“The flexible lightweight robots – the UR5 and UR10 – are so reasonable in price that they pay off in no time. Our calculations show that the cost for a UR robot will be covered in less than one year”, says Bjørn Sommer.

So far, four UR robots technology solutions have been implemented in BJ-Gear’s production. One of these is a UR 5 that is fitted with an ordinary spray gun and used to paint preassembled gears. Automating this process step has created a more uniform high quality of the paintwork and has also freed one employee completely to attend to other tasks. The working environment also benefits from the UR 5 as employees now spend less time in the paint booth.

The other two UR5 robots have modernised and automated old machinery in BJ-Gear’s production. One robot has fully automated the process of deburring and stamping gear wheels and finished work pieces for further assembly. The other multitasks at three machines at once – a lathe, a cutter and a washing machine – allowing BJ-Gear to produce 100 pieces at a time without human intervention.
The UR10 is the most recent addition to BJ-Gear’s team. It is used for automating processes with work pieces that weigh more than 5 kilos.
“The automated solutions have increased both productivity and flexibility at our gear manufacturing company. Thanks to the robots we have been able to create growth without having to employ additional staff which have strengthened our competitiveness”, says Bjørn Sommer.