#roboticsintegration

Foundries are some of the most demanding environments in the manufacturing world—characterized by extreme heat, heavy materials, and labor-intensive processes. As the push toward Industry 4.0 gains momentum, robotics and smart automation are redefining what’s possible in these settings. Companies like LeisterTech are leading this transformation by integrating robotics with their high-performance machinery, including lining vibrators, scrap transfer trolleys, hydraulic pushers, and lifting magnets.

Why Foundries are Ideal for Robotics

Robotics brings consistency, safety, and operational efficiency to environments where precision and reliability are essential. In foundries, robots can take over tasks that are repetitive, dangerous, or require high levels of accuracy. Here's how:

1. Material Handling with Precision

Robots equipped with advanced gripping technologies are capable of moving hot billets, heavy molds, and castings with exceptional control. When paired with LeisterTech’s robust lifting magnets, these systems ensure safe, accurate, and efficient handling of ferrous materials—reducing downtime and workplace hazards.

2. Streamlined Casting and Mold Filling

Automated arms can perform complex tasks like molten metal pouring with enhanced safety and precision. These systems, when used alongside LeisterTech’s specialized lining vibrators, help ensure that every mold is evenly filled and compacted—boosting the quality and consistency of final castings.

3. Cleaning, Finishing, and Post-Casting Automation

After casting, components often need grinding, deburring, or polishing. Robots can handle these tasks with consistent results, speeding up the post-production process. Integration with LeisterTech’s hydraulic pusher systems allows for seamless workflow transitions, reducing manual labor and increasing throughput.

4. Inspection & Quality Control

With built-in vision systems and AI algorithms, robots can scan cast components for defects in real time. These insights become even more powerful when combined with data from smart equipment like LeisterTech’s scrap transfer trolleys, enabling predictive maintenance and enhanced process control.

Benefits of Integrating Robotics with LeisterTech Machinery

Increased Productivity: Robotic systems can operate continuously and precisely, supporting equipment like LeisterTech’s shearing and pusher tools for high-volume, automated production.

Improved Safety: Robotics minimizes the need for human presence in high-risk zones, particularly when dealing with molten metals or heavy components.

Scalability & Flexibility: Robotic systems can adapt to different workflows, making them a natural extension of multi-functional equipment such as LeisterTech’s scrap handling solutions.

Data-Driven Efficiency: By collecting and analyzing operational data, robotics enhances predictive maintenance and real-time process optimization.

Innovations Driving Robotic Adoption in Foundries

Collaborative Robots (Cobots): Designed to work safely alongside human workers, cobots are ideal for hybrid automation setups where both manual skill and machine precision are required.

AI & Machine Learning: Advanced robotics use AI to learn from real-world operations, improving over time and adapting to various production variables.

Vision & Sensing Technologies: High-resolution cameras and smart sensors enable robots to perform tasks like alignment, defect detection, and complex part identification with unmatched accuracy.

The Road Ahead: Robotics in the Smart Foundry

As foundries evolve into smart factories, the integration of robotics with IoT-enabled machinery will become the industry standard. From green automation powered by renewables to smarter material handling, the future is geared toward sustainable, intelligent production.

Final Thoughts

With the rise of E-commerce, the proliferation of SKUs and the expectation of quick deliveries, the intralogistics operations have become quite complex. To cater to today’s customer, both the online and the brick and mortar retailers must maintain an adequate supply of items both in terms of quantity and variability. These competitive pressures prompt companies to have super-fast and highly accurate deliveries, which becomes a daunting task for the warehousing team. To cater to these high service levels and still maintain both the scale and flexibility in their operations, Warehouse Managers should look towards an efficient and accurate order fulfillment solutions. One such solution that ticks the right boxes is a Put-To-Wall solution, which can help in sorting the orders that have been consolidated upstream into individual deliveries before they get dispatched. What is Put-To-Wall? Put-To-Wall system is a part of Goods-To-Person order picking system. This solution mainly comprises of a shelf with individual slots, each slot representing an order. Both sides of the slots are open to facilitate sorting of the orders at one side & collection for the packing on the other side. The Put-To-Wall systems are usually combined with “Wave Picking” process. All the orders that are to be picked are consolidated and processed as a single collective order. The picker collects the items in a tote/crate and sends the crate downstream towards the sortation region which comprises multiple Put-To-Wall stations. How it is used? A Wave is generated by combining the common SKUs, delivery dates, shipping address areas etc. These multiple orders combined are processed together & the individual SKUs for those combined orders are picked in the crates and sent to the sortation area. The operator in the Put-To-Wall area typically has an RF gun which is integrated with the wall. Once the crates from upstream arrive to the Put-To-Wall area, the incoming inventory is scanned at the item level/case level. In case of item level placing, once the item is scanned, the required slot of the Put-To-Wall, where it needs to go illuminates; in case of ‘case level scanning’, all the locations where the items in the case should go illuminate with the quantity getting displayed on the alphanumeric display of the light unit. Upon placing the items into the locations, the operator puts off the light by pressing the acknowledgment button. On the Packing side of the put-wall, another operator packs the orders. The totes/cartons with the consolidated items from upstream are usually carried to the Put-To-Wall station through a conveyor, loop sorter or in some cases by a trolley. Advantages of Put-To-Wall: High Throughput: Wave picking typically reduces the walking time of the picker as walking comprises 50% of the order picking time. This results in a higher order picking rate and subsequently, the Put-To-Wall allows for a very fast and quick sortation. Flexibility: The Put-To-Wall structures can be expanded/contracted by increasing the number of shelves & lighting system to suit the demand fluctuations. Put-To-Wall can be very easily integrated into the existing system without any alterations. It is just an add-on at the end of the order processing line which results in easy, efficient & accurate order handling. Increase employee productivity: As employees standing at one point & sorting the orders, it reduces the travel time and offers a safer and ergonomic work environment. It is easy to train the employees to use a put-wall system that results in higher productivity. Higher accuracy: The Put-To-Wall system involves scanning the items before placing them into the respective slots. The scanning, subsequent light, an alphanumeric display ensure high-quality checks reducing the misplacing of items, quantity errors & increases the order accuracy rates. Efficient Space Utilization: The Put-To-Wall structure has many slots in one shelve and the slots are continuously used for the order processing and packing leading to effective utilization of warehouse space. Environment-friendly: Put-To-Wall is completely paperless, as it involves scanning & light, which makes it environment-friendly & has less scope for errors.

