CALUMET ELECTRONICS: Technology Adoption Improves Quality & Reduces Risk
Working with MMTC and MGA has been a great experience. They have helped empower Calumet Electronics to resolve a major issue and advance the efforts to further automate production.
-- Scott Chapoton, Automation Engineer.
Calumet Electronics (www.calumetelectronics.com) was founded in 1968 in the heart of Copper Country, following closure of the last copper mines in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. The owners began with a mission to create good jobs and opportunities for growth in the manufacturing industry. Located in Calumet, Mich., the company employs 280 highly skilled engineers, technicians, and operators who design and fabricate high-performance printed circuit boards. The company provides customized solutions in North America with a strong focus on the aerospace, medical, defense and industrial sectors.
Challenge
The manual loading production processes at Calumet could result in quality issues requiring manual manipulation and movement of materials. This created opportunities for contaminants to be introduced and damage to occur. Calumet was interested in acquiring technology to reduce both human errors and environmental contaminants. This technological adoption would also allow for increased production speed, higher quality products with shorter lead times, and reduced risk in terms of production yields.
Solution
Michigan Manufacturing Technology Center’s (MMTC) team conducted an Industry 4.0 Technology Opportunity Assessment. This assessment provided several recommendations, including implementing robots to complete defined and repetitive tasks, which would significantly reduce scrap rates on highly sensitive printed circuit boards. Using this recommendation, Calumet applied for a Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Industry 4.0 Technology Implementation Grant. With help from the Manufacturing Growth Alliance (MGA), the company received $25,000 in matching funds to support the purchase of an articulating arm, industrial robot. “Since deploying the robot loader, we haven’t experienced a single double-up. This has freed us to focus on other critical tasks instead of constantly monitoring the loader. The robot is the single best quality of life improvement I’ve seen in my six years at Calumet,” said Levi Brule, Senior Lamination Operator.
Results
- Investment: $60,000 for the robot ($35,000 company/ $25,000 MEDC grant)
- Cost Savings: $85,000 in total project costs by designing, procuring, building, programming, and deploying the system within Calumet Electronics
- Reduced downtime by 5,830% compared to previous production method; only six stoppages in 217,000 cycles
- Reduced scrap costs by $10,215 in the first thirty-five weeks of production