Automation for growing manufacturers

Call our team

Business Case Development and Simulation

Simulated four-robot palletising floor: KUKA robots placing cartons from roller conveyors inside safety fencing

Business case development & simulation

Know what you’re investing in before you commit

See how an automated line could work in your factory before committing to the investment. We model the layout, simulate the process and build a business case using your own production data, costs and targets.

Discuss your projectWhat you get
Find out more

“We simulate the layout and process, then build the business case before our customers commit to the investment.”

Joel RobinsonDirector & Lead Engineer, Revolve Systems

What we check in simulation

A simulation runs the whole cycle, with every robot, conveyor, vehicle, load and person moving as it would on site. It shows the problems that are expensive to find after installation.

Hidden costsFind the costs that only show up after installation: rework, equipment that has to move, a line that misses its rate. Each one is cheaper to fix in the model than on the floor.
Full factory simulationModel the whole factory, with manual and automated processes together.
Hidden bottlenecksFind the workflow bottlenecks in your process that are not obvious on the floor.
Digital twinA 3D model of your site and equipment, built to your dimensions, to test changes before they are made.
Layout and clearancesVehicles, forklifts and loads checked against every fixed and moving part, through the whole cycle.
Robot reachEvery pick and place position checked against the reach of the robot.
Robot pathsEach placement checked so the arm and the load clear the stack, the fence and the conveyor.
Material flowHow busy each vehicle and conveyor is, and where it waits for the next station.
Cycle and rateWhether the proposed line can meet the rate you need.
GuardingFences, doors and light curtains placed with clearance to the moving equipment.

Live data. We can connect the model to your PLCs and line data, so it follows the plant as it runs.

Example: a four-robot palletising floor

This is a concept layout for a cold-store despatch floor. Four KUKA robot cells palletise cartons from one infeed, an automated vehicle moves the pallets, and a forklift loads out. It was drawn from a sketch of the floor, then built and run in simulation.

Running it found problems that would have been costly on site:

  • A vehicle lane that was too narrow.
  • A pallet dispenser lowering onto a vehicle as it left.
  • A load passing into the forklift carriage.
  • Trailer loading positions set too tight.
  • A robot path dipping into a high stack.

Each one was found and fixed in the model.

Overhead view of robots building carton pallets beside roller conveyors in a simulated layout
Simulated despatch floor with fenced robot cells, a pallet ready for the forklift and marked walkways
The despatch end of the floor, with marked walkways and the forklift pick-up point.
KUKA robot with a vacuum gripper picking a carton from a roller conveyor
Each robot picks one carton at a time from the roller conveyor.
Vacuum gripper setting a carton down on a pallet layer
The set-down path is checked carton by carton.

More automation solutions

Concept cell with a yellow robot loading 15 litre water bottles into racks, beside a washing, filling and capping machine
Bottle rack reload cell. A robot unloads racks of bottles, sends them to be washed, filled and capped, then loads them back. The model showed that a smaller robot couldn’t lift a full row, before any equipment was bought.

Building the business case

The business case uses your figures to show what the line costs and what automation would change. It may show that automation isn’t worth the investment for your process. If that’s the case, you’ll know before spending money on equipment.

Where it saves or makes money

  • Fewer surprises on site. Problems found in the model are fixed on a screen, not with rework, rebuilt guarding or a second install visit.
  • The right size of line. You buy the equipment your rate needs, not more and not less.
  • A faster start. Installation starts from a layout that has already been tested, so production starts sooner.
  • Labour and output in your figures. The case shows the people each shift needs and the rate the line can hold.

For larger operations

  • A case your finance team can check. Capital cost, running cost and payback, set out with your figures and every assumption stated.
  • Options compared on the same numbers. Manual, part automated and fully automated, or two layouts side by side.
  • Growth tested before it happens. Extra shifts, new products or higher volumes run in the model before you commit.
  • More than one line or site. Model the first line, then test the same approach on the next.

What we ask for:

  • The process as it runs now, and the people it takes on each shift.
  • The rate you need, and the products that run on the line.
  • Shifts and operating hours.
  • A floor plan or site dimensions, with photos.
  • What the current process costs you in time, scrap or downtime.

What you get

Layout drawingSet out against your site dimensions.
Simulation videoThe proposed line running a full cycle, for everyone who has to sign it off.
RendersStills of the proposed equipment in your space.
Business caseCosts and savings worked out from your figures.
Project proposalThe scope defined, so the project can be quoted.

How it works

  1. 1

    Send us the details

    A floor plan or site dimensions, photos, the products and the rate you need.

  2. 2

    We model the layout

    The equipment is placed against your site dimensions.

  3. 3

    We run the simulation

    Problems are found and fixed in the model.

  4. 4

    You get the business case

    With the drawing, video and proposal, before you commit to anything.

Tell us about the line you are considering

Send us the process and the floor space, and we will tell you whether a simulation is worth doing for your project.

Discuss your project

For a study that starts with measuring the process on site, see our automation feasibility study.

We work across Melbourne and regional Victoria, from our facility in Dandenong South.