Every workcell design starts with a documented requirements specification: product geometry, mass, center of gravity, takt time, allowable cycle time, process variation, accuracy, utilities, environmental conditions, changeover needs, operator interaction, maintenance access, and required production availability. Skip that step and you end up chasing payload or reach problems after steel is already cut.
We size the robot from actual wrist-load data—payload including tooling and the heaviest workpiece, wrist inertia, center-of-gravity offset, reach, axis speed, mounting orientation, environmental rating, repeatability, controller I/O, and fieldbus support. That’s how we land on the right robot for the job the first time, not just the one sitting in stock.
Mechanical design covers reachability across the full motion envelope, singularities, joint limits, payload and inertia, fixture deflection, guarding, pinch points, maintenance access, cable routing, and coolant or chip exposure. Miss one of those on paper and it shows up later as a collision alarm or wrist-flip fault on the shop floor.
Controls design defines the sequence of operations, permissives, safety zones, robot modes, fault recovery, recipe management, traceability, and which interlocks belong to the PLC versus the robot controller. Panels are built to UL 508A and NFPA 79, with HMI diagnostics and network architecture documented so your maintenance team isn’t guessing during a fault at 2 a.m.
No two lines run the same parts, so we don’t reuse layouts from the last job. Our automation cell design process starts with your parts, takt time, and floor constraints, then moves through robot and tooling selection, mechanical and electrical design, and simulation before anything hits the shop floor.
Our Process Includes:
Requirements capture and process observation
Concept development and robot/tooling selection based on payload, reach, and cycle time
Layout of tooling, fixtures, conveyors, and guarding
Offline reach and cycle-time simulation to catch collisions, singularities, and wrist-flip risk
Risk assessment and safety-zone mapping per ISO 10218-2
Controls integration, dry-run debug, and process validation
A single-robot pick-and-place cell typically runs 8–16 weeks after requirements approval; multi-robot, vision, dispensing, or welding cells commonly run 16–32 weeks depending on long-lead equipment and safety review.
Retrofits aren’t greenfield builds, so we start with an interface survey: conveyor speed and indexing, product tracking, machine handshakes, PLC protocols, safety circuits, line-clear logic, upstream and downstream buffers, available floor space, utilities, guarding, and network segmentation. That survey tells us where a new robot can bolt on and where it can’t.
We check reachability against existing fixture and conveyor positions, singularities, joint limits, and how operators move through the cell during changeover and maintenance. Then we build the PLC logic, HMI screens, and machine-to-machine communication needed to bridge old controls with new hardware, matching voltage, protocol, and timing so the retrofit doesn’t stall your line on day one.
Legacy Machine Integration
Older equipment often runs proprietary or discontinued fieldbus protocols. We bridge those gaps in code, voltage, and communication protocol so the new cell talks to your existing machines without a full controls replacement.
Explore Machine Tending Automation Solutions, Robotic Assembly Systems Integration, Robotic Dispensing Systems Integration, Robotic Deburring & Finishing and Robotic Painting & Coating.
We don’t guess at reach or cycle time—we simulate it. Before any steel is cut, we model the cell in 3D and run motion studies to catch collisions, singularities, wrist-flip risk, and fixture access problems. Simulation also gives an estimated cycle time, but that number stays an estimate until it’s validated with production parts, real tooling, actual controls, and real peripheral delays.
For complex or multi-robot cells, we can extend that model into a digital twin so the live system can be monitored and tuned against its virtual counterpart during ramp-up.
Building a new line, adding a robot to an existing one, or planning a plant-wide upgrade—we scope it against your requirements spec, not a stock layout. Our team handles robot and tooling selection, simulation, controls, and safety validation from concept through production handoff.
Contact us to start your robotic system design with a real requirements review, not a sales pitch.
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+1 602-449-1556
602-449-1556
