MillPart can extend production time by 7 hours a day with Global AGV
 

MillPart supplies hydraulic components to companies all over the world – and they have one of Denmark's most modern machine parks. For MillPart, quality is crucial and compromise is not an option. The company therefore also has a strong focus on exploit-ing the many possibilities of automation – in their production processes, and also to improve the working environment. When they recently invested in a new robot cell, they seized the opportunity to also use Global AGV to automate the many heavy pallet transfers to and from these robot cells.

With Global AGV, MillPart can

• Extend production time by 6-7 hours and thereby add an extra shift without any need for additional staff.
• Maintain stable production without fluctuations due to a lack of raw material.
• Safeguard the working environment as employees no longer need to move heavy metal blocks around on a pallet stacker.

Fewer bottlenecks and one extra shift per day
Production line bottlenecks and stoppages are both expensive and unsustainable. At MillPart, they had the recurring challenge of many irregularities in their robot cells because they ran out of raw material. 

The AGV has resolved this challenge.

The Global AGV’s implementation means that today they have more stable production and can run one extra shift per day with-out extra staff. 

The need for stable and steady production was of great importance for the AGV investment. 

‘We wanted to minimise fluctuations due to high activity and staff shortages. With Global AGV, we can maintain a smooth pro-duction flow. Before, an operator had to move the pallets manually. Therefore, we often had stoppages on the line because it had run out of raw material – and it did not run again until an employee discovered the stoppage. With the AGV, we can “feed up” and make sure there is raw material for well over 24 hours,’ says Tom Nørsten, Production Manager at MillPart.

Specifically, this means that they can keep the production line running for 6-7 hours longer than their normal working hours – and making full use of the machines has naturally increased production capacity.  

Global AGV feeds the robot cell with raw material, transports finished components to the warehouse and delivers empty pallets for palletising. Automation of this process ensures a stable production flow.

Seamless installation in just three days
For MillPart, it was important to have a reliable solution that had been successfully implemented in other companies. According to Tom Nørsten, Production Manager at MillPart, the installation went completely painlessly. 

‘It’s all just worked.’

That’s it. But we still got Tom to add a few more words: 
‘I’m pleasantly surprised by how quickly and smoothly the AGV was implemented. Once everything was ready from our side, it took just three days. It then ran non-stop for 24 hours – and has basically run without problems ever since. It’s also great that it’s a tried and tested solution, so we didn’t serve as guinea pigs.’

Protects employees from heavy lifting
Another – just important – reason to implement an AGV is the working environment. The AGV now handles what used to be an arduous task for the work teams. Today, Global AGV handles the task of moving the heavy metal blocks around the production hall – previously a manual task for the operators, using a pallet stacker. 

‘When the technology exists, it makes no sense for our employees to wear themselves out with moving the heavy blocks. It’s also highly motivating for both us and our employees to invest in new technology that can make the work run more smoothly,’ says Tom Nørsten.