The Transformation Issue | Idealog.co.nz
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Smart Kiwi companies are deploying
robots to gain manufacturing efficiencies
and stay competitive – but these ‘cobots’
are there to work alongside employees
rather than replace them.E
lectronics manufacturer Nautech is
celebrating 30 years in business this year, but
longevity hasn’t made the company complacent.
To maintain its edge in the face of
aggressive pricing and vast production
capacity from its rivals, Nautech has had to
adapt and innovate, and robotics has played
an important role.
Nautech’s use of robotics stretches back to 2002 and
these days it has a series of ‘cobots’ working alongside 72
staff at its East Tamaki manufacturing centre.
“Nautech is now highly automated,” says co-founder
and managing director Andrew Turner, who started the
business in 1989 with his wife Alison. “It has allowed us to
be more efficient, to the point that we now compete with
manufacturing in China.”Ready to assemble
Turner says the use of the UR3 collaborative table-top
robot from Danish company Universal Robotics has been
a game-changer in its assembly line.
Nautech’s manufacturing centre employs everything
from 3D printers to laser markers to get the job done. There
are soldering robots and glue dispensing robots and two
UR3s in action, each of which can carry a three-kilogram
payload and rotate 360 degrees.
To accelerate its robotics programme and identify
new opportunities, Nautech used a Callaghan Innovation-
sponsored Student Grant to access specialist skills.
“The student internship gave us access to a
dedicated robotic engineer which really helped speed up
implementing new projects,” says Turner.
The former intern is now a full-time engineer with
Nautech, which these days employs less assembly staff but
more technicians and engineers.
“We use robots for soldering, gluing, conformal
coating, inserting, screwing and wire making, pretty much
anywhere we can,” says Turner.ABOVE: Wire work
‘Rosie the Robot’ is
currently tasked with
making 10,000 little
wires via a repetitive,
fully automated
seven-step process.LEFT: Boredom
killer Nautech’s
‘Robert the Robot’
can now build
four different
products and saves
employees from
the monotonous,
RSI-inducing task of
inserting thousands
of screws.HERE COME
THE COBOTS
E
You’d expect that to fill Nautech’s manufacturing
workers with dread and, initially, Turner admits there was
nervousness among staff about robots taking on some of
their jobs.
“Now they appreciate the robots,” he says. “They do
the mundane jobs and the level of skill in our workforce is
increasing. Who wants to insert 20,000 small screws into
one product, every month?”Boredom killer
Callaghan Innovation’s Phil Anderson, business innovation
advisor for manufacturing and niche, says the initial
resistance to robots often disappears when employees
realise the ‘cobots’ complement the human workforce and
can be used to reduce monotonous or risky tasks.
“People pretty quickly see that robots can actually
make work safer and more interesting for them. These
robots have been designed to work alongside employees
and they can reduce repetitive strain and accidental
injuries by automating dirty, dull or dangerous tasks.”
Turner estimates the return on investment (ROI)
period for a UR3 at 12 months but says it would be moreCallaghan I nnovation
Student Grants
Do you want to increase your
business’ R&D capability, or
are you a student wanting
to develop your technical
skills in a commercial R&D
environment? Callaghan
Innovation’s range of Student
Grants are designed to
give skilled students and
recent graduates new R&D
experiences in businesses.
R&D Experience Grants
for summer internships
are each valued at $8,460
+GST and applications close
at the end August 2019.
For more information visit:
callaghaninnovation.govt.nz/
grants/student-grants