Project Showcase

Whirlpool's Global Advanced Manufacturing (AM) group challenged the Tauber team to identify and develop a collaborative robot application that can be implemented on a global scale.

The Tauber team identified screwdriving as one of the organization’s most common assembly processes which exposes operators to ergonomic risks.

The team designed a system for Whirlpool’s operation in Marion, Ohio which can shoot three screws in ten seconds onto a dryer back panel that is assembled on a moving conveyor.

If this application is implemented at all assembly lines in the Marion operation, it will result in an adjusted net present value of $2.53 million by 2021. The team also assessed the global opportunity for the screwdriving application and determined that there are opportunities to install 62 robots at 15 operations worldwide. If the robots are installed over the course of the next three years, the net present value will be $12.1 million by 2021.