We're all in on AI. These pages are background: the systems and the floor the AI works alongside.Start with the AI
The floor
Make every decision before a vendor makes it for you.
“Let’s automate this” kicks off a stack of decisions, and every one of them has a vendor with an opinion. Here is the whole stack, in the order it actually arrives, so you run it instead of it running you.
Get these in the wrong order and you buy a robot before you know what it has to hold.
See the questions
Walk into every vendor meeting like an expert.
The questions you're already asking.
Every one of them has a vendor waiting to answer it for you.
01Process
How is the operation run today, and what drives that approach?
A clear read on the constraint, and whether automation is the right response to it.
02Robot
Does the application call for a collaborative or a small industrial robot?
A direct comparison of both classes against the application, and the cost difference between them.
03Tooling
Catalogue tooling or a purpose-built end effector, and pneumatic or electric?
The factors that decide the choice, and the supplier landscape behind each option.
04Parts
What cycle time, tolerance and level of integration does the line require?
What the application genuinely requires, and where a specification is buying more than the job needs.
05Machine vision
Does the application require machine vision, and at what level of capability?
Where vision earns its cost, how deep learning is changing what inspection can do, and which of the competing platforms suits the application.
06Programming
Will it run from the robot controller, a PLC, or an industrial PC?
The maintenance and ownership implications of each approach.
07Controls
Do you have controls and electrical capability in house?
Which parts of the work you can carry internally, and which will be contracted out.
08Integration
Who integrates it into a working cell, and what should that cost?
What a complete quote should contain, and how to compare proposals written to different standards.
Every one of these categories has several companies competing for your business. Settle the questions in this order and the quotes get far easier to compare.
Find where AI fitsAll in on AI.
We no longer take on robotics projects. These pages stay up as a free reference for anyone buying automation: the questions, and the order to settle them in. Where AI meets the floor, in the inspection data, the work orders and the schedule, we still do the work.
Cobot or industrial robot. The part decides, not the brochure.
What industry are you in?
From job shops to full production lines: what automation looks like in each, and where it usually starts.
The other rooms
SaaS for Manufacturing and Business
The cell reports into an MES and the order came out of an ERP. Which systems those are, and whether they are the right ones, is the third room.
AI for Small Business
Once the floor is running, the workflow around it is usually the next constraint: scheduling, quality data, planning, and the office work that surrounds the cell.
Start with the AI.
Thirty minutes on your business and where AI fits it, from the front desk to the floor. We'll break down your process, pain points, and bottlenecks, then point you in the right direction. Vendor-agnostic, no strings attached.