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“The Finisher” is a plug-and-play work cell using a collaborative robot from Universal Robots. Source: Brinkman Automation
Automation, and cobots in particular, promise to relieve workers from tedious and repetitive tasks so they can focus on more complex and value-added activities. Among those tasks are deburring and polishing, and parts cleaning, according to Brinkman Precision.
In this free webinar, Silas Neale from market leader and sponsor Universal Robots will discuss how cobots are transforming these finishing processes. He will also talk about how UR robots can drive industry innovation and improve productivity.
Neale will be joined by Ed Kelly, David Reed, and Michael Nelson from West Henrietta, N.Y.-based Brinkman Precision. They will explain how turnkey deburring and polishing systems can do the following for your production line:
- Enhance accuracy
- Ensure constant pressure
- Enable quick and easy changeovers for different parts
Neale will provide an overview of Universal Robots’ collaborative robots, and Kelly, Reed, and Nelson will introduce Brinkman’s “The Finisher.” They will also share videos of the cobots in action and provide practical guidance on how to start your own automation journey.
Register now for this webinar, which will be at 2:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, Aug. 15, 2024. Attendees can submit their questions live and view the recorded discussion afterwards on demand.
About the Universal Robots, Brinkman speakers
After nearly a decade in business operations, Neale entered the automation space within the machine vision world. In 2019, he joined Universal Robots with a strong background in robotics and machine vision.
Neale’s experience in 2D and 3D vision has carried over into the robotics arena, and he regularly consults with clients and prospects on this challenging area of automation. He also holds a bachelor’s degree from Roger Williams University and is based in the Greater Boston area.
Kelly is the president of Brinkman Precision Inc. and its subsidiary Brinkman Automation Inc. Brinkman Precision is an 80-employee, tight-tolerance aerospace manufacturer specializing in fuel nozzle components for both commercial and military engines.
Kelly has been with Brinkman since 2005, initially as vice president of sales and marketing for parent company Brinkman International Group, then moving over to Brinkman Precision in 2014. He was introduced to Universal Robots in 2019 and immediately decided that cobots and automation would become a core competency at Brinkman Precision.
By the end of 2019, Brinkman was a certified system integrator for UR and began completing projects within Brinkman Precision as well as within four sister divisions located in Rochester, N.Y., and Tamarac, Fla. Projects included automated laser marking, machine tending, pick and place, and deburring. With over 25 years of manual deburring expertise, it soon became apparent that the natural fit was for Brinkman.
Reed has been with Brinkman Precision for over 12 years. Four of those years were spent on the shop floor gaining hands-on experience with machine work, part measuring, and deburring and cleaning.
In 2016, Reed moved into the office as a quality engineer. He put his learned skills to use developing part inspection plans, work instructions for various processes, designing fixturing, and programming measuring equipment for high precision aerospace parts with tolerances into the millionths.
In August of 2019, Reed was introduced to collaborative robots and became an integral part of the Brinkman Automation team. He has worked on several projects that involved deburring, machine tending, laser marking, and more. They culminated in the creation of “The Finisher” – a modular deburring, polishing, and cleaning cell using a cobot.
Nelson started with Brinkman Precision as a manufacturing engineer and has been with the company for more than seven years. He has a special interest in additive manufacturing and CAD design, which he has heavily incorporated into his work.
In addition to leading the internship program at Brinkman Precision, Nelson’s projects focus on advancing technologies, process development, and process improvement. In August 2019, he was introduced to cobots and became part of the Brinkman Automation team that created “The Finisher.”
WTWH Media produces The Robot Report, Collaborative Robotics Trends, and Automated Warehouse, as well as RoboBusiness and the Robotics Summit & Expo. Prior to working for WTWH, Demaitre was an editor at BNA (now part of Bloomberg), Computerworld, TechTarget, and Robotics Business Review.
He has participated in conferences worldwide, as well as spoken on several webcasts and podcasts. Demaitre is always interested in learning more about robotics. He has a master’s from the George Washington University and lives in the Boston area.
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