Zhejiang Hailiang uses STEP robots to automatically load and unload materials, strengthen its own advantages, and achieve industry leadership.

The second stop of the search: Zhejiang Hailiang Co., Ltd. Copper Pipe Fittings Business Department
STEP robot station: pipe fittings processing machine tool loading and unloading
STEP robot model quantity: SA1400, 9 robots
Service start time: November 2016
Processing workpiece: brass pipe fittings

Experienced the test of long-term high-intensity use 

100% speed, 20 hours of high-intensity use every day, in the machining workshop where metal shavings are flying, the indoor temperature is kept at 40 degrees in summer for a long time, and the robot body and fixtures are running normally for 3 years of continuous use. Every 6 sets Robots reduce 5 production line workers. This effect is the dream result of many manufacturing companies. This is also the result of Hailiang Group's use of STEP robots to realize automatic loading and unloading.

Hailiang machining workshop

Zhejiang Hailiang Group is a well-known enterprise among the top 500 in the world. It has 15 production bases in Asia, America and Europe. It is a benchmark and leader in the global copper tube and rod processing industry. Brass and copper fittings are one of its main products. Due to the large number of machine tools on site, the noise is high, there are many copper scraps, and the room temperature is high in summer, it is becoming more and more difficult to recruit workers. In 2016, in order to seize new growth opportunities and solve the growing labor shortage, Hailiang Group proposed to increase investment in automation in traditional processing and manufacturing links, and purchased 9 STEPSTEP SA1400 robots to realize automatic loading and unloading of copper pipe fitting workshops. STEP provides complete robot cells in a "turnkey" form.

An easy-to-use brand, repeated purchases are the best footnote

Three years later, on November 13, 2019, it was the beginning of winter, and there was no time on the high-speed rail to appreciate the lush greenery in the south of the Yangtze River. Along the way, I was thinking about the nine robots that had been working for Hailiang Group for three years. After years of testing, the high-strength , Machine tool processing and loading and unloading work in a harsh environment, how does the STEP robot perform, and is it recognized by the owner?

With anxiety, I came to the Hailiang factory in Zhuji. In the copper pipe machining workshop, I saw the long-lost robot friends still waving fixtures, busy in the middle of the compact machine tools, getting up and down. Luoluo, taking and placing the workpieces in an orderly manner, gave her a little peace of mind. Walking in the middle of the roadway where you can’t turn around, occasionally there are inspection workers who are loading materials and holding vernier calipers, and you can hear the deafening sound of machine tools turning, and the robot arms and fixtures in front of you are covered with copper shavings. I am happy to see the environment full of crumbs, and I am also happy to liberate the workers from such a harsh environment.

November 2019, live video

The on-site engineer of the copper pipe fittings processing workshop, Bian Gong, had been working for Hailiang for many years when the STEP robot was delivered. He recalled that the copper pipe fittings workshop had not yet realized automation. Each worker was on duty with 3 machine tools and was as busy as a spinning top. In summer, due to the heat dissipation of the equipment and the high temperature of the environment, there are too many copper scraps and fans cannot be used. The workshop is often in a high temperature state above 40 degrees, and the work efficiency is significantly reduced. Orders cannot be delivered on time.

busy robot

Since the installation of the STEP robot was completed, the training for Hailiang employees was organized immediately. Now Hailiang employees are able to independently operate the robot and complete routine maintenance work. The number of workers is reduced, the utilization rate of machine tools is increased, and the competitiveness of enterprises is also stronger. Due to the good performance of STEP, Hailiang's advantages were strengthened. Later, Hailiang purchased several STEP robots one after another.

Brass fittings

Hailiang Group, which was born in 1989, is a model of Chinese private enterprises growing from small to large and from big to strong. In 2018, the group's operating income was 173.6 billion yuan, and its comprehensive strength ranked 473rd among the world's top 500 enterprises, 115th among the top 500 Chinese enterprises, 25th among the top 500 Chinese private enterprises, and 5th among the top 100 enterprises in Zhejiang. Its subsidiary Hailiang Education Group is the first domestic basic education group listed in the United States and a benchmark for private basic education in China. Hailiang has 15 production bases in Asia, America and Europe, and it is the benchmark for the global copper pipe rod processing industry. and leadership companies.