Jyske Vink Plast is growing steadily through automation

Vink Plast is a busy company. And fortunately, this Jutland-based plastics manufacturer has been that way for a long time. When they invested in a new robot nearly seven years ago, the initial plan was to purchase a 3-axis machining center with a rotary table, and the goal of the cell was to relieve the load on the other CNC machines and machining centers in production, thereby reducing lead times. It worked, and the company continues to grow.

At the time, we ended up choosing a Fanuc Robodrill, which is a high-speed CNC machine with a relatively large working area and an interface that allows you to operate a robot on the machine. This made it a natural choice to also select a Fanuc robot to operate the machine, and the solution was developed through a collaboration between Fanuc and Gibotech.

- We were really busy, so when it came to choosing a robot supplier, it was a top priority that the two suppliers be able to coordinate and collaborate on the project themselves.

Christian Ulberg, Production Technician at Vink Plast.

The robot is an M710iC 50 kg robot with a long reach, and the entire system, including the CNC machine, was designed for fully automated handling of raw parts from pallets, as well as for blow-off, extraction, and part alignment. Finally, the robot was to be used for handling parts to and from the CNC machine, as well as for palletizing the finished parts onto pallets.

The goal of reducing delivery times was achieved, and this, combined with high-quality workmanship, has led to an increase in orders.

I have had good experiences with automation

Vink Plast has had a number of positive experiences with both CNC machines and robots, and this is reflected in both its financial performance and employee satisfaction.

- We can see the impact of automation not only on the bottom line, where we’ve seen solid growth, but our employees have also really embraced the robots. They quickly realized that the robots have given them even more colleagues—not fewer, as some might have been a bit nervous about at first. At the same time, the robots have also freed up some time, so employees can focus on other, more exciting tasks than, for example, feeding a CNC machine with workpieces, concludes Christian Ulberg.