ABB variable frequency drives (VFDs) are used in a variety of industrial and commercial applications to improve productivity and energy efficiency in mechanical systems run by an electric motor. Not long ago, only 10 percent of electric motors in the United States were controlled by VFDs. That number is rapidly increasing, and the ABB drives manufacturing plant in New Berlin, WI, has been setting a new unit output record nearly every month for well over a year as a result.

The assembly of ABB VFDs has historically been a manual process, with a production line of operators fastening and wiring the intricate components of each drive. In 2018, facing increasing production demands in an unusually tight labor market, ABB plant engineers began to investigate the possibility of installing robotic automation to supplement their existing manufacturing staff.