Slashing Sanding Time by 80% at EsVata Shutters

Slashing Sanding Time by 80% at EsVata Shutters

Wooden plantation shutter manufacturer boosts competitiveness, output, and quality with a combination of Flexiv Rizon robot’s built-in force feedback and the electric OnRobot Sander’s high precision and consistent RPMs.

“If you talk to any woodworking person, I would say 90 percent or more would agree that sanding is one of the least fun things to do,” says Paul Hsieh, founder of EsVata Shutters. “Having a robot doing it is pretty amazing.”

EsVata makes wooden custom window shutters and recently invested in adaptive automation, using the Flexiv Rizon robot arm equipped with the OnRobot electric Sander as its end-of-arm-tool to sand the shutters. Automating the process is helping the company reduce time and ensure consistent quality.

“Production times in the sanding process have improved by more than 80 percent, so that's a huge bump,” Hsieh says. “But by reducing time, we haven't sacrificed quality. Our quality has increased about 20 to 30 percent.”

Before the robot, the process was done manually, with workers using an orbital sander to sand across the louvers. This is an intricate process, following the different shapes and lengths of shutter louvers that are already mounted into the shutter frame, and consistency was an ongoing issue as each employee would sand differently.
 

Precision electric Sander and force-sensing robot meet challenging wood process

Working with wood adds challenges for automation; Certain parts of the wood are softer and other parts are harder, so the company couldn’t just use the same force or they would get different results. Hsieh chose the OnRobot electric Sander and Flexiv force control Rizon robot to address these challenges.

“The Flexiv Rizon robot is ideal for surface sanding and polishing with its integrated, low-latency sensors that help it maintain consistent contact between the Sander and the material that it's sanding,” explains Gavin Bomhoff, robotics applications engineer at Flexiv Robotics.

To complete the application, Hsieh chose the OnRobot Sander due to its ability to precisely control RPM without dropping power and the consistency of the orbital patterns. “This Rizon seven-axis robot along with the OnRobot Sander all together as a full solution has been amazing,” states Hsieh.

The choice of the OnRobot Sander came down to its reliability, consistency, and the ability to make modifications. The added feature of controlling the RPM is very precise, at plus or minus ten RPMs. “Adding that onto the 3/16th orbital method for fine sanding, that plays a crucial factor in making sure products are evenly sanded,” says Hsieh.

Bomhoff says, “We chose the OnRobot Sander because it's a company and a product that we trust. We know we're going to have a high-quality sander. These sanders are very low vibration, which is ideal for a force-control robot because we want to maintain good contact with the surface that we're sanding. These sanders are also very lightweight, which is ideal for our Rizon robot.”

Quick changeovers and no need for external air supply

The OnRobot Sander is connected to the robot using the OnRobot Quick Changer. “That's a big selling point for us because it's an ISO standard flange, so we don't need additional modifications or brackets,” says Bomhoff. “It very easily attaches to our robot and we can get the operation started very quickly.”

An additional advantage of the OnRobot electric Sander is that it doesn’t need a pneumatic hose. That simplifies setup by eliminating the air supply and additional cabling and wire tubing, as well as reducing maintenance costs. Studies show that manufacturers can save more than $1,600 annually on a single shift with 240 days of operation with the electric Sander vs. pneumatic alternatives. The brushless electric motor can run for 30,000 hours. “Based on use on a day shift, it'll last ten-plus years, easily. That's pretty unheard-of for sanders,” says Hsieh.

Bomhoff mentions additional features that he looks forward to implementing in the future: “OnRobot has an automatic grit replacement for their Sander, which is a really critical step in making the entire automation cell fully automated.”

Reduced material costs with no over-sanding

By automating the sanding process, errors such as over-sanding or missing areas are no longer an issue, so defect rates have plummeted. Automation has also helped reduce material costs. With employees hand sanding, the sandpaper might wear out faster with not a quantifiable way of figuring out when the sandpaper is due for replacement, “With the OnRobot Sander and consistent RPMs, we can better calculate based on square footage what we have sanded. That allows us to buy better sandpaper that lasts longer and provides more efficiency and quality,” says Hsieh.

About EsVata Shutters

EsVata Shutters was founded in 2019 in Pasadena, California by Paul Hsieh, who wanted to create a company that embraces new ideas and technology. EsVata’s meticulous production process has been designed and refined to produce blinds, shades, and shutters that are ideal for every customer, sourcing sustainable basswood from trusted lumber mills. Learn more: www.esvata.com