Founded in 1928, Thorn Lighting have been a trusted supplier of both outdoor and indoor luminaires and integrated controls across the globe.
Thorn Lighting first partnered with Abbey Industrial Solutions over 10 years ago and the latest project is to implement innovative cobot (collaborative robot) solutions to overcome manual processes and implement quality control in production.
The legacy process for installing screws on Thorn Lighting’s products was labour-intensive. It relied on an operator manually installing screws repeatedly throughout the day, lacking data collection and error proofing, with no method to detect if screws were missed or at the wrong torque.
To remove human error and inconsistencies in the production line, Thorn Lighting wanted to implement an automated, reliable, and quality-controlled solution. Through innovation roadshows, Thorn Lighting became aware of Abbey’s cobot solutions which seemed the right fit for their production objectives.
The Abbey team conducted numerous feasibility studies, approvals and iterations to ensure the cobot complied with all safety regulations and standards. The result was a cobot solution that not only automates the manual process of screw-driving on Thorn Lighting’s products, but also provides:
The cobot eliminates the risk of missed screws and human errors, ensuring a consistently high-quality output. The system is designed to detect any issues and alert a human operative to resolve.
The cobot can operate 24/7 with no downtime. This allows for increased production throughput and enables the previous human operator to focus on more important and skilled tasks.
The cobot system provides full traceability, recording data on every screw installed. This allows Thorn Lighting to pinpoint any issues and trace all the way back to the source if problems arise with the final product.
The cobot can be reprogrammed to perform different functions if needed, making it adaptable to future changes in Thorn Lighting’s production requirements, without the need to retrain operators or invest in additional assets.
The cobot has an expected 10 year lifespan and pays for itself within 18 months of use. After that, it is expected to save Thorn Lighting £10,000 annually. The cobot also operates 24/7, which reduces labour costs by £25,000 per year, and has a takt time of 41 seconds.
Abbey’s commitment to Thorn Lighting didn’t end with installing the cobot solution. As part of the comprehensive aftercare, Abbey provides on-site training for operators and management, ensuring seamless integration of the new technology into Thorn Lighting’s production line.
This continued customer support and knowledge sharing has helped to solidify Abbey’s trust-based partnership with Thorn Lighting, showing we are here for all the company’s automation requirements.
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