Client
Zantech
Location
Oss
Specialisation
Specialised in sheet metal working
Employees
11-5
Zantech innovates and eases welders work thanks to UR10e cobot.
Zantech is a family-owned company founded in 1985. The company is a supplier to the metal industry and specializes in laser cutting. They now serve more than 1,000 active customers and employ 30 people at Zantech. They have a machinery area of no less than 13,500 m2.
Zantech likes to invest in quality and efficiency and got in touch with WeCobot at the Metavak trade fair. WeCobot provides welding cobot systems and use the cobots of Universal Robots. For Zantech to reinforce their welding team, they had a look at the Universal Robots UR10e-cobot.
The business transformation
Zantech used to own a welding robot, but it was not perceived as user-friendly by the employees. The person that programmed the welding robot was not the person who would eventually operate it. As a result, there was a bit of practical experience missing, and it must be possible to change that! A collaborative robot can easily be programmed by the person working with it, which makes it a lot more user-friendly. This should increase the pleasure of welding among welders and make their work easier. In addition, the cobot should also be flexible and ensure more consistent welding quality.
Our experience with the cobot is very good. It is easy to use."
How they did it
After the contact at the trade fair, WeCobot visited Zantech in Oss, the Netherlands, to give a workshop. During the workshop, the welders get the chance to try the cobot for themselves and give their input. This got the Zantech employees excited about their newest "colleague" and generated support. It was emphasized that the cobot will help them alleviate repetitive tasks and is definitely not meant to replace an employee.
We use the cobot frequently and all our employees are very enthusiastic. And the work that’s being done by the cobot also looks fantastic."
After the successful workshop, Zantech decided it wanted to make use of a UR10e cobot. The cobot was delivered quickly and implementing went very well, with the company's most used feature being the Weave Weld Feature. After one day of training, employees were able to use it independently. "That was the deciding factor," said Bart van der Zande, CEO and owner of Zantech.
The cobot has now been in place for more than six months and everyone is still very happy. Dion, cobot operator at Zantech, says, "Our experience with the cobot is very good. It is easy to use and the advantage of welding with the cobot is that you can take a step back yourself. This way you’re no longer standing with your face above the smoke and radiation caused by welding. And that eases the work of a welder." Bart also praises it: "We use the cobot frequently and all our employees are very enthusiastic. And the work that’s being done by the cobot also looks fantastic.”
