5 Free Custom Automation Resources [Complete With Downloads]

Here at Navus, we’ve spent over 20 years tackling the biggest challenges in custom automation. We take our biggest wins and share those stories through free custom automation resources, letting you know how we can solve your automation challenges, create efficiency, and mitigate risks in your facility.

Engineering the Future with Remotely Operated, Multi-Function Robotic Workcells

Robots have been used in the past to perform repetitive, low-skill labor. However, contemporary tools and features provide them with a much broader range of capabilities. 

This includes:

• Offline programming
• Sensing
• Tool changing
• Remote monitoring

These features allowed us to design an extraordinary system for a client that increases safety as well as efficiency. They can now take advantage of a system that moves the robotic workcell 100 feet into position in an environment that poses certain risks to their employees. Meanwhile, the operator is able to work in a remote location where they’re not in any danger.

This allows the operator to oversee:

• Joints being prepped
• Welds being prepped
• Inter-pass cleanings
• Vacuuming of welds

With multi-function robotics, the new system is able to reduce risk to the operator and increase productivity. It also drives down the costs brought on by traditional methods due to time and expense in order to achieve the same goal. 

This helped our client:

• Reduce safety risks in a harsh work environment
• Save time and money by bringing the weld cell to the part
• Improve the quality of welds with only one operator
• Reduce man-hours by only needing one operator

Download our free white paper to learn more about how we were able to help our client with remotely operated, multi-function robotic work cells!

Custom Automation for Dynamic Productivity in Light Industrial Manufacturing

At Navus, we are adept at designing and developing projects at all scales and levels. We jump at every challenge to streamline complex processes and adapt them to your needs.

A perfect example is a recent client of ours who already had automated processes in their facility. These processes dealt with the production of a specific product, but they still needed help downstream for packaging without human intervention. Our engineers were tasked with creating new, custom processes and integrating them with our client’s current processes.

What made the project truly challenging were the stringent parameters they had to work in. This included goals, materials, and space. However, the product itself was complicated with multiple parts that required assembly. Our team had to design the new system with this goal and in the client’s parameters to be truly successful.

Fortunately, what would intimidate other companies intrigued us. We worked with our vendors to develop an automated process that exceeded our client’s imagination. 

To download the free visual case study and learn how we created a system that produced 24 parts per minute with only one operator, click here!

Transforming Medium-Industry Manufacturing Through Vision Guided Robotics & CAD to Path Generation

Using robotics in automation isn’t a new concept and many medium-industry manufacturers are taking full advantage of their potential. However, residential construction is still lagging behind. While building prefabricated residential structures may seem like a heavy-industry project, it’s actually just combining multiple medium-industry pieces into a larger whole. 

This is the challenge we faced for one of our clients. In the past, they had their employees measure and cut all the floorboards by hand for their prefabricated buildings. The main problem they faced was consistency. Each piece of floorboard required a different length so they would match the layouts in different building plans. They wanted to make their process more efficient.

What made this project especially exciting for our team is that the client didn’t have any pre-existing automation in their facilities. This would be their first, and we were thrilled to be chosen to develop it for them. They needed a process that would translate from 2-D CAD drawings to a finished product ready for installation. 

Our challenge was to create an automated process that required:

• Vision-guided robotics
• Custom software
• Adaptability with minimal input from an operator

Although it seemed complicated on the surface, the Navus team had confidence that they could meet all the client’s needs. Not only that, but the new system resulted in faster production times and reduced safety risks. 

Download our free white paper to learn how we were able to help our medium-industry manufacturing client with vision-guided robotics and CAD-to-path generation! 

Making the Impossible, Possible with Sensor-Guided Robotics

Medium-industry automation isn’t the only field we work in. We’ve also had the opportunity to work in heavy-industry manufacturing where custom automation can provide a variety of benefits for clients. A recent client had worked with multiple custom automation specialists in the past who had failed. Fortunately, they eventually found their way to Navus.

Our client’s old manual process consumed time and exhausted the employees. Things needed to change not only to improve efficiency, but also to mitigate certain risks for employees. 

They gave us an opportunity to try the impossible and build a machine that could:

• Locate individual parts that weigh up to 14,000 lbs
• Identify parts by shape and features
• Create a toolpath for parts
• Mill sharp edges of parts to a precise radius

The client’s old manual process had employees using electric grinders to smooth sharp edges. This left them exhausted and significantly increased the risk of an incident. This new process helped ensure the safety of employees and allowed them to supervise the process from a safe distance.

To download our free white paper on using custom automation to make the impossible possible in heavy-industry manufacturing, click here!

Increasing Productivity in Manufacturing with New Weld Technology

The ability to weld heavy and complex parts is an important aspect of heavy-industry manufacturing. We were recently able to transform a client’s welding process from outdated and unreliable to one that’s much more accurate and safe.

Despite using 15,000 lbs of force to hold them in place, their old system had a tendency of parts slipping during the welding process. This was impeding their process by slowing down production as well as their throughput as a whole.

They knew they needed a solution that:

• Produced accurate welds
• Kept parts in place through the process
• Kept their line operators safe

This project gave us an opportunity to partner with Miller Electric and beta test a brand new welding system. We were also able to design a unique spring-loaded system to prevent the slipping they experienced with their old system. 

Another important factor was creating a system that could hold parts that ranged from 50 to 1,500 lbs. Our solution needed to recognize parts of different sizes and follow the correct steps without human input. Faster welding times were also a must to increase productivity. 

Despite feeling nearly impossible at times, our engineers were confident they could meet the client’s needs. The end result was an easy-to-use system that integrated with their other processes to improve output and employee safety.

Download our free white paper to learn more about how we were able to meet our heavy-industry client’s custom automation welding needs!

Navus Automation Inc. is a leading full-service automation integrator. Our world-class team has a reputation for applying ingenuity to solve complex challenges and deliver customized turn-key systems solutions. From concept to completion, Navus provides robotic welding and automation systems built upon our unwavering commitment to excellence, precision and reliability