Cross Bros. was asked to investigate how a prominent medical device and pharmaceutical company could enhance the assembly and labeling of their cylindrical vials while reducing their hours of manual labor.

Their current process required:

-4 to 6 operators per shift

-2 shifts per day

-1400 parts per hour in a Class 100,000 environment

The process included three vibratory bowl feeders that delivered parts to rotating nests. After completion of the assembly process, a long, narrow label was applied to the vial. A vision system then inspected the vial to ensure correct label placement. The completed vial was then picked from the nest and deposited onto a discharge chute where it was counted and fed into one of two operator loaded bags.

With the new system in place the medical device & pharmaceutical company was able to see an increase in productivity and a decrease in labor costs. Cross Bros. developed an automated system that only required:

-1 operator per shift

-2 shifts per day

-1800 parts per hour in a Class 100,000 environment