The majority of mass products are nowadays manufactured in fully or largely automated assembly lines. Although these plants are usually complex in design, their ability to vary is usually very limited. The production of small series at a reasonable price is therefore normally an almost insurmountable challenge - so far at least. IBG Automation GmbH - part of the Goeke Technology Group, based in Neuenrade, Germany, which has been designing and implementing customer-specific production systems for almost all industrial sectors since 1982 - wants to revolutionise the production of small and very small series within a fully automated final assembly cell with what it claims to be an absolute world first.

The innovative solution of the owner-managed, internationally operating group of companies is called iPROCELL and is currently in the transition from the research level to market readiness. As a fully automated final assembly cell with three autonomous robots, iPROCELL is to be characterised by the symbiotic assembly performance with which the robots assemble individual modules to form finished products. The new process is based on IBG's state-of-the-art, modular gripper technology, which, thanks to its flexibility, should also enable the assembly of small batches at low cost.

IBG Automation GmbH (58809 Neuenrade, Germany)
Website: www.goeke-group.com