cobots changed things for Tool Gauge:

• 75% labor cost reduction.

• 200% boost in unit production.

• Scrap rate reduced from 15% to just 3%.

• Improved job satisfaction.

• Reduced injury risk.

• Made the shop more dynamic and future-ready.

• Cut the need for 100 new hires in half.

UR5 Handles Injection Molding:

• Cobot picks up end caps for a plastic panel.

• Dispenses glue in the end cap.

• Places the part in the actuator on the table.

• The operator inspects the gluing and removes the part.

• The process repeats.

This process used to require four operators for 200 units a day. With the UR5 in the picture, the process is run by one operator with 400 produced units per day! 

UR3 Does The Manual Tasks Of The CNC Process:

• The part passes through the proximity sensor.

• Cobot picks it up.

• Rinses the part.

• Holds it in front of the dryer.

• And drops it into an individual box cell for packaging. 

• The process repeats, significantly saving the manual labor.

Tool Gauge achieved astronomical changes. Cobots don’t just make things “a little bit better.” When done right, they completely transform the business. What would a 200% boost in output and a 75% cost reduction do for you? Obviously, everyone’s results will vary. However, cobots usually “vary” from one exceptional result to another, as long as the right system is matched with the right process for cobot automation.

Learn more about Tool Gauge’s success and the Universal Robot solutions below:

• Universal Robots doubles production at metal and plastic manufacturer

• Universal Robots Doubles Production at Aerospace Manufacturer Despite Labor Shortage

• UR Helps Tool Gauge Double Production of Components

Enjoy your week!

The Cobot Spotlight Team