No solution on the market: DAMPA finds the recipe for a new robot solution at DTI
DAMPA has searched the market in vain for a robot to automate their factory in Tommerup. In a MADE demonstration project, the Danish Technological Institute (DTI) has found the recipe for a solution.
The opera house has them. Copenhagen Airport has them. Several cruise ships on the world's oceans use them.
DAMPA's acoustic solutions for ceilings and walls are used by leading architects and designers for both buildings and ships worldwide.
They are produced at DAMPA's factory in Tommerup on Funen, where 35 employees move and manipulate large pieces by hand. The company is therefore interested in bringing in robots to both strengthen competitiveness and improve the working environment.
- Getting started with a digitisation process is a necessity for us so that we can compete with the rest of the world within acoustic solutions, says Kenneth Andersen, who is Factory Manager at DAMPA and adds:
- And then we also have a great desire to constantly improve the working environment for our employees - and robots can do that by taking over the routine, heavy, and awkward handling tasks, he emphasises.
But is it even possible to get a robot to solve the precise tasks to be performed at DAMPA? More specifically, DAMPA wishes to automate insulation insertion in acoustic cassettes.
They have searched the market and have not been able to find a solution, so they wanted to innovate a solution in a MADE demonstration project with DTI.
A sharp solution
Senior Specialist Martin Mølbach Olsen from DTI in Odense threw himself into the challenge and ultimately discovered a solution that combines a robot, a press tool, and a needle gripper, which shoots several needles at different angles into the insulation so that the gripper can hold it.
- It surprised us how quickly our problem was resolved. But we have also become aware of some robot limitations that we did not know about, says Michael Grønbech, Technical Director at DAMPA.
- So we have gained a lot of knowledge and good input on how to further develop the concept and which issues we have to take into account when we go ahead with it, he adds.
The demonstration project gave DAMPA a much better picture of what can and cannot be done with robots. And Michael Grønbech now goes around and "scans the factory" to spot processes that a robot could advantageously carry out.
About the MADE Demonstration Project
With a MADE demonstration project, a small or medium-sized company can get up to DKK 100,000 in support to solve a concrete challenge in the company or test a new technology in production.
Being linked up with DTI, FORCE Technology, the Alexandra Institute, or DAMRC, gives you access to the technologies, the knowledge, and the skills that are necessary for solving the specific challenge brought by your company.
This challenge can be within either material or production. There is a continuous application deadline for demonstration projects. MADE demonstration projects are made possible with support from the Danish Board of Business Development.