Automation pays when repeat lengths, batch sizes, and corner counts are predictable enough to amortize setup. This page frames ROI without assuming a full unmanned line on day one.
Docs · Production Engineering
Start with bottleneck stations — usually cutting and joining — then add buffering and QC before you spec a greenfield line.
Cutting (stack cutters, NC600/NC500) and pneumatic joining (NN500/NN600) deliver the largest hour savings per dollar when daily output exceeds ~400–600 frames with repeating sizes. Finishing, matting, and packing often stay semi-auto longer because SKU mix is higher.
Track minutes per frame by station, scrap rate after automation, and skilled labour you redeploy to QC or custom work — not only headcount removed. Include power, compressed air, and consumables (V-nails, blades) in the monthly opex delta.
Phase 1: dust-controlled miter or stack cutter + one underpinner serving two assembly benches. Phase 2: second joiner or CNC joiner for wide moulding. Phase 3: material handling between cut and join only if WIP piles become the new bottleneck.