New robot will help shape future

[caption id="attachment_222841" align="aligncenter" width="630"] Ashleigh Musarara, left, and senior business adviser Grant Minnie with the robot, which they have to link and programme at their premises
Picture: Brian Witbooi[/caption]

A machine that will further grow the Propella Business Incubator’s offering of precision cutting technology will be commissioned at the incubator’s office in Port Elizabeth this week.

The sophisticated robot, or more specifically a three-axis machine that includes a control unit, was donated to Propella by international mechanical engineering firm Dürr earlier this month.

The incubator already offers those involved in the project the technology to cut prototypes from softer materials with a Stepcraft machine acquired last month.

But the new robot will enable them to cut and shape various metals and other materials, Propella senior industrial adviser Grant Minnie said.

“The unit will be incorporated with a plasma cutting facility that will assist us with cutting various metals and components when we need to develop and refine prototypes,” he said.

Minnie said the incubator would also aim to introduce other customised applications according to the needs of the firms it was incubating.

“We would have a range of additional options by introducing multiple heads, thus broadening the use and application of the technology.

“Its primary use would be for precision-related work. For example, we would be able to spray or coat certain products with microscopic layers of chemicals, should the need arise,” he said.

“Simply, we would be able to offer precision cutting services in-house, which would be done at a lower cost and faster turnaround time.”

Minnie also indicated Propella would be engaging students in the department of mechatronics at Nelson Mandela University, so that they could benefit from the technology as well.

“By adopting this approach, Propella, those it is incubating and the students at large will benefit by scoping solutions that may demonstrate potential commercial value.”

According to NMU mechatronics department head Professor Farouk Smith, the technology will prove useful to students.

“We have projects almost every year that involve some kind of robot arm manipulation, so I can definitely see some final year projects that can involve the robot arm,” Smith said.