Most model railroad enthusiasts love to build custom layouts piece by piece. However, some hobbyists prefer to purchase a preformed layout that includes track and scenery, all they have to do is plug it in and start running their trains.

Wire and spring makers do some quite-interesting work. Ace Wire Spring & Form Inc., for example, regularly turns thick wire into specialty hooks using a complex, multistep production process.

Ordinarily, parts are presented to a robot for pick up at fixed locations, the escapement of a feeder bowl, for example, or the pockets of a thermoformed tray. To save space and eliminate the cost of trays and feeders, manufacturers would like a robot to pick randomly oriented parts out of a bin, box or tote.

Fixed automation systems and conventional blind robots have a role in automated assembly, but it’s limited.