Case Study: PrecisionForm extends equipment lifespan and boosts productivity with Universal Robots' ActiNav

Actinav Boosts Competitiveness, Empowers Workers and Extends Lifespan of Legacy Equipment at Precisionform

PrecisionForm, a U.S.-based market leader in small custom metal parts, needed a better way to automate picking parts from deep bins and loading them into CNC machines. The company struggled with part presentation, low-volume changeovers, and repetitive manual work that tied up skilled operators. Vendor Universal Robots, using its ActiNav system, was brought in to solve the bin-picking and machine-loading challenge.

Universal Robots deployed an additional UR5 cobot with ActiNav, which quickly picked parts directly from bins and fed them into CNC processes with minimal setup. PrecisionForm reported the system was set up in about a day and helped operators run three or four machines at once, improved labor flexibility, and reduced repetitive work. The solution also helped recapture as much as 15% to 20% of daily production lost to manual inspection downtime and may extend the life of legacy equipment by up to ten years.

PrecisionForm

Alex Corckran

President and CEO