UK robot-maker claims six-month paybacks
A Shrewsbury-based industrial robot manufacturer has launched two models – a turnkey gantry-style robot and an articulated robotic arm – which, it believes, will end the need for manufacturers to use second-hand robots. The launch of the robots follows several years of development by Armstrong UEN, which was founded in 2009.
“Prohibitive costs have meant that many people rely on re-purposing second-hand robots which were often designed for much more complex tasks,” says Peter Richards, the company’s managing director. “This brings unnecessary expense, and complications to businesses, which led us to design simple, but effective, robots that are easy to operate, require little training to utilise, and – because of their simplicity – are really cost-effective and carry minimal breakdown risk.
“Using over-engineered products, like reprogrammed robots, sees far more complex engineering utilised than needs to be, which causes numerous headaches for the client – whether that’s during set-up, running, or maintenance,” Richards continues. “By keeping our designs simple, we’re able to supply cost-effective solutions at the same price as a reconditioned, second-hand robot, but with all the benefits of a purpose-built new machine.
“With major savings in overtime costs to be made,” he adds, “our robots provide a very fast return-on-investment, with early suggestions showing just six months for full return-on-investment. What’s more, they require minimal supervision, meaning that staff don’t have to be tied to the line and can be better utilised elsewhere in a business to further increase profitability.”
Armstrong UEN’s four-axis cartesian robots have a 60kg lifting capacity and can travel at 3m/s. The gantry-style palletising robots can be integrated to work alongside existing machinery.
The firm’s articulated robotic arms can be customised to meet specific customer requirements and due to their user-friendly software, can be applied rapidly to production processes.