Technology has fundamentally altered our lives. It has led to the disruption of business models and the development of innovative products to drive up efficiency. “Industrial Revolution” led to mass manufacturing and an increase in the scale of operation, this led to the creation of big factories followed by large warehouses. Warehouses have become the cornerstone of supply chain management and the warehousing process elements have become the source of the proverbial “Competitive Advantage”. 

A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law A robot must protect its own existence if such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law Isaac Asimov, science fiction author, and professor at Boston University postulated the “Three Laws Of Robotics” in his 1942 popular short story “Run-around”. Though these laws appeared fictional at the time of writing, the advent of technology has made humans and Robots work together and these laws more or less, form the crux of the operation in such workplaces. While countries like Germany, Italy, Sweden, France, S. Korea, China, Spain, US, UK have taken to the use of Robots in a big way subsequently driving up productivity and scale, India has somewhat lagged in the adoption of Robots on the shop floor. As the Government pushes on the idea of “Make in India”, it becomes imperative for Indian manufacturers to adopt Robots at the workplace. With increased adoption globally, standard robot models are now mass-produced, and this presents a perfect opportunity for small and medium-sized companies to deploy Robotic Automation in their manufacturing and drive the next wave of value unlocking. A holistic view of the costs involved shall allow them to make the decision to adopt the Robotic Automation. At Addverb, we recommend “FOLDUP” approach to customers to calculate the ROI for Robotic Automation. Flexibility: Robotic Automation is future ready automation, by just re-programming the robot and changing the end tools, the entire production process can be tweaked. This is in stark contrast with the special purpose machines which generally have hard tools which cannot be tweaked. In the case of the manual process, human workforce clubbed with archaic labor laws make the production process very inflexible. Overheads: Once the upfront investment has been made in Robotic Automation, the cost of running the entire system is very less as compared to a manual system. Robotic Automation ensures low or no maintenance and administrative costs, which are quite high while managing a manual workforce. These costs are often not included in the ROI calculation, also the administrative costs (Overheads) generally tend to increase as the number of years of operation increases. Taking this into account results in very low-cost of total ownership for Robotic Automation. Labour: At present, the majority of the jobs that absorbs most of the labour is repetitive in nature, these kinds of jobs do not add any skill to the people who are employed. This in turn results in stagnation of labour which creates a hostile industrial relations scenario. With Robotic Automation, the labour that is required to maintain the robots is highly skilled and as such this provides better employment opportunity, resulting in harmonious industrial relations. Quite a few jobs in manufacturing take place in an environment that is hostile to the human body, using robots for such processes is a great investment which also ensures harmonious Industrial Relations. Dependability: Manual process often results in variability and quality defects. Robotic Automation is highly dependable, and robots often prove to be superior to humans in terms of the quality of the work for most of the production processes. Robotic Automation can drastically reduce the number of defects and improve the quality of inspection. As Robotic Automation displays zero deviation from the production process, the resulting quality of the finished products is quite good. This cost often gets overlooked as a manual process usually results in high-quality defects, affecting the overall brand of the company as well. Usage: This is the most important criteria that must be factored in while implementing Robotic Automation. Robots allow three-shift operations, 7 days a week and 365 days a year without any interruption and stoppage. While comparing with a manual process, this must be compared to an equivalent workforce that shall be required to manage such operations at this scale. Robotic Automation ensures continuous production without any stoppages due to administrative issues. Productivity: Apart from non-stop usage, one of the most neglected aspects of Robotic Automation is the increase in Productivity. Having a Robot is like having a highly skilled resource available, round the clock. Unlike Robots, the human body is susceptible to short-term fatigue, injury, and disability. Many jobs in manufacturing typically either because of the hostile environment or being repetitive in nature result in low productivity after some time. This is not the case with Robotic Automation, which ensures constant productivity throughout. Even with all this, the most important factor that determines the success of Robotic Automation in a factory is an “Integrator”- a company which completely understands the nuances of Robotic Automation and can design complete solution that will maximize the output by selecting the right robot, designing the layout, integrating the vision system etc. Robotic Automation offers a very reliable and efficient production process, robots typically can be refurbished and used again after a period of 10-12 years with ease. All these factors make the ROI on Robotic Automation attractive, a good rule of thumb is to target a minimum of three years for calculating the ROI. After these three years, typically Robotic Automation results in positive cash flow for the company with minimum variability and high-efficiency. That’s the stage when actual value unlocking happens for the organization. It becomes imperative for small and medium enterprises, who aim to grow, to look beyond the near future to truly ascertain the gains obtained from Robotic Automation.