RoboBend project for company Shopflex (Denmark)
The company Shopflex – with headquarter in Denmark and production facilities as well in Lithuania is designing, producing and selling shop furniture, mainly for American fast-food chains – in cooperation with an American partner Shopco Inc.
It is a typical Danish/Lithuanian SME, that is a niche player and therefore do not sell high volumes. This affects their production plans and needs as well – small to mid-sized production batches.
They anyway believed that one of their processes needed to be automated – operating their press brakes (the machine that does bending of sheet metal). It’s a process of repeatable and dirty work done by skilled technicians – and difficult to motivate people and find the right operators. They foresee that getting qualified machine operators would be a challenge in the future.
This is supported by European research, which claims that finding machine operators will be among the 3 biggest problems for the European industries.
The company Robobend ApS that is situated in Denmark, but with all its development done in Lithuania took over the challenge – and discussed that a machine operating robot (tending robot) should be developed not only for Shopflex, but as a standard solution.
RoboBend has hired UAB Factobotics as well as Panevezys Mechatronics Centre to be part of this development.
Factobotics is a Lithuanian robotic company that is specialized in turning client needs into standard robot solutions – looking at the cases from a business point of view and developing a technology solution, that makes sense from a user and market perspective. Factobotics as well does digital/robotic audits and helps companies to plan up their robotic/digital investments to support the companies long termed goals – aiming at that the technology are tools to reach their goals.
Panevezys Mechatronics Centre is a Lithuanian Non-profit institution with its own lab facilities, that involves itself in research and practical applying of robotic solutions for the industries. Specialized in electronics, electrical, automation, mechanics, mechatronics, programming, micro/nanotechnology. At the centre they carry out research with specialized micro/nano-technological equipment.
Lithuanian Digital Innovation Hub facilitated that a client needs was discussed with the company Factobotics – and later with its international connections brought the initiators of the idea together with the Investment environment in Odense. RoboBend was established, a Danish business angel entered the project and various public funding have been attracted for the projected (From Danish Innovation Fund and the SME Instrument Fund). Panevezys Mechatronics Centre were then later added to the development team together with Factobotics – and a Danish Lithuanian project initiated that does a difference for the European metal processing industries.
Multicursor project for company Lietwood (Lithuania)
The company Lietwood in Lithuania – is a typical supplier of furniture components for IKEA (Lithuania being 4th largest supply country of furniture/components for IKEA).
IKEA wishes to document that the products produced are keeping to all norms and standards, but it has been accepted for now, that the curing process (heating and hardening process, when adding lacquer to the furniture pieces) can’t be documented as no measuring equipment that can read out the hardening quality has been invented (which means that its today visual inspection and trust that the hardening equipment has been working that is the basis for the quality assurance – and no poisoning chemicals are left to be absorbed by humans later on).
Lithuanian robotic DIH assembled a team consisting of experts of Factobotics, Panevezys Mechatronics Centre and FTMC – Center For Physical Sciences and Technology. The first prototype was developed together. Later on an application was made and the consortium have done demonstration of the technology through the Beincpps. This project is now coming to an end – and the commercialization is to be started. The solution will not only be useful to Lietwood but should be an industry standard.
Factobotics is a Lithuanian robotic company that is specialized in turning client needs into standard robot solutions – looking at the cases from a business point of view and developing a technology solution, that makes sense from a user and market perspective. Factobotics as well does digital/robotic audits and helps companies to plan up their robotic/digital investments to support the companies long termed goals – aiming at that the technology are tools to reach their goals.
Panevezys Mechatronics Centre is a Lithuanian Non-profit institution with its own lab facilities, that involves itself in research and practical applying of robotic solutions for the industries. Specialized in electronics, electrical, automation, mechanics, mechatronics, programming, micro/nanotechnology. At the centre they carry out research with specialized micro/nano-technological equipment.
FTMC is the largest scientific research institution carrying out a unique fundamental research and technological development works in scientific fields of laser technologies, optoelectronics, nuclear physics, organic chemistry, bio and nanotechnologies, electrochemical material science, functional materials, electronics, etc. in Lithuania. In the Center not only the innovative science but also high technologies expedient for business and society needs are developed.
Overhead Robot for company Devold (Lithuania/Norway)
For more than 160 years, Devold has developed wool products with unbeatable comfort, quality and protection. The main production facilities are located in Lithuania and the company realized they needed a digital/automation audit with focus on internal logistics. They spend too much resources on internal transport and registration.
The outcome of the digital audit provided by the company Factobotics, was pinpointing the sewing area as the place to automate the internal transport, but also highlighting that there was no space (too many restrictions to do transporting on the floor) – and a solution in the air should be thought of.
Devold also realized, that they would not be the only company with this need – and at once decided they themselves wanted to be part of a consortium to develop this new solution. Lithuanian robotic DIH assembled a team consisting of experts in Factobotics, Panevezys Mechatronics Centre and they together with Devold have developed the idea for the new solution. The idea was presented for the first time at a local Economic Forum in the city of Panevezys. An early mock-up has been made, now the real development and construction can begin. The consortium has been approved for funding through the local Lithuanian program Intelektas. The aim is to make the first version for Devold, later to sell the product for other similar companies, that has many working places and no floor space for robots to drive around.
Factobotics is a Lithuanian robotic company that is specialized in turning client needs into standard robot solutions – looking at the cases from a business point of view and developing a technology solution, that makes sense from a user and market perspective. Factobotics as well does digital/robotic audits and helps companies to plan up their robotic/digital investments to support the companies long termed goals – aiming at that the technology are tools to reach their goals.
Panevezys Mechatronics Centre is a Lithuanian Non-profit institution with its own lab facilities, that involves itself in research and practical applying of robotic solutions for the industries. Specialized in electronics, electrical, automation, mechanics, mechatronics, programming, micro/nanotechnology. At the centre they carry out research with specialized micro/nano-technological equipment.