System addict: What robotics offers for medical device manufacturing
The benefits that robotic systems can bring to medical device manufacturing are well-known. Lu Rahman looks at some successful installations and some of the future developments ahead.
The rise of robotics and automation within the manufacturing sector has been impressive. So too are the opportunities this technology offers, both in terms of its financial contribution and the benefits these products bring to businesses in terms of long term cost savings and improved efficiencies.
According to Loup Ventures, the market is set to reach $33.8 billion by 2025. In the manufacturing environment robots and automated systems have a range of uses including polishing and deburring implants or injection moulded components. They also have a significant place in the medical packaging sector and can help improve efficiency and cost throughout the process.
Robots in action
Staubli, a well-known name in this market, says that medical device manufacturers and suppliers of plastic injection moulding machines are increasingly relying on its robots. Additional applications include polishing orthopaedic implants and automating the quality process.
Boehringer Ingelheim produces pocket-sized inhalers under the product name Respima Soft Inhaler. They obviously require stringent safety and quality standards which means extensive testing during production, including process-integrated testing as well as strain, compression and high-pressure testing under cleanroom conditions. These tests are conducted in parallel with ongoing production to provide information about the product quality.
To test the inhaler dosing sprays, Boehringer Ingelheim ordered a test cell with a Stäubli six-axis robot. Criteria for the design of the system were compliance with the cleanroom classification and a space-saving layout.
Testing of the functional elements of the inhaler spray is carried out on the system seven days a week in shift operation. A centrally placed cleanroom version of a six-axis TX60L robot from Stäubli handles the components to be tested. The system tests the parts to destruction. The company says that customer benefits include a significant increase in productivity, extremely short cycle times, compliance with the highest quality standards, as well as being easy to service and maintain, with low energy consumption.
Universal Robots also reports positive installations. Trelleborg Sealing Solutions needed to optimise production with orders ranging anywhere from a single unit to several million. Customers were demanding lower prices, higher quality and faster delivery.Following a major modernisation of the machinery at its Danish production site the company faced a space problem - its new CNC machines were taking up far more cubic metres than the old-fashioned turning machines. This meant that optimising processes by means of robotic arms was difficult.
“We researched the market for suitable robots for years, but every single one we looked at required safety shielding. It made them unattractive for us, since we are unable to extend the actual production area at our factory in Denmark,’ said production manager, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions in Denmark, Jesper Riis.
The robot also needed to be easily deployed and programmed to accommodate a production with orders ranging from a single unit to series of several million.
Trelleborg Sealing Solutions finally came upon the robot arms from Universal Robots. “Now we can produce at a much more competitive price than before. With flexible, lightweight robots from Universal Robots we have a useful tool to optimise everywhere in our production,” said Riis.
The UR robots also allow one operator to keep a cell with eight CNC machines running at a time– previously the maximum was three. As a result, Trelleborg has saved 1.5 employee per cell per shift.
If there was any doubt about the growth of robotic solutions, look at the Wittmann Group. The company has reported that 2017 has been a highly successful year for its robot business. In fact, it says, the result could not have been more positive as its robot segment reached a new record in sales. A total of 5,000 robots were shipped from the company’s four robot plants in Europe, China and the USA. Automation solutions were also on the up, most of them tailored to the customer’s requirements.
We are hearing increasingly about cobots – humans and robots working collaboratively in the manufacturing space. Whereas robots have historically been locked behind cages on the manufacturing floor, humans and machines are now working side by side thanks to lighter, more mobile systems that use sophisticated sensor technology to ensure human safety. These systems offer both usefulness and versatility – they can be moved around a facility to assist with a range of tasks.
It’s an exciting time for the robots market – not just for suppliers but also for medical device manufacturers who are set to benefit from the ongoing developing technology that will improve production processes.