It is fair to assert that some technophobes and some manufacturers want to dispense with robots. The difference, however, is the former group wants to do away with them, whereas the latter group wants to do more with them—specifically, benchtop Cartesian and SCARA models. The reason is simple: Robots dispense adhesives and other materials quicker and more accurately than people, with little waste.

Lab technicians at one contract electronics manufacturer know this. For the past two years they have been using a custom benchtop dispensing system from Dispense Works Inc. to quicken assembly of a tiny glass sensor. Previously, three workers separately dispensed tiny amounts of room-temperature vulcanizing silicone from a handheld syringe onto a lead frame and placed a glass sensor (0.0625-inch square) onto the frame.