For more than 40 years, Ductmate has supplied the nation with the HVAC parts and accessories needed to make HVAC installation easier, make HVAC systems more efficient, and lower the costs of construction and building operations. Ductmate products are proudly manufactured in the U.S. in three facilities across the nation, making the organization one of the largest HVAC accessories manufacturers in the world.
Ductmate had already purchased a robot to strengthen their operations, however, their robotic system had issues that made it unable to perform at the level needed to add true business value. Working with the ARM Institute’s Robotics Manufacturing Hub, Ductmate was able to solve their challenges by leveraging the institute’s internal team of engineers and the institute’s robotics facility to complete and get hands-on with a robotic proof-of-concept that corrected these issues all without a commitment to purchasing equipment.
By using the Robotics Manufacturing Hub, Ductmate saved their internal team’s time, strengthened their robotic operations, captured greater business value from their robotic investment, and were able to get back to what they do best.
The Problem
Ductmate had already purchased a robot to perform machine tending of a press brake used to make insulated HVAC doors, but the robotic system was having issues that made it unable to perform at a level that added business value. Specifically, their system had issues with flatsheet metal parts sticking to each other due to cut grooves, slower than ideal cycle times, and press machine accessibility to change out tooling.