Rousant Sherwood Manufacturing (RSM), a multi-axis machining specialist based in Henley-on-Thames, has installed collaborative robots — ‘cobots’ — to load and unload its machine tools.

A mix of seven UR5 and UR10 universal robots supplied by RARUK Automation www.rarukautomation.com has enabled the company to bid for contracts that would previously have been unprofitable.

RSM has a number of Nakamura-Tome multi-axis twin-spindle turn-mill centres that enable it to minimise both cycle times and the number of set-ups required.

However, faced with an increasingly competitive global market-place, it decided to invest in automation to make further efficiency gains.

The company decided that six-axis ‘cobots’ would match its requirements, largely due to their ease of programming, competitive price and collaborative operating capabilities.

In addition, innovative sensor technology (programmed with a pre-determined force) enables them to stop safely in the event of human contact, so they can be used with no safety guarding.

RSM’s seven universal robots are now busy tending its 14 CNC machine tools, with robots frequently relocated to different machines as required.

One of the UR10 robots is currently serving a Nakamura-Tome Super NTJX multi-tasking turn-mill centre. The robot loads square billets of aluminium into the machine, where they are turned into aerospace components in a 40min cycle.

The machine and robot are running 24hr a day, seven days a week.

The robot is integrated with the machine’s CNC system and communicates via IO links and MODBUS interfaces.