Case Study: Yokota Corporation achieves 20% production increase with Universal Robots UR5 cobot

UR Cobots Deliver Cost Reduction and Stable Production While Freeing Up Workers for More Important Jobs

Yokota Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of bearing races, FA equipment, assembly and inspection machines, and machine tools, faced a labor shortage as orders increased and it became difficult to staff a new CNC lathe. The company initially tried part-time workers and internal transfers, but those measures were only temporary, and conventional industrial robots were rejected because of the space needed for safety guarding.

Universal Robots implemented a UR5 collaborative robot to tend the CNC machine, chosen for its compact size, safety features, and easy programming. With support from local distributor Minato Sangyo, Yokota achieved stable 24-hour operation, reduced labor costs by the equivalent of two workers, and increased production by 20% without adding headcount; the company also plans to expand automation further.

Yokota Corporation

Hideyuki Kawamura

Chief Examiner