POC: “Everyone was convinced a robot arm was the best solution. We weren’t”
Every automation challenge starts with an idea. But how viable is that idea? And is it technically feasible? Our Directors Timen Floré and Joris Ceyssens take place behind the microphone for the Industrial Automation podcast. The topic: the various steps in developing a custom machine. The podcast is in Dutch, but this article zooms in on one of the very first steps: the POC during the Concept & Feasibility phase.
Timen Floré: “When a company approaches us with an automation challenge, we want to determine as quickly as possible whether that idea is viable. Is this project meaningful? Will this machine be worth the investment? The very first step is therefore orientation: is it feasible, what will it cost, and what will it yield?”
Joris Ceyssens: “Investigating technical feasibility is a fixed part of our roadmap. An innovation that you already know in advance will work simply does not exist. Innovating always involves a certain degree of uncertainty: doubts about one or more steps within the process, question marks regarding implementation, product quality, or cycle times—or any other factor that could negatively impact the business case.”
“You cannot build a solid business case on assumptions alone”
Joris Ceyssens, Director VINTIV
“Of course, you can assume that you can make a certain product within a certain timeframe. But if your entire business case stands or falls with that assumption… We must avoid that! With a POC or Proof of Concept, we eliminate those doubts as much as possible. We build a small test setup to validate technical feasibility.”
“That can be very rudimentary. A POC is certainly not the same as a miniature version of the complete machine. It is solely about the steps that are critical to the process. It is truly the heart of the installation that we are going to test.”
Timen Floré: “It gives you insight into whether the concept you had in mind is indeed the right one. Not feasible? Then you save a lot of money because we can abandon that track in time. Feasible? Then it will undoubtedly yield valuable insights and learnings for further development.”
“The center of gravity wasn’t right. That machine would never have worked correctly.”
Timen Floré, Director VINTIV
“A practical example for clarification: a project from the pharmaceutical sector. We were commissioned to automate the loading of a freeze dryer. It had to be loaded with containers of a specific weight. Everyone was convinced that this had to be done with a robot arm. The company in question had even already received a quote and an initial design from another machine builder.”
“We weren’t so sure about that. During the POC, we noticed that the robot went over its center of gravity during loading. This caused vibrations, preventing the arm from performing the task correctly. Thanks to that POC, we were able to definitively abandon that track. A shuttle ultimately proved to be a much better solution. That test setup thus saved our client a lot of time and money.”