Ready Robotics’ TaskMate system being used by Stanley Black & Decker

Company claims Stanley Black & Decker set up its TaskMate system “in one day”

Ready Robotics’ ready-made automation system – which it says can be set up made operational within a day – is being utilised by Stanley Black & Decker.

Ready Robotics says the solution is “the first fully-integrated robotic system capable of being deployed in hours”.

The unit incorporates an “enterprise-ready” hardware and software platform that makes it dramatically easier for large-scale factories to deploy robotic automation in one day, says Ready Robotics.

Previously, industrial robot deployment required weeks, if not months of time, a lot of upfront capital and robotic expertise, and even then the robot is only programmed to perform a single task.

Ready Robotics says it offers a “flexible automation platform” that allows factories to deploy robots within hours and with the added ability to “almost instantly switch between tasks”.

It is this type of easy integration and painless programming, claims Ready Robotics, that makes the TaskMate valuable to its newest customer, Stanley Black & Decker.

Stanley Black & Decker operates dozens of factories worldwide, each running many industrial machine tools on a regular basis.

Harry Zhong, technical lead, infrastructure innovation, Stanley Black & Decker, says: “My team is always on the lookout for disruptive technologies, especially ones that democratize a way of doing things.

“The Ready Robotics solution makes it so easy to do pop up automation that not only will it change the way we manufacture but it will also shift the way we design and validate.”

Once the team started working with Ready Robotics, the TaskMate deployed to a Haas SL-series CNC lathe within one day and was able to complete production runs.

James Olsen, manufacturing engineering manager at the Stanley Black & Decker pilot facility, says: “Our overall goal is to get to that lights out operation for maximum flexibility and efficiency and the TaskMate system is a first step for us on that journey.

“Couple the ease of setup with capable performance and we can achieve an return on investment in less than two years on this first application alone.”

Ready Robotics previously announced $3.75 million in seed funding from a syndicate led by Eniac Ventures and RRE Ventures with notable contributions from Sagamore Ventures, Emerald Development Managers and others.