More and more companies in the manufacturing industry are becoming aware that automation is the key to success. But what is the most suitable solution? A cheap cobot? A tailor-made solution? Or a plug-and-play robot loading system? To help companies make the right decision, HALTER CNC Automation has laid out out the pros and cons of these three systems in the whitepaper Customised or generic?

“In the coming years, suppliers will have to be able to quickly increase (and decrease) their capacity without hiring extra people, increasing overtime or purchasing additional machines,” says Wouter van Halteren, CEO of HALTER CNC Automation. Automation also ensures a higher efficiency of the existing CNC machines because it increases the number of available production hours.

Which solution fits best?
“We see that quite a few companies are struggling with the question of which automation solution is best for them,” continues Wouter van Halteren. Roughly speaking, there are three solutions: a cobot, a tailor-made automation solution geared to a longer-running workpiece, and a flexible plug-and-play solution, which is the standard robot-loading systems supplied not only by Halter but also by several suppliers in the Benelux. “Each of these solutions has advantages and disadvantages. Some are well known, while others are less obvious.” For example, there are differences in the field of safety. A cobot seems like a simple and safe automation solution, but in practice this may not be true. According to the European Machinery Directive, the buyer of the robot (or cobot), which is to be connected to the CNC machine, is responsible for making a proper risk analysis. “Plug-and-play systems come standard with safety features. Suppliers of leading brands know the safety requirements and will always be able to perform and issue the legally required risk analysis for the automation and the CNC machine,” explains Wouter van Halteren.

Download for free
The whitepaper not only lists the pros and cons of the three solutions, it also discusses the role the supplier plays in the whole story. With this whitepaper, HALTER CNC Automation wants to provide companies with information so that they are better able to choose the automation that best meets their automation needs.

You can download the free whitepaper Customised or generic? via this link