MassTech Collaborative and the Center for Advanced Manufacturing (CAM) hosted their 2nd annual Massachusetts Manufacturing Mash-Up at Polar Park in Worcester in September. The event highlighted programs and grants to help boost local industry and as well as MA manufacturing companies.
MassRobotics hosted the Robotics in Manufacturing session at the Mash-Up, highlighting resident startups Southie Autonomy, Tutor Intelligence and Flexxbotics. Representatives from each spoke about their robotics and tech solutions in the manufacturing space – offering easy-to-implement solutions to help with the workforce challenges in the manufacturing fields.
We have teamed with the state on the Manufacturing Emergency Response Team (MERT) grant that helps manufacturers receiving grant funds find the right automation and robotics solution they need. The MERT grant was created in response to the is pandemic and supply chain challenges and is funded by The U.S. Economic Development Administration.
In the Robotics in Manufacturing session, Art Trapotsis, CEO of Consolidated Sterilizer Systems located in Billerica MA, shared his use case and described his challenge, solved by MassRobotics resident Scalable Robotics Inc. Sterilization chambers that Consolidated Sterilizer Systems produce require 200-300 precision welds. The time of these welds is doubled by the setup and prep time, and while there are 6 or 7 welders on staff, more are needed to keep up with demand. The labor shortage has made it difficult for Art to find employees. Art took advantage of a $20,000 grant from the state’s MERT 2.0 program to help address his welding challenges.
MassRobotics introduced Art to Tom Fuhlbrigge, CEO of Scalable Robotics, whose solution delivers a code-free, point-and-click technique that trains a robot to make multiple precision welds. This system could help reduce Art’s labor shortage. At the Mash-Up, Consolidated Sterilizer Systems was awarded an MMAP grant for $250,000 for capital equipment purchases, which makes the adoption of Scalable Robotics a reality for the company.
Here are some fun photos of our residents and friends at the Mash-Up:
