03 Jan CASE STUDY: Rugged Interconnect Solutions for Major Industrial Robot OEM
As industrial robotic manufacturing continues to grow with the advancements in technology and automation, industrial robot OEMs have begun to depend on finding the highest quality custom cable solutions for their manufacturing to remain competitive and efficient.
While robot OEMs have to stay ahead, NAI is here to ensure their success with our leading customized industrial robotics cable assemblies. Read on to see how NAI creatively increased a growing industrial robot OEM’s output through their state-of-the-art industrial robotic cable assemblies.
Problem: Industrial Robotic Automation Interconnectivity Issues
A large global manufacturer of industrial robots has been experiencing robust growth and demand for its products. Its legacy interconnect supply base was unable to provide the capacity, ramp-up speed, and production volume that the manufacturer required to meet its increasing demand. This forced the industrial robotics original equipment manufacturer to seek out alternative sources for its interconnect requirements.
NAI’s Solution: Custom Robotics Cable Assembly
The industrial robotics OEM selected NAI to produce cable assemblies and harnesses for several key reasons:
1. Established Supply Chain Increased Cable Assembly Delivery
NAI’s global footprint provided this customer with alternative production capacity and locations to meet its interconnect volume requirements now and as they progress in the future.
2. USA-Based Plant Provides Logistics Efficiencies
NAI’s Gaylord, MI USA plant is conveniently located near the customer’s warehouse and its other locations in Michigan. This allowed for the efficient shipping of final goods, decreased costs, and safe arrival of all custom industrial robotic cable solutions.
3. Immediate Ramp-up to Meet Custom Industrial Robotic Automation Needs
NAI provided fast decision-making to invest in new tooling and equipment itself in order to quickly ramp up production levels to where they needed to be for this new customer. The investments were made and production capacity was established in a matter of weeks. NAI’s ability and willingness to expand and scale quickly was paramount to the robot manufacturer.
4. Quality System Management
With NAI’s expertise in manufacturing harnesses and its utilization of automotive industry quality practices, the customer had a strong comfort level with NAI. Advanced Product Quality Planning (APQP) is used by NAI as a routine process in its production operations. NAI was also able to use the Production Part Approval Process (PPAP), another derivative of automotive quality practices, on an as-needed basis.
5. Experience Enables NAI To Satisfy A Range of Industrial Robotic Cable Assembly Needs
The depth of experience NAI has in manufacturing harnesses for harsh environments was also very appealing to this robot manufacturer. NAI has supplied rugged interconnects for many industrial applications that require durability to withstand the environmental conditions in factories, including IP-67 and IP-68 rated products
6. Continued Industrial Robotic Automation Support
The robot manufacturer felt NAI was well suited to grow along with them to meet the expected long-term demand for its robots. The depth of knowledge, experience, and professionalism demonstrated that NAI is well-equipped for any size project, perfect for an evolving industrial robotics OEM.
Overall, NAI was successful in delivering advanced industrial robotic automation cable assemblies and harnesses in a timely manner on a large scale without loss of customization, organization, or quality in service or with the product.
Our established supply chain, knowledge base, and experience provided many benefits to accommodate this industrial robot manufacturer’s needs.
NAI Builds Rugged Cable Assemblies and Harnesses for Major Robot Manufacturers
The initial orders placed by the industrial robot manufacturer included over 50 cable assembly and harness part numbers. The orders were for both cable assemblies and harnesses, ranging from simple patch cords to complex harnesses with a variety of circuits and connectors. In addition to being used on the robots themselves, some harnesses will also be used for the robot controllers.
NAI’s familiarity with automotive industry quality practices was important to the robot manufacturer since they provide robots for their automotive OEM customers. While initially working with the robot manufacturer’s build-to-print projects, NAI has been able to make further suggestions to continue to improve quality, production processes, component parts, costs, and deliveries.
Once NAI was selected as a supplier for this robot OEM, the interconnect company produced First Articles for inspection and evaluation.
The success of this case has allowed orders for other assemblies and harnesses for other robot and controller models to be anticipated. NAI’s supply chain, workforce, and capabilities will fully support this industrial robotic manufacturer, allowing NAI to scale production as they continue to grow together in the future.
While this specific client required customized cables and harnesses, NAI’s production capabilities exceed well beyond these. Our full list of capabilities shows how NAI is dedicated to ensuring the success of every client by being able to fully meet a range of needs.
Industries That NAI Supports
NAI’s manufacturing operations are structured so that we can provide an extremely broad variety of interconnect solutions. Being established and knowledgeable about such a range of products means that NAI has the capability to offer these solutions to a range of industries as well.
NAI designs and manufactures custom rugged cable assemblies and harnesses for a variety of industrial applications. From mining machinery, construction, and agricultural equipment, to robotics, machine tools, material handling equipment, instrumentation & control, and other industrial technologies, NAI can meet demanding requirements.
As a company, NAI also produces custom interconnect solutions for the medical industry, manufacturing high-reliability assemblies for critical-to-life surgical devices and medical equipment. In addition, NAI produces interconnects for the telecommunications industry for wireless applications on cell towers and in base stations, as well as for connections in data centers.
Broad design capabilities, a global manufacturing footprint, rigorous Quality Management Systems, along with the ability to make things happen very quickly, combine to make NAI a unique and attractive supplier for interconnect solutions.
Still not sure if your needs can be met? Check the full list of industries we serve to see how NAI can handle any size or type of interconnect project!
Choose NAI for Your Custom Industrial Robotics Cable Manufacturer
NAI is at the forefront of engineering industrial robotic automation cable assembly solutions, and we plan to stay that way. Industrial robot assemblies are used by a host of OEMs in various industries and they should be used in yours too.
With the extensive expertise we highlighted in this case study, plus our integrated supply chain and global manufacturing footprint, NAI can ensure the delivery and quality of the connectivity solutions our customers require.
Ask an expert today to find the best cable assembly solutions for you and see for yourself why NAI is the top industrial robot cable carrier!
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