Case Study: RCM Industries boosts CNC throughput with Universal Robots cobots

Universal Robots Fleet Gives Die Caster RCM Industries a Global Competitive Advantage While Keeping Jobs in the U.S.

RCM Industries, a Chicago die-casting manufacturer, needed to cut costs and boost efficiency to stay competitive on an outsourced consumer plumbing project that might otherwise have moved to Mexico. With high-precision CNC tending requirements and pressure to preserve U.S. jobs, the company looked to Universal Robots for a flexible automation solution using UR10e collaborative robots.

Universal Robots implemented two UR10e cobots in dual-spindle CNC cells, using force-torque sensing and UR+ grippers to load, self-align, and unload parts with minimal operator intervention. The result was a 15% increase in throughput, reduced manual labor needs, safer and easier cell access, and a return on investment in just under a year, while also enabling workers to move to higher-value tasks.

RCM Industries

Rob Marconi

Director of Engineering and Technology