Nicholas Switalski, a Coherix dispensing system engineer, programs a Yamaha robot for use with a Coherix 3D inspection system. (Image courtesy Coherix/PRNewswire)
The company provides industry-first process-control systems for precision dispensing of sealants and adhesives in the automotive and electronics industries.
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Coherix is expanding its production and product development facilities to meet growing demand for AI-based quality-control systems that are used to control the application of adhesives in the assembly of automotive and electronics products, the company said in a release.
The company’s move to a new 25,000-square-foot North American manufacturing, product-development, and headquarters facility at 1168 Oak Valley Drive in Ann Arbor is expected to be completed by year’s end. Coherix is currently located at 3980 Ranchero Drive.
The nearly $1 million expansion will increase production space by 5,000 square feet and add 5,000 square feet for engineering, software development, training, and customer service. Craig Manning, vice president of operations, product development, and accounting at Coherix, said workspace will nearly double and allow the addition of 10 to 15 engineering and product-development jobs over the next year.
The facility’s new Innovation Center will include 10 robot stations outfitted with a range of dispensing equipment, technical training facilities, and a product demonstration-and-service area for customers.
“This is a game-changing move for Coherix,” Manning said in the release. “It will allow us to keep pace with customer demand for our industry-leading products, speed the further development of a full range of new precision dispensing technology, and help us attract needed engineering talent.”
Coherix provides high-performance adhesive-dispensing process control technology to global OEMs, tier-one suppliers, line builders, dispensing-equipment companies, and system integrators in a variety of industries. The company describes itself as “pioneer in the development of 3D computer vision-enabled, adaptive-process-control technology.”
According to Coherix, it offers “the only manufacturing technology capable of automatically inspecting and controlling the application of adhesives and sealants at assembly-line speeds.” Its 3D laser-based quality-control systems are equipped with machine-learning, artificial-intelligence, and process-control software that are reported to deliver savings of 25 percent in labor and material.
Coherix Chairman and CEO Dwight Carlson noted that the use of adhesives in manufacturing is growing rapidly, especially in automotive, electronics, and battery assembly. “Nearly 30,000 people are employed in manufacturing sealants and adhesives in North America alone, with a market size valued at more than $22 billion,” the release stated.
“There’s also a growing demand for mechanical engineers, as well as training for engineers currently involved with adhesives and sealants,” Carlson added. “Coherix is working with Eastern Michigan University, various trade organizations, and our customers to meet those needs.
“The development and maintenance of trouble-free dispensing systems is an extremely complex process that includes robots, fixturing, adhesive-dispensing equipment, and process-control systems, along with a host of other factors,” he continued. “It’s been an art form up until now, but we’re injecting more science and inter-company cooperation into the process.”
Coherix has launched a workshop program, co-sponsored by the Engineering and Manufacturing Alliance (EMA), to help improve the use of adhesives and sealants in product manufacturing. More than 100 system integrators, robot suppliers, dispensing equipment suppliers, material suppliers, and end users are expected to attend the program this year to discuss issues related to adhesive dispensing in manufacturing environments.
The company also is working with Eastern Michigan University (EMU) in Ypsilanti to develop “factory-of-the-future” manufacturing technology and support education programs for mechanical engineering students.
The three-year program at the university’s GameAbove College of Engineering and Technology focuses on precision-manufacturing applications in the growing field of adhesive-dispensing technology and is supported by a $385,000 grant from Coherix.
Earlier this year, Coherix introduced an industry-first service program, Coherix CARES, to help its customers maintain robotic adhesive-dispensing systems. Coherix provides training, technical assistance, and on-site support. Jared Rogers, the company’s applications engineering manager, helped develop Coherix CARES.
He noted that although high-speed adhesive-dispensing systems are essential, they also are difficult to maintain because they often involve various system integrators. along with a variety of robot and dispensing equipment suppliers.