Opportunities and challenges with automation in Durgos production : Implementation of automation solutions in small businesses

This thesis explores the challenges and opportunities with implementing automation in small and medium-sized enterprises (SME), focusing on Durgo AB, a Swedish company that manufactures valves. As the industries continue to evolve into the framework of Industry 4.0, automation and robotics become more accessible for smaller to medium-sized enterprises. The transition from manual to automated production presents both challenges and opportunities for SMEs. The aim of the study is to identify automation solutions for the production at Durgo. The company’s production has mainly manual processes and has a lot of potential for automated implementations. The research methodology includes interviews with Durgo, Scania and Fanuc, on-site observations and literature reviews online. The study identifies a concrete example of a potential solution for automation in the production at Durgo. Automating the feeding process for a semi-automated ultrasonic welding cell, currently it requires manual feeding of valves to the welding cell. Automation could free up time as well as the welding could become more efficient for the production. The study concludes that the solution also is scalable and is adaptable across several similar production processes. The thesis presents a solution for SMEs like Durgo to begin to implement automation. The study offers insight into how smaller enterprises can harness automation. Not only improving efficiency, but ensures long-term sustainability and competitiveness in a changing industrial landscape.