Robot donated to Shrewsbury College
Students at a Shropshire college will be able to further their studies by using a robot donated to them by a multinational company.
Shrewsbury College’s engineering department has received a commercial robot from Ricoh, the company that pioneered technological innovation for over 80 years.
Ricoh was first established in 1936 and is now a multinational imaging and electronics company, with a manufacturing site in Telford.
Shrewsbury College and Ricoh UK Products Ltd have since worked together through Shrewsbury College’s Business Solutions team, who focus on apprenticeships and employer links.
This month, Ricoh donated their FANUC robot to Shrewsbury College, and now students will get to grips with industry-standard technologies, as part of the engineering processes they are learning.
Andrew Lee, curriculum lead for engineering at Shrewsbury College, said: “We are honoured to work with Ricoh and to receive the donation of their FANUC robot. This will be used to complement our significant recent investment supported by the Marches LEP in the area of manufacturing, mechatronics and mechanical maintenance and robotics.
“This will ensure they are able to enter the workplace with an enhanced level of skill and understanding of industry equipment. We’re very grateful for the kind donation of the robot to benefit all the engineers of tomorrow that train with us.”
Richard Powell, an engineer at Ricoh, said: “Due to changing production demands, one of these robots has finally come to the end of its useful life at Ricoh in 2017. It has been upgraded to a smaller and faster robot, more suitable for our current needs.
“The robot itself however has not yet finished being useful and is now in the final stages of being installed at Shrewsbury College, waiting to give the next generation of engineers a taste of what multi axis robots are capable of.
“The FANUC robot began its life at Ricoh UK Products Ltd in the Organic Photoconductor (OPC) department in 1997. It was one of six FANUC robots that were used for handling the delicate aluminium drums and finished product through various stages in the process. OPC products ceased production at Ricoh UK Products Ltd in 2010 and the production facility was decommissioned.”
