Home >
“Think of this manual process as the extreme limits of what you can humanly do by manipulating tweezers under a microscope. The size of this assembly is not any bigger than an eyelash, and the ergonomics of this repetitive process were taking a real physical and mental toll on our people,” says Steve Lagergren, Manufacturing Engineering Supervisor, Cretex Medical.
The demand for this component was high, and their customer was counting on them to scale up production. Jeremy Glynn, General Manager of Cretex Medical, Laser Division, adds, “There are patients at the end of the line who depend on these intravascular therapies. We could not allow our assembly to disrupt supply.”
Cretex Medical turned to Arimation Robotics, a machine builder with a track record of solving complex problems, for the answer.
“The majority of robotic products were too large and not accurate enough. We worked closely with the team at Cretex Medical to define requirements and perform feasibility testing to eliminate risk before building the automation,” says Ari Pitkanen, Chief Executive Officer at Arimation Robotics.
Arimation brought in their value-added distributor, Mechatronic Solutions, to assist in recommending and sourcing the main parts. With their support, Arimation designed, built and tested a custom automation cell with three main elements:
Improving the work environment for their operators was the main result. The automation allowed Cretex Medical to shift the existing team to ergonomically healthy positions within the company.
“I worked on this component assembly process for 18 months. We knew our customer depended on our components to ultimately serve patients in need, so we stuck with it while this automation system was being built. Now, I am excited to have a new opportunity to learn how to run this automated cell, as well as learn other products. This micro-assembly process is one where automation was clearly a better option,” shared Terri Harris, a Production Tech at Cretex Medical.
The growing demand for this component required the ability to scale up rapidly and with quality. “We needed a solution that increased our output while ensuring we maintain a consistent, high-quality assembly. Adding new operators was not the answer, but automation was,” says Jeremy.
While the manual process spanned over 12 feet, the automation is just 25% of that size with added benefit of being able to scale up within that same small footprint. “The size of the automated assembly line can fit in a carry-on suitcase. The small form factor matters to help us maximize our clean room space,” adds Steve.
Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.
