Bicycle manufacturer wants to automate out of necessity and curiosity
The Copenhagen company Black Iron Horse searched in vain for a robot suitable for their production of electric cargo bikes – until they got the Danish Technological Institute to test a possible solution in their robot lab.
In one of the world's largest cycling cities, Copenhagen, Black Iron Horse is located, producing and selling cargo bikes that the modern family can transport themselves on and in.
With a strong commitment to local production and a healthy working environment, the company has turned its attention to automation to meet growing demand and explore new technological opportunities.
− We are considering automation out of necessity and curiosity. Necessity, because we are faced with having to do more and more, and we have some heavy, manual processes that we would like to get out of people's hands. And out of curiosity, because we believe that there must be a new and modern way of producing, says Finn Mortensen, Production Manager at Black Iron Horse in Kastrup.
In the production of their three-wheeled cargo bikes, Black Iron Horse uses recycled plastic to mold the boxes. But in order for the boxes to accommodate a family, they must be cut to size with a jigsaw, which is a laborious process that takes time.
− There is a lot of manual work, which we could see the idea of having some kind of robot doing while the operator was doing something else, says Finn Mortensen.
Control over your own process
The Copenhagen cargo bike manufacturer quickly encountered some challenges when they first considered automating parts of their production.
− We first reached out to a robot supplier. They couldn't immediately give us a price or a solution for the task, so we stood there for a while and thought, how do we do this? Then I got in touch with DTI, and it turned out to be just what we needed. Here was someone who could help us find the right solutions, says the Production Manager.
And as part of a Test Before Invest program at DTI – through the EU project EDOcobot – Black Iron Horse received help to test a robot and several tools on their specific process.
− Now we can actually be the master of our own house and our own processes and say that we actually know which tools, which speed and which parameters are important to us. This means that we are in a much stronger position when talking to external suppliers, as we have some impartial people who can guide us, says Finn Mortensen.
DTI has acted as an impartial advisor, helping the company to test a solution that suits their unique needs.
Quick results
What has perhaps been most surprising to Finn Mortensen and his colleagues is the speed with which they have been able to see results.
− What surprises me when we get started here – and we have only been here for a few hours – is actually how quickly we can come to a result. How quickly my dear colleagues and employees are on board and are already starting to grasp the idea of how to program and what a robot can be used for. So it is actually quite positive how quickly we are getting started, he says.
Test before invest: Can it be automated?
If you, as Black Iron Horse, also want to give your company a boost with robotics, some of Denmark's leading robotics specialists from DTI are currently offering to test whether your manual process can be automated and what technology it requires.
This is done through the EDOcobot project, which stems from a European initiative led on Danish soil by Erhvervshus Fyn in collaboration with Teknologisk Institut, Odense Robotics, Syddanske EU-Kontor (SDEO) and Enterprise Europe Network (EEN) – co-financed by the European Union and the Danish Board of Business Development.
Small and medium-sized manufacturing and logistics companies can thus achieve:
- Help to identify automation potential in your company
- Access to DTI's robot facilities and impartial specialists
- Testing of specific robot solutions - before you invest
- Training of employees
- Development of a robot prototype adapted to your company's needs
- Sparring on financing for your future cobot