Jun 22, 2023
Factory Automation + Robots w/ Brett Dooley of Bosch Rexroth
BRT S04 EP24 (187) 6-18-2023
What We Learned This Week
- Rexroth does factory automation, assembly lines, and robotic manufacturing – they setup the whole process + software
- Factories in recent years have gone more and more to automation and robotics. The idea being zero people on the factory floor or ‘lights out’.
- There are also transport robots, AI or autonomous robot transports. They deliver goods and parts around the factory floor.
· Brad Dooley has a background as an engineer (post career in the Navy) he is the only Rexroth employee in Arizona. His job is to create business relationships with EV, battery and chip industries.
· Factory Automation - The planning cycle could be several years. These big factories could be making millions of parts for example - spark plugs in the auto industry.
· Modern factories are a collaborative workspace, people in machines in the same space in a safe manner.
Guest: Brett Dooley - Senior Technical Sales Engineer, Bosch Rexroth
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dooleybrett/
Brett Dooley is a mechanical engineer at Bosch-Rexroth. He collaborates with business owners as well as engineers to develop targeted solutions for motion control and automation challenges. Brett uses his wide experience in business development, industrial repair, and a decade as an electronics tech in the US Navy submarine force to ensure delivery of an effective and robust automation system.
Bosch Rexroth
https://www.boschrexroth.com/en/us
YOUR PARTNER FOR THE NEXT GENERATION OF MOBILE MACHINES
Whether driving or working, hydraulic, hybrid or fully electric, Bosch Rexroth offers highly efficient, low noise and powerful electric motors, generators, inverters and hydraulics combined with modular software modules.
2017 - Today: Bosch Rexroth drives the digital transformation of the Factory of the Future, exceeds the limits with Connected Hydraulics and sets the stage for Transforming Mobile Machines. All products and solutions contribute to a more sustainable development of machines, manufacturing and daily life.
2001 – 2016: Move to one brand for software driven and interconnectible Drive & Control solutions
The merger of Mannesmann Rexroth with Bosch Automationstechnik establishes a global leader for Drive & Control solutions. They reach new levels of seamless integration of all relevant technologies for improved energy efficiency and safety.
The origin of Bosch Rexroth's long history is influenced by
constant movement. It all started with a water-powered hammer mill,
followed by an iron foundry in Lohr am Main. Bosch Rexroth’s unique
industry
expertise has become synonymous with tailored
solutions.
1795 – 1964:
Move from iron foundry to hydraulic
solutions
From forging iron out of ore to a foundry for cast iron, Rexroth entered the hydraulics market in the 1950s and laid the foundation to become a global market leader.
Notes:
Bosch and Rexroth each have company histories from late 1700s, 200+ years old dates back to the steel and iron industries. Both or German companies, businesses worldwide with factories in US and Europe.
Bosch has a background in auto manufacturing of parts. Rex Roth deals in machinery automation factories.
Brad Dooley has a background as an engineer he is the only Rexroth employee in Arizona. His job is to create business relationships with EV, battery and chip industries.
Since he has a background in engineering he understands the tech and manufacturing.
Seg 2
Factories in recent years have gone more and more to automation and robotics. The idea being zero people on the factory floor or ‘lights out’. Regardless of whether people are working in the factory there’s always people monitoring and maintaining the factory. Cameras are used also to monitor. Factory size could be similar to a QT gas station or as massive as an airport terminal.
Rexroth automation is involved in Bosch auto parts, fast moving consumer goods, and even medical equipment. Factories on an automation line could have hundreds of robot arms putting together equipment.
There are also transport robots, AI or autonomous robot transports. They deliver goods and parts around the factory floor. Multi million dollar cost to build this automation set up in a factory, could be 100,000,000+ for bigger factories.
The planning cycle could be several years. These big factories could be making millions of parts for example - spark plugs in the auto industry.
The smaller size factory, like the QT building is a subset of factory design. Doing less volume for higher priced goods like medical devices. They could be producing hundreds to thousands. Examples could be an x-ray machine, table top analysis type health machine for blood analysis or bigger machines like an MRI machine.
Seg 3
Brett’s background is an engineer, who also served 11 years in the Navy. He was working on submarines and monitoring nuclear reactors. He had to wear a disseminator jacket which monitors for radiation with a meter. In 2008, he got out of the Navy, went to school at ASU for mechanical engineering.
After ASU, got a job with automation components distributor in Arizona. He has an electronics background and then in 2021, he got the job with Bosch Rex Roth as Arizona’s sole employee.
Bosch Rexroth already has a market share in Detroit Michigan in the auto industry. Their automation of manufacturing is considered industry standard with a long track record. Brett is working in Arizona to build awareness for box Bosch Rexroth. Create contacts in the battery in the EV manufacturing area. Get them as potential clients.
Bosch spends 6% of their budget on R&D. Not a lot of money is spent on marketing. A lot of the business is word of mouth marketing.
Bosch specialty is in solving manufacturing problems and helping build factory automation from end to end. They know the factory set up and have a proven system. Combo of experience and resources which they can prove out the ROI of automation.
Seg 4
Cost component, efficiency and precision in manufacturing. Many of these jobs are very repetitive and boring and people do not even want to do them. People are good at making decisions and designing processes.
Computers are good at repetitive tasks, do not get tired so it’s good to automate these systems.
Rexroth has software told tools to do the layout and floor plan of a factory. Determine the best use of the actual building. And example of this would be planning traffic within the system or conveyor lines and systems. They can run simulations of how the factory work up to one year and down to one hour.
Companies investing in this process have business case risk. Can the business sell enough products to make the factory plan work?
Automation needs to be very accurate so that the conveyors can either move fast or slow depending on needs. There are lots of safety precautions to keep people out of the way and make the assembly line fast.
Modern factories are a collaborative workspace, people in machines in the same space in a safe manner. There are laser sensors and cameras to help with safety.
Rexroth is not in the vision business that is outsourced. There are other companies that make specialty LiDAR cameras.
There will always be people involved in automation systems at some level. Could be in the design part, overseeing the factory or programming. Overall automation is actually a net win for people. You invest a lot upfront, but have lower costs and more safety over the long term.
Example of dangerous work is forklift traffic. One mistake could actually be fatal.
AMR or or autonomous mobile robots are intelligent machines that read traffic in a factory can map out a route. They can also reroute if necessary depending on what’s going on.Hard to capture the safety cost and ROI of having automation.
Seg 1
Flashback AZ Tech Clip w/ Eric Miller of PADT
3D Printing & the AZ Tech Industry - BRT S02 EP25 (72) 6-20-2021
Eric discusses the 3D printing process
Things We Learned This Week
- 3D Printing tech affects many industries – healthcare, robotics, Aerospace, design
- Aerospace – 3D printing for rockets for moon & mars exploration
- AZ Tech was an Aerospace & Semiconductor hub for years, now growing into to many more tech industries, History dates back to WWII
- Moore’s Law – cost of 3D machines are down, cheaper to use 3D, & growing
- PADT has many Patents, plus also does Angel Investing to grow AZ Tech community
Full Show: HERE
Tech Topic: https://brt-show.libsyn.com/category/Tech
More - BRT Best of Tech:
BRT S02 EP52 (99) 12-26-2021 – Tech for the Holidays – BRT
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