The collaborative robot market is forecast to grow dramatically between now and 2030. Andrew Quayle, founder and managing director of Cobot, was determined to develop a turnkey, Australian made robotic palletiser for the local market. He speaks to Kim Berry.
In Carrum Downs, Victoria, on the outskirts of southeast Melbourne, Cobot founder and managing director, Andrew Quayle is leading a team of 10 engineers to support local businesses with the latest in robotic palletisation and automation solutions.
“The prevalence of staff shortages, rising labour costs, and RSI issues within the food manufacturing sector, drove us to develop a robust and reliable solution.
“Food and beverage manufacturers produce a multitude of different products in a range of formats.
“Shelf ready boxes and smaller boxes are more common now, which can exacerbate or create a range of issues for a business including RSI and staffing availability.
“It is getting more and more difficult to get good staff to do these repetitive and boring tasks,” Quayle says.
The result is greater industry interest and uptake of robotics and high-level machines.
Embracing the pace
The company’s mobile Cobot Palletiser, installed as a complete turnkey system, is designed and built in Australia by local engineers. Quayle says the team is proud of its Australian Made classification.
Australia can’t be reliant on importing anymore, those days are over, and for good quality machinery the answer is in our own backyard. You need a team you can trust and work with, especially when times are tough.
“Our Cobot Palletiser is equipped with a Jaka or Fanuc Cobot. It is safe, reliable, has a tiny footprint and is on wheels. It’s an absolute game-changer for local food manufacturers. Our standard Cobot Palletiser starts at $149,600 plus GST installed turnkey,” he explains.
Quayle is fixated on Cobot engineering the best possible product at the best price so that its customers can benefit from the latest technology.
“The technology is changing fast, and we are not here just to watch it happen, we are embracing it. We were getting frustrated that this awesome new cobot technology just wasn’t available to small and medium sized manufacturers.
“We realised we have to make our systems into products that can scale and that gets the price down. We have made so many of these palletisers over the last few years, and with volume comes experience,” he says.
‘Under the hood’
Brownes Dairy in Perth, Western Australia, installed two Cobot collaborative robot palletisers in its Perth Factory.
Brownes Dairy’s Engineering GM, Matt Crane, says the company was benefiting from Cobot’s “well thought through” complete solution that had an “excellent return on investment”.
We are really impressed with the quality and reliability of the installation; the team delivered a well-engineered solution,” Crane says.
The installations for Brownes are turnkey and supported with remote monitoring.
“Our team watch the palletiser on a 4K (ultra-high definition) camera that is installed with the system, and make any modifications or upgrades over time, via 4G or Wi-Fi access.
“This is all included with the price. Remote monitoring is a key feature included in our standard Cobot palletising package and also included in our customised solutions. Our experienced engineers provide ongoing support for your system, including optimisation as required.”
This means that for customers, the palletiser becomes part of their Industry 4.0 plans, playing a vital role as they adopt more adaptable and connected systems.
Versatile solution
The palletiser is also a versatile solution as it can be moved easily into position and connected to compressed air and 240V power.
“Subject to risk assessment by our team, it doesn't require any safety fencing. We can utilise Sick safety scanners or fencing and light curtains.
“We conduct a risk assessment and engineer a safety system to meet Australian Standards and regulations.” he says.
Its versatility extends to giving the operator more choice, whether it is handling different SKUs or freeing up employees from physically demanding or repetitive work.
The current lead time on a standard Cobot Palletiser is under 10 weeks, something the engineering development team is aggressively working on to reduce.
“The goal is to get the lead time down to a handful of weeks, delivered and installed turnkey onsite. We have an installation team that go to the customers site and manage the install over a day or two, depending on the complexity.
“Our controls engineer typically monitor the system for a day or two and ensures it is all running smoothly. The customer is then trained before final handover,” he says.
Time to connect
Quayle encourages those curious about how the palletiser could work in their operations to get in touch.
“We can give you a budget cost and concept very easily, or with specifications and some more details, we will provide a fixed quote proposal.
“If a site visit is easier, one of the team will visit and look over the application and discuss options with you,” he says.
The Cobot team travel throughout Australia and New Zealand, with some installations even located in remote communities. Quayle regularly visits Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, and Adelaide, and heads over to New Zealand, Perth, and Hobart a couple of times a year.
“We love meeting with customers on their site and understanding their company culture and products,” he says.
Cobot also has a Unique Solutions Division that designs and manufactures solutions for many different applications including bakery tray handling, gluing, carton forming, case packing and more unique requirements.
“We have a really smart team here at Cobot and we embrace the opportunity to solve customers problems. All of our solutions are turnkey and include remote monitoring and support.
“We are really proud of our Cobot team and the guys love talking to our customers and developing their solutions.”
Quayle welcomes prospective customers to book a time for a Cobot site tour.
