From 5 Welders in 2 Weeks to 2 Welders in 3 Days
“With Colewell’s expertise in robotics and our experience in heavy fabrication, we hit this project out of the park.”
– Curt Chase / President & COO, North East Machine & Tool
Challenge:
North East Machine & Tool won a very large fabrication project, but with the labor market being what it is these days, it was impossible to find skilled welders. So the company needed to figure out how to execute this heavy-duty welding project using the team he already had in place.
When Curt Chase first purchased the failing Iowa machine shop in 2018, it needed capital investment–bad–but the new COO wanted to get the business back in the black before doing so. The shop already had some old robotic welding cells, but he struggled to find someone to do the necessary service and maintenance.
That is until he found Colewell Automation through his local FANUC rep and we helped get those old machines back online. NorthEast Machine & Tool had always just had the robot do what it did, without knowing how it did it or if it could do more. Thanks to Colewell’s training, the welding department can now rewrite and reprogram the robot.
After a great first experience working with us and appreciating the way we educated his team along the way, Curt knew just who to call when the new welding project came up.
But having the ability in-house to keep the cell running like it’s supposed to without calling in a programmer all the time was a major concern. And since the business was “already bleeding money,” being able to control profit margins was a must.
Solution:
Starting with a lot of questions to get a thorough understanding of the project and goals, our team at Colewell Automation developed a turnkey concept that could provide very specific cycle times for each part number.
Working closely with Curt and NE Machine’s Welding Department Lead, Jordan Bachman, we developed a specialized fixture to hold the heavy parts securely while the robots laid down the twin-wire MIG using Lincoln’s HyperFill® system.
In the early stages of using the system, the automated system for tracking the welds and ensuring a neat seam was not working as it should. But, as the welding department lead, Jordan, put it, “Colewell spent ten to twelve hours on phone calls with all the different people needed to solve this.” Then through trial and error, they were able to get the robot reprogrammed to be fully functional.
“With Colewell, they do what they say–when they say they’re going to do it. No messing around!!!!”
– Curt Chase / President & COO
To allow Curt’s team to easily run the program, troubleshoot issues, and quickly identify and fix faults–like an open safety circuit from not resetting a light curtain–without having to rely on us, we recommended that the system be designed to operate from a user-friendly HMI.
Results:
Once we installed the system and trained the welding department on how to use it, NE Machine was able to take the project from a 2-week lead time requiring 5 welders down to a 3-day turnaround with only 2 welders!
Curt and his team value having a single source for contact for their complete cell–and the fact that we pick up the phone and come over whenever needed.
Since Colewell solved the issues, morale in the shop has increased along with productivity. Much of the heavy lifting now gets done by the new robotic system, freeing up operators to take on more engaging tasks that are easier on their bodies.