Industrial Cobot Deployment: A UK Manufacturer's Journey

A precision engineering firm in the West Midlands deployed three Universal Robots UR5e cobots through roboTED RaaS over 12 months. The results: 28% increase in production throughput, zero workplace injuries on automated tasks, and a complete shift in how the company approaches manufacturing automation.

Company Background

The company manufactures precision metal components for the aerospace and automotive supply chains. With 45 employees and three CNC machining centres, they were running two shifts to meet growing demand. Recruitment for CNC machine operators was proving difficult, and repetitive loading and unloading tasks were causing repetitive strain injuries among existing staff. The management team had considered buying a cobot but were deterred by the £40,000+ upfront investment and the risk of getting the specification wrong.

Phase 1: The Pilot (Months 1-3)

The company started with a single UR5e on a 3-month RaaS subscription at £1,200/month, deployed on their busiest CNC machine for part loading and unloading. A roboTED engineer set up the cobot, programmed the initial pick-and-place routine, and trained two operators in a single day. Within the first week, the CNC machine's utilisation rate increased from 65% to 88% because the cobot loaded parts consistently without breaks, reducing idle time between cycles.

Phase 2: Scaling Up (Months 4-8)

Seeing clear results, the company added a second UR5e for their second CNC machine and a third for a repetitive quality inspection task that involved holding parts under a measurement system. The inspection cobot improved measurement consistency significantly, reducing the scrap rate from 4.2% to 1.8%. All three cobots were on RaaS at a combined monthly cost of £3,600.

Phase 3: Optimisation (Months 9-12)

With three cobots running, the team began optimising. They extended the first cobot to handle two CNC machines from a single position by adding a rail system. They reprogrammed the inspection cobot for a new product line in under two hours. And they started running the cobots during a skeleton overnight shift, effectively creating a partial third shift without additional labour costs.

Results After 12 Months

Staff Impact

No staff were made redundant. The operators who previously loaded CNC machines were redeployed to programming, quality assurance, and process improvement roles. Two operators completed cobot programming courses and now manage the robot fleet internally. Staff satisfaction surveys showed improvement, with employees citing reduced physical strain and more interesting work as key factors.

What They Would Do Differently

• Start with RaaS from day one rather than spending months evaluating a purchase
• Deploy on the highest-volume machine first for maximum immediate impact
• Invest in operator training earlier so the team becomes self-sufficient faster
• Consider multi-machine tending from a single cobot position from the start