Electronics production contractor Nistec has begun using robots on its assembly lines. The robots automate processes at the plant in order to streamline work and boost output. A number of robots are already operating in different departments at the plant and in view of the project’s success, the company intends to invest about NIS 3 million in additional systems that will be installed on the shop floor of the company’s plants. The company says that these abilities will enable production processes at the plant to be smarter and more efficient and will boost output on the current personnel base while achieving about 15% streamlining. Nistec is the largest electronics production contractor in Israel, with around 900 employees at four plants in Petah Tikva, Maalot-Tarshiha, and Katzrin.

The project at Nistec was undertaken after year-long thorough research on current solutions around the world. The project included trials with a range of automated systems at the company’s electronics plant in Petah Tikva in order to test their operations and economic feasibility. Nistec ultimately chose the OB7 model robotic system made by  Productive Robotics (US), which was installed on the company’s assembly line. The robot learns the location of the parts without programming, so any team member can teach it without the need for a programmer. The robots has seven axes, compared with six for most robots, which gives it greater flexibility and does not require positioning it at a special location or angle. Moreover, in contrast to a human arm, the robot can turn 360 degrees in both directions, enabling it to work inside a small work chamber and places where six-axis robots cannot, for example in machinery loaders.

“Given that Israeli production is ‘Low Volume High Mix’, we had to select a solution in which  a robot has a range of precision operation options and with fast and easy properties,” said Mati Dvash, the plant automation manager. “The Productive Robotics robot meets these requirements and we are examining installing it in other stations on the production floor.”