How collaboration can overcome hurdles for dispensing technology businesses

How collaboration can overcome hurdles for dispensing technology businesses

Competing in the manufacturing industry has arguably never been tougher. Where relentless global competition meets often difficult economic conditions – not to mention the struggle to find skilled workers - it’s those companies that adapt, innovate and automate that find the edge to succeed and grow.

Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) in the manufacturing industry are right at the heart of the effort. Their existence enables their customers to function, but it’s their ability to stay ahead of the technological curve to provide best-in-class ‘smart factory’ products and solutions that is vital - not just for their own success, but for that of their customers, too.

For instance, at fruitcore robotics we are very closely aligned with OEMs specialising in dispensing technologies. We know how crucial their products and capabilities are to manufacturers. From packaging through to the precision application of adhesives and fluids in all sorts of industrial processes, we know that where dispensing-technology providers succeed, so do their customers, and by extension so do we as a robotic automation partner to both.

Challenges with dispensing

Dispensing-technology businesses often encounter significant obstacles that can impede their progress and innovation.

Perhaps chief among those challenges is the need to keep up with the relentless pace of technological advancement. Digital transformation in manufacturing is seen as the primary response to the challenges faced by the industry as a whole. A failure to keep up will allow competitors to gain an advantage and reduce an OEM’s ability to respond quickly and effectively to changing customer needs.

Innovations in robotics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning are continually reshaping the industry, but keeping pace with these rapid changes requires significant investment in research and development, as well as a commitment to continuous learning and adaptation.

Adding to that challenge can be a lack of in-house expertise in software and control systems. As robotics and automation solutions become more sophisticated, the need for advanced programming and control capabilities intensifies. As we all know, finding those kinds of specialist skills is currently very difficult to do affordably, but dispensing-solutions makers without this expertise can struggle to optimise their systems, leading to inefficiencies, increased operational costs, and ultimately a less compelling offer to customers.

We know those companies delivering dispensing technology to the industry are hugely ambitious in terms of expanding their product offerings to meet the diverse needs of their customers. But that expansion is often frustrated by that inherent lack of technical know-how, leading to costly mistakes and missed opportunities.

Dispensing with challenges

When dispensing-technology companies, their manufacturing customers, and automation solution providers work effectively together they can overcome any challenge.

At fruitcore robotics, everything we do is focused on making the implementation and operation of top-class industrial robotic automation as simple, efficient, and cost effective as possible. That’s true of our hardware, our open Digital Robot Platform that makes integrations simple and flexible, and of course a team built from the beginning to work in true collaboration with partners.

Our HORST range of industrial robots benefits from patented drive technology that achieves stunning levels of performance at a fraction of the cost of traditional robots. This means that when we work in collaboration with dispensing-technology partners to co-develop solutions for their customers, we are able to pass their first test from the outset: Affordability.

This combines with our world-beating, AI-supported Digital Robot platform, horstOS. Our central control software is designed to be as simple to operate as possible for manufacturers while being incredibly flexible in terms of integrations.

Manufacturers using horstOS can set up and run digital robots in minutes and hours rather than days and weeks, without the need for expensive specialists. Meanwhile, horstOS is built to make it possible to either integrate our technologies into an OEM‘s systems, or vice versa. Our control architecture is designed to enable seamless interaction between every element of the automation process; it’s a single control system for our robot and any OEM components it is working with. For the manufacturer, this hugely simplifies their automation workflow, saving time and money.

fruitcore robotics was the first industrial robot manufacturer in the world to introduce AI support to its operating system. horstOS features an AI Copilot specifically trained on the platform, lowering the knowledge barrier even further for operators. The Copilot can also be trained with content specific to the OEM systems it is combined with so no manufacturer will ever be without fast answers to the problems they need to solve.

Our unique hardware and open, AI-powered operating system means HORST Digital Robots make an ideal foundation for working with specialised dispensing partners to build custom solutions for their customers. We already offer ready-made solution kits for a range of applications, which themselves offer a foundational framework for further collaboration.

Built for partnership

As a team, we are focused on working in tight collaboration with OEM partners to co-develop solutions for their customers. Founded as a result of groundbreaking research in which AI allowed us to develop game-changing hardware, we knew that making our technology intelligent, intuitive, open, and modular would be key to making a real difference in the manufacturing industry ecosystem.

Our team at fruitcore robotics possesses the deep technical knowledge and expertise in software and control systems that allows us to stay ahead of rapidly advancing technology. We are laser-focused on continual innovation and investment in research and development, and our Digital Robot platform ensures we can cascade that progress direct to our partners and customers. We are also experts in the fast evolving arena of AI, which certainly promises to transform manufacturing processes – and customer expectations along with it.

Our partners in specialisms such as dispensing technologies have the in-depth know-how when it comes to delivering the results their customers need. At fruitcore robotics, our goal is to bring our own expertise to bear in partnership with them to deliver complete automation solutions to manufacturers faster, more simply, and more cost-effectively than ever before.

In partnership we can help OEMs stay right on the technological cutting edge and seamlessly fill gaps in their software and control-systems know-how. Together we can bring whole new propositions to manufacturers, tailor-made for their individual needs, while overcoming common challenges the industry faces.

It starts with a conversation

Do you have questions? Do you have ideas? Let’s discuss the art of the possible and explore together what opportunities there are for joint innovation.

Let's shape the future of dispensing technology together. Talk to our solution architect today!