The Role of Surface Finishing Solutions in Furniture Production
- CobotKind
- Jun 23
- 3 min read
For years, automation has only been accessible to a select few companies in the furniture industry, with only larger manufacturers able to justify implementing robots. Smaller manufacturers have largely stuck with manual processes, however, there are now many options for furniture manufacturers looking to expand or improve their operations with automation.
Sanding and polishing are dull, repetitive tasks. Collaborative Robots are increasingly being used to assist wood, furniture and cabinet makers, particularly as these cobots can be moved around between machines and processes. Automated surface finishing solutions enable workers to be re-allocated to higher value, safer tasks whilst ensuring consistent product quality.
There are a range of options on the market. Robotiq offers a Sanding Kit which combines all of the hardware and software needed to automate surface finishing tasks, with quick set up and easy programming. Mirka also offers a range of electric sanders and polishers for Universal Robots.
Sanding Garden Furniture
AFK, a UK garden furniture manufacturer, faced a worker shortage while trying to keep up with increasing customer demand. To combat this, the company deployed two ceiling mounted UR10e cobots (recently renamed UR12e) to sand garden furniture. The cobots are fitted with the Mirka AIROS, a light weight sanding head that integrates directly with the Universal Robot through a URCap, a software programme that allows the user to programme the sander directly from the cobot's teach pendant.
To extend the reach of the UR10e cobots, AFK added the 7th axis slide kit from Ewellix, which also comes with a URCap for easy integration with the UR cobot. Working together, the pair of UR10e cobots was able to reduce changeover time and operator fatigue, improving quality and productivity.
Heavy-Duty Bathtub Sanding
Marlan is a solid surface manufacturer based in the Netherlands. The company is the driving force behind the product of the same name: Marlan, a mineral (ATH) filled polyester resin that is extremely resistant to all home, garden, and kitchen chemicals. This is why this material is widely used for the production of bathtubs and sinks, among other things.
One of the operations that is common in processing solid surface products is sanding. Marlan deployed a Universal Robots robotic arm and a Robotiq Sanding Kit to sand bathtubs. These are large objects that are difficult to sand manually.
Universal Robots and Robotiq were chosen due to the ease of programming and the ability to ensure consistent pressure, resulting in repeatable product quality. The collaborative robot takes the strain off of the workers, as all that is left to do is the fine finishing and checking of the product.
Polishing Loud Speakers
Paradigm Electronics, a manufacturer of high-performance loud speakers, was striving to meet demand on labour-intensive products. When Paradigm launched the “Midnight Cherry” finish on a line of new speakers, the market quickly embraced the new product made entirely in-house. The Toronto-based manufacturer now faced a challenge to make even more than anticipated of the new cabinets.
In order to keep up, Paradigm deployed a UR10 robot to automate part of the polishing process. The electronics company chose Universal Robots, as they were looking for a robot that would be able to work in the same area as a human. This allows the worker to check if the robot has done an adequate amount of work, before taking over the final polishing. The implementation increased Paradigm's throughput by 50%.
Conclusion
There are a range of benefits associated with automated surface finishing in furniture production, such as increased throughput to meet demand, improved worker safety and utilisation and consistent product quality. Where manufacturers are struggling with labour shortages or large products that are difficult to finish manually, there is an easy-to-program, quick-to-deploy solution.
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