No equipment or overhead costs. No precious plant floor space needed. No training costs, equipment breakdowns, or midnight service calls—no headaches! That’s just a partial list of the advantages of contract gasketing services offered by Robotics Inc. through its ContractGasketing.com Division (Ballston Spa, NY). While many manufacturers achieve cost-savings by integrating dispensing automation into their facilities, some are not so comfortable with large capital expenditures. Many companies simply don’t want to experiment in areas leading away from their core competencies.

Responding to the Customer

Robotics Inc. pioneered several robotic technologies in 1971 and moved quickly to focus on the automated dispensing market. Since then, the Company has developed a worldwide customer base providing various automated and semi-automated systems for dispensing and curing adhesives, sealants, and other viscous materials. Over the years, a lot of customers asked for parts to be run prior to or instead of an equipment purchase. Contract gasketing for customers became fairly routine and led to establishing a dedicated contract gasketing facility to serve both part manufacturers and material manufacturers/formulators. John Soron, Robotics Inc. President states, "[this service solves] a common problem for many material formulators: their customers are often hesitant about making large capital investments in dispensing technology. By providing our contract gasketing services, we can reduce the perceived risk and even start high volume production for the customer before the equipment decision is made."

A Reputation for Dependability

The early years saw the automotive industry first embrace industrial robots. As other industries followed suit, Robotics Inc. was able to market more sophisticated robots and automation to its increasingly knowledgeable customers. Popular dispensing systems moved from electromechanical devices to fully programmable systems integrated into complex automation lines. Many Robotics Inc. automated systems are still in production after 15 and even 20 years of service!

Customers have come from a wide variety of industries besides automotive: aerospace, appliance, casting, computer, construction, electronics, electrical, glass, government, medical, plastics, telecommunications, and others. With all these various industries come all types of dispensing materials. Robotics Inc. has substantial expertise from successfully handling and dispensing these materials. Continued growth has further enhanced their knowledge base through strengthened and new relationships with material manufacturers and formulators.

Do You Need Contract Gasketing?

Like the automated dispensing market, contract gasketing is a niche market and is not appropriate for every application. Not everyone needs highly precise, uniform and repeatable beads. ContractGasketing.com suggests several criteria that should be considered before making the make/buy decision.

-Does equipment make more financial sense?

Sometimes. If you have the production volume, space, personnel, lead-time, and quality constraints—then equipment may be just the way to go. Contract gasketing provides high value-added and offers a reliable alternative when equipment is not the best choice.

-Do you have the personnel and capacity to maintain and fit equipment?

Robotics Inc. automated dispensing systems are typically easy to operate but you still need someone who can at least perform rudimentary maintenance. Along with competent operators, they are using their own designed and built equipment. Plant floor space may be at a premium and you may have other requirements for that space.

-How fast do you need finished parts?

This is often the only question that matters. When the rush is on, getting finished parts is becomes the bottleneck. Equipment delivery times are measured in weeks and months in the automation industry (not exactly what comes to mind when one hears the term ‘rush’). Fast turnarounds are possible with contract gasketing.

-What quality and repeatability are required?

Some applications require highly precise beads with little or no room for inferior gaskets. Robotics Inc. contract gasketing can dispense beads several magnitudes in quality higher than possible by manual methods.

-How difficult or hazardous is the material to handle manually? What other OSHA topics come into play for your employees?

Pick a company with the right equipment and expertise. Robotics Inc. has the equipment and knowledge to eliminate these factors for you. Contract gasketing services eliminate messy applications and expensive waste. Gone are the headaches associated with hazardous material handling and repetitive injury situations.

-How many parts, how often, and what production rate is needed?

Contract gasketing will work for all types of volumes from prototypes and trial runs to high volume production. If production-quality parts are required, then contract gasketing is a viable solution.

Preparing for the Future

A very nice aspect of contract gasketing with ContractGasketing.com is that as your production grows, both you and ContractGasketing.com become very familiar with the application process, equipment, and material used. Moving to an equipment purchase becomes a relatively simple matter since most or all of the unknowns have been eliminated.