CONTROL & AUTOMATION
INDUSTRIAL ROBOTICS
FANUC
MOULDING SUCCESS INTO UK MANUFACTURING
The adoption of
industrial robotics in UK
manufacturing is still
seen as divisive among
industry. While it is widely
accepted that technology has
an important role to play, there are still
a number of UK manufacturers yet to fully
take advantage of the latest innovations.
Some argue that adoption of industrial
robots can lead to people being replaced,
but one UK manufacturer, Advanced
Plastics, is proving that this is not the case.
With staff growth reaching an impressive
83% in five years, Advanced Plastics
continues to develop thanks to continued
investment in both technology and skills in
recent years. This use of technology has now
seen the award-winning injection moulding
manufacturer become a success story for
UK manufacturing, and establish itself as a
supplier to a number of OEM and tier one
companies across the HVAC and automotive
sectors.
NEW TECHNOLOGY
With more than 200 people now working
at Advanced Plastics, the technical
injection moulding manufacturer utilises
a combination of the latest technology
and extensive experience of its engineers
to provide robust solutions for client
requirements. Moulding a diverse range
of products, from gas boiler front panels,
to automotive interior, exterior and air
filtration components, Advanced Plastics
has built up a healthy list of blue-chip
clients over the years as it looks to continue
its impressive growth.
One of the reasons for this success is the
company’s adoption of the latest industrial
technology, including automated systems
and industrial robots. The investment has
allowed them to grow at a pace that may
surprise many onlookers, as the automated
processes in place ensure a high demand of
technically-challenging orders are delivered
on time.
Edwin Darling, Process Manager at
Advanced Plastics, explains: “Our moulding
machines produce the parts, but we
now use robots to tend the machines on
a constant basis, with consistent cycle
times and dependable overall equipment
effectiveness (OEE). All of our injection
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moulding machines have a robot, which is
situated inside a cell and performs various
applications, many with vision systems to
provide 100% automated verification.”
82% of the robots used by Advanced
Plastics are produced by FANUC. Due to the
variety of orders that the company receives,
it requires a multitude of different robotic
technologies to be able to commit and
complete the desired components on time.
As a result, Advanced Plastics has purchased
and utilised a number of different systems
from FANUC, including the M-10iA,
M-20iC, M-6iB and R-2000 series, as well as
ROBOSHOT injection moulding machines.
One of the benefits of FANUC’s R-2000
robots is their ability to work with pre-
existing automation equipment. At
Advanced Plastics, two R-2000 robots work
with a moulding machine and deliver the
parts to another piece of equipment that
help place foam gaskets around plastic
components, such as boiler covers. The
R-2000 series features high performance
capabilities and is perfect for applications
involving high payloads. Its compact design
makes it an ideal solution for Advanced
Plastics, to ensure compact and efficient cell
designs.
TRAINING AND UPSKILLING
One of the benefits of utilising FANUC
technology is the training service
the company provides both at its UK
headquarters in Coventry and on-site.
Four of the Advanced Plastics team learnt
how to service the robots and provide the
maintenance themselves, allowing the
engineers the opportunity to enhance their
skillset and ensuring Advanced Plastics
has the tools to become even more self-
sufficient as a business.