Add'n solutions specializes in laser marking, final cleaning, passivation, packaging and labelling of surgical instruments. Due to its customer structure with a focus on the medical technology sector, the young company has settled in the medical technology cluster city of Tuttlingen at the foot of the Black Forest. "We have developed a special process with which we can implement the UDI (Unique Device Identification) guidelines for the unique identification of medical devices," says Dominik Pfeiffer, Managing Director of Add'n solutions.

The company relied on automated production processes right from the start. It started with an unmanned cleaning and passivation system, followed by the next step in 2019: the laser marking was to be loaded automatically. The company was looking for a system that could independently load and unload a laser with parts, start the marking process and thus increase the efficiency and productivity of the system. "We thought about how we could best implement this complex task and looked around for different systems," explains Pfeiffer. "We came across Fruitcore and Horst."

The industrial robot, which is easy to program with the HorstFX software, offered the necessary individual flexibility to implement the project. Add'n solutions contacted the robot specialists from Constance and together the two companies developed the right solution for the task.

...places it in the laser marker and triggers the process. After marking, he removes the tray again and pushes it back to its place on the shelf. © Fruitcore

The challenge of different products
"Since 2018, all medical instruments must be individually labeled with a serial number and a data matrix code in accordance with the guidelines of the health authorities in the USA (FDA) and the European Union so that they can be clearly identified," explains Pfeiffer. "We ensure this with our process." The sticking point was the many different components that Horst has to handle. This is because Add'n solutions processes numerous different products in relatively small quantities. The company therefore needed a simple and flexible system for many different components without major modifications to the gripper.

A gripper with three suction cups developed jointly by Add'n solutions and Fruitcore enables Horst to handle the trays safely. © Fruitcore

Together with the engineers from Fruitcore, the company found a simple and elegant solution: a gripper with three suction cups that Horst can use to handle the trays. The instruments to be labeled arrive at the labeling station on small trays. Horst moves to the first tray from below, docks it and places it in the laser marker. Here, each product is scanned individually with the help of a part recognition system and then marked with the necessary information. Once all the instruments have been lasered, Horst picks up the tray again and returns it to the position where he picked it up.

"Horst does a very good job. It meets our requirements exactly, has enough payload and reach and takes up very little space," says Pfeiffer with satisfaction. "This means we can also label larger quantities quickly and accurately." This is a point that should not be neglected, as business is booming and the Tuttlingen-based company wants to expand its capacities. as