Robots at work

Dozens of people filtered through North Idaho College’s CNC (Computer Numerical Control) Machine Technology Lab at Parker Technical Education Center on Thursday as regional machining and automation representatives demonstrated how robots can relieve humans of the most mundane tasks.

Graham Williams of Vectis Automation from Loveland, Colo., operated an automated welding machine on an iPad. He explained the machine is capable of completing simple welds, allowing skilled workers to focus on finer and more complex welding.

“We want the skilled welders to do the real skilled work, and we want the robot to do the boring stuff,” Williams said. “All the things that make people want to quit, the robots can do. Skilled employees can do the fun stuff.”

The event also featured a machine that enables shops to combine up to three separate production processes in a single machine and another that can increase production by the hundred-fold using automation.

Troy Ojalehto of Rapid Design Solutions LLC showed a robot system with a moveable gripper and arm that took raw material from a loading zone into a Mini Mill CNC machine to be formed, then delivered to a storage area before its next step in a manufacturing process. The robot system can be programmed to run continuously for up to 16 hours, eliminating the need for a person to manually load the mill.

“Traditionally you’d have an operator doing this like every three minutes, which is not a real good use of their time, so having a robot do that instead is really a key element to efficiency,” Ojalehto said.

Rapid Design Solutions recently relocated from Seattle to Spirit Lake. Ojalehto said the NIC event not only introduced the new-to-town company to local industry folks, but also helped them get the lay of the land in machining and manufacturing in the Inland Northwest.

“It’s really nice to be able to meet up with local potential customers in the area and to get a feel for the work people are doing around here, see how our product fits into a niche market and how to better serve the area,” Ojalehto said. “Honestly, it’s also really nice to see the school and the relationship between the school and local industry and to know that we can look at the people coming out of these programs as potential employees.”

George Cobb with King Machine Inc. in Bozeman, Mont., helped NIC machine technology associate professor Kurt Kimberling organize the event. Cobb said North Idaho, western Montana and eastern Washington are becoming hot spots for manufacturing, and events like NIC’s demo day are an important resource for local machine shops to keep up with technology.

“Most shops that work in this area aren’t really aware of this newer technology because they can’t leave the shop to go see it,” Cobb said. “They’re too busy because they can’t find people to work for them with the skilled labor shortage. It’s kind of a circle.”

Cobb said the importance of machining and manufacturing is more integrated with daily life than most people realize. Almost every product is made using some type of machine, whether it’s manufacturing a mold that makes a plastic cellphone case or producing the nuts and bolts that hold a car together.

And it’s events like the demo expo at NIC that open that world to the public, said Boise-based Nicola Filicetti from VersaBuilt Robotics Inc.

“There’s the message out there that manufacturing in the U.S. is dead, that you can’t afford to manufacture,” Filicetti said. “But we’re still here. There is so much technology that affects everyone’s day-to-day and so much opportunity to be had. Places like NIC will allow us to explore that and to really keep that dream alive.”

Info: kurt.kimberling@nic.edu or 208-665-2788