Skip to Content
Solutions · Automation · Robotics

Robot cells proven in simulation before steel is cut.


We integrate the robot that fits the job, FANUC, KUKA, Comau, Autonox, Omron or a collaborative arm, and we start from the controls. Palletizing, machine tending, case packing, welding and assembly cells are simulated offline first, then the end-of-arm tooling, fixtures, guarding and UL 508A panels are designed by one team, built in our own shop and commissioned by the people who drew them.

FANUC · KUKA · Comau · Autonox · Omron
Offline simulation on every cell
EOAT & fixtures designed in house
SINUMERIK Run MyRobot cabinets in stock
UL 508A cell controls
Automation at Think-PLC

Where most automation projects start, and the rest.

Robotics, material handling, retrofits and brewhouse controls are the doors people usually come in through. Custom machines, packaging lines, process skids and CNC are the rest, and they all come out of the same engineering office, UL 508A panel shop and fabrication floor in Winston-Salem.

Proven in simulation

We build the cell in simulation before we build it in steel.

Offline programming and 3D simulation in the robot maker’s own tool, ROBOGUIDE for FANUC for example, let you watch the robot run your product, at your rate, on your layout, and sign off on the concept while changes still cost nothing. The program that arrives at commissioning is already validated, so start-up is measured in days rather than weeks.

  • Reach and envelope studies confirm the right robot model and brand for the job before it is ordered.
  • Collision checking against tooling, fixtures, guarding and conveyance in the real layout.
  • Cycle-time verification against your throughput target, before you commit.
  • Offline path generation that cuts teach time on the floor.
  • Layout options compared side by side while the design is still on screen.
Robotic arc-weld cell with servo positioner, modelled before fabrication
Robotic arc-weld cell design
Arc-weld cell: robot on a riser, servo positioner, power source and boom-mounted balancers
Weld torch and positioner tooling detail
Torch mount and positioner detail from the same model, reach and clearance settled on screen
Robotic palletizing cell with roller conveyor infeed
Palletizing cell with roller conveyor infeed and guarded pallet stations
Turnkey tooling and complete robot systems

We deliver the cell, not just the robot.

End-of-arm tooling, fixtures, guarding, conveyance and the controls that tie them together are designed by one team on one set of drawings, built in our own shop and commissioned by the people who drew them. One number to call, and one place where responsibility sits.

End-of-arm tooling

Custom grippers, vacuum heads and part-specific EOAT designed around your product rather than adapted from a catalogue, then fabricated and proven before it ships.

Fixtures and mechanical design

Robot bases, fixtures, frames, guarding and infeed or outfeed conveyance, cut, bent, welded and assembled in house alongside the controls they run on.

Mechanical capabilities →
Cell layout and safety

Guarding, light curtains, interlocks and safety-rated control circuits laid out to NFPA 79 and current robot safety practice, documented and testable.

Controls and panels

UL 508A control panels built in our own shop, PLC and HMI programming, and the robot-to-line integration that makes the cell part of your process instead of an island beside it.

Electrical capabilities →
Installation and commissioning

Rigging, wiring, start-up and run-off on your floor, with the simulation model as the yardstick for what the cell was supposed to do.

Training and support

Operator and maintenance training on the cell we built, backed by the same service team that covers the rest of your plant.

Service and support →
One teamowns simulation, tooling, panels and start-up
In houselaser, brake, mill and weld shop for cell hardware
Daysnot weeks of start-up, because the program arrives validated
NFPA 79safety circuits documented and testable
Industries and applications

Customized solutions for every line.

Whether you are automating an assembly line, improving material handling or transforming packaging, our integration work is designed around your product, your rate and your floor. We work with general contractors and end users who need a well-defined scope managed to completion, and with businesses making their first move into automation who want a partner through the whole process.

PalletizingDepalletizingMachine tendingCase packing PickingAssemblyArc weldingPolishingMachining on the arm
Food & beverageCold storageDry goods warehousingAerospace AutomotivePharmaceuticalsGeneral manufacturing
Autonox six-axis robot arm
Controller-level expertise

Deep knowledge of the robot controllers we integrate and of the PLC, safety and drives around them, for targeted and effective solutions.

Advanced options

Vision, force sensing and collaborative arms specified where they earn their place, not because the catalogue has them.

Controls in mind

Every cell is designed from the PLC and safety circuit outward, so it integrates with your line instead of sitting beside it.

End-to-end service

Design, build, install, train and support from one company, with the shop and the engineers under one roof.

Platforms

The robot is a component. We pick it for the job.

Reach, payload, speed, environment and what your maintenance team already knows decide the arm. The controls, tooling and safety that turn it into a cell are the same whichever badge is on it.

FANUC

Industrial six-axis, SCARA and delta robots plus CRX collaborative arms. We are a FANUC Robot Integrator and simulate every FANUC cell in ROBOGUIDE.

KUKA

Industrial arms for handling, welding and heavy payloads, integrated with the PLC and safety platform of your plant.

Comau

Six-axis arms for handling and machining, including the Run MyRobot cabinet that puts a Comau arm on a SINUMERIK control.

Run MyRobot cabinet (Comau) →
Autonox

Controller-agnostic robot mechanics run directly from a Siemens SINUMERIK, for machining, additive and machine tending.

Run MyRobot cabinet (Autonox) →
Omron and Mabi collaborative

Cobots for machine tending, packing and assembly beside people, with the risk assessment and safety functions done properly.

Siemens SINUMERIK Run MyRobot

Any supported arm driven as a machine-tool axis group from the CNC, with one control, one HMI and one program for the machine and the robot.

Run MyRobot cabinets →
FANUCKUKAComauAutonoxOmronMabi Siemens TIA PortalRockwell Studio 5000PROFINET · PROFIsafeEtherNet/IP · CIP Safety
Robots on machine-tool controls

SINUMERIK Run MyRobot cabinets, in stock.

Think-PLC is the only Siemens Run MyRobot Experience Solution Partner in the USA. We build the SINUMERIK-based control cabinets that run a six-axis robot as a machine-tool axis group, for machining, additive manufacturing and machine tending, with standard cabinets for Comau, Autonox and Danobat robots and a spindle control enclosure, tool change rack and laser accuracy calibration to go with them.

  • Standard cabinets. Run MyRobot control cabinets for Comau, Autonox and Danobat arms, priced and documented on the shop.
  • Options. Spindle control enclosure, HSK63 tool change rack, iSiOS laser tracking accuracy calibration.
  • Proven. Two-in-one robot controller for additive manufacturing developed with Siemens and featured in Control Design.
SINUMERIK Run MyRobot control cabinet built by Think-PLC
Spindle control enclosure

Run MyRobot spindle control add-on enclosure for machining on the arm.

View product →
Tool change rack (HSK63)

Robotic tool change rack for HSK63 holders, built to the cell layout.

View product →
iSiOS laser calibration

Laser tracking accuracy calibration for robots doing machining-grade work.

View product →
Aerospace case study

Transforming aerospace manufacturing with SINUMERIK Run MyRobot.

Read the case study →
Standards & certifications

Built to the standard, partnered with the vendors.

FANUC Robot IntegratorOnly Siemens Run MyRobot Experience SP in the USA Siemens Solution Partner: Factory AutomationSiemens Solution Partner: Drives & Motion Siemens Solution Partner: Machine Tool SystemsRockwell Integrator UL 508A panel shopNFPA 79Ignition Certified
Who relies on us

What partners say.

You guys provide this level of being able to think outside of the box a little bit with the design and that was really captured with the catch robot that you guys did for our catch facility. From there it made us think internally, why wouldn’t we use Think-PLC a little bit more.

Conan StoehrSolutions Partner Manager, Siemens Think-PLC and Siemens innovate a two-in-one robot controller

They’re more than a panel builder, they’ll run cable, do the programming, the electrical drawings and all of that… It was just a can-do attitude. Nothing was really a problem.

Stephen NolanTechnical Director
Have a part, a rate and a floor plan? Send a drawing or a STEP file of the product and a sketch of the space. We will come back with a simulated layout, a cycle-time estimate and a budget for the complete cell, on the robot that fits.
Start a cell study
Design. Build. Install. Service.

Talk to our team about your next robot cell.

Simulation, tooling, panels, programming and start-up from one team in Winston-Salem, NC.

Contact us All automation