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Why AIR?
Automated Industrial Robotics (AIR) unites technical depth, operational strength, and modern capability in a single partner built for ambitious manufacturers.
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Sectors
Discover how AIR can help your drive innovation, efficiency, and scale.
Sectors overview
Medical
Driving innovation in medical device assembly, surgical instruments, orthopedic, cardiology & CRM, peripheral and continence care, and more.
Pharma
AIR partners with leading pharmaceutical companies to design, build, and support advanced automation systems for complex, highly regulated production environments.
Semiconductor
Enabling startups, global semiconductor equipment OEMs, and semiconductor fabs to scale to high-volume production systems.
Food & beverage
Proven experience across a wide range of food and beverage manufacturing processes and products including tea, bakery, pet foods, ready meals, beverage and tobacco.
Automotive
We bring the latest automation thinking, expertise, and equipment from ultrasonic welding, clipping, screwing, and snapping to materials handling, inspection, and traceability.
Consumer goods
AIR brings together deep, specialist automation expertise to deliver complex solutions across cosmetics, personal care, pet care, and electronics manufacturing.
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About AIR
AIR combines deep engineering expertise, industrial scale, and advanced capability in one powerful partner for ambitious, progressive manufacturers.
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Capabilities
Deep process and systems expertise, engineered to optimize performance, efficiency, and long-term operational success.
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We partner with ambitious, progressive manufacturers across the medical, pharma, semiconductor, food & beverage, automotive, and consumer goods sectors. Discover how AIR can help your drive innovation, efficiency, and scale.
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Sectors
Emerging technology,
semiconductor and more
AIR in Silicon Valley focuses on high-tech industries, offering specialized expertise in semiconductors, medical products, renewable energy, emerging technologies and data storage. Across our six sites, we work in a range of sectors:
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Medical, pharmaceutical
and more
AIR in Shannon, Ireland focuses on advanced automation for the MedTech industry. Across our six sites, we work in a range of sectors:
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Sectors
Deep expertise for
progressive manufacturers
Across our six sites, we offer specialized expertise and automation innovation to a range of sectors:
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Sectors
Pharma, medical, food and beverage,
consumer goods and more
Across our six sites, AIR works in a range of sectors:
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Medical devices, filling
machines and more
AIR in Sligo, Ireland delivers advanced automation solutions for medical and life sciences manufacturers, including flexible filling systems and high-speed filling systems. Across our six sites, we work in a range of sectors:
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Deep automotive
expertise and more
AIR in Rochester Hills specializes in the design and manufacture of fully integrated stand-alone assembly, specialized machines, and automated and secondary assembly equipment. Across our six sites, we work in a range of sectors:
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High-speed, precision handling of flexible CIGS substrates

Project snapshot
Client:
Leading CIGS PV startup
Location:
N/A
Sector:
Product type:
Flexible substrate handling system
Rendering of a flexible CIGS substrate handling machine
Challenge

Handle delicate, flexible substrates at high speed with precision

Flexible substrates are extremely low cost but require specialized handling to avoid damage and maintain alignment. The client needed a system that could singulate, align, and place these substrates quickly and accurately, while integrating into their factory processes and supporting high throughput.

Row of vacuum suction cups on a substrate handling bar
Innovation

Custom automation for rapid singulation, precise alignment, and seamless factory integration

We developed a high-speed assembly system tailored to the challenges of flexible substrates. Key elements of the solution included:

  • Innovative mechanism to rapidly singulate substrates.
  • Alignment to required dimensions with 25 µm placement accuracy.
  • Throughputs exceeding 1,000 parts per hour.
  • Complete system software and controls, including HMI and factory interface.
  • Design optimized for factory integration, throughput, and cost tradeoffs.
Result

Reliable, high-performance substrate handling

The system delivered precise, high-speed handling of flexible substrates, meeting the client’s stringent throughput and accuracy requirements. The integrated controls and software allowed seamless factory operation, supporting the client’s production ramp with a robust, reliable solution.

Case studies

The customers requested a solution to automate the bottle sorting section of their production line. The line involved a number of variations in bottle sizes and shapes. This AIR original design involves…

A major HDD manufacturer needed to improve the reliability and cleanliness of their media scrubber modules without replacing the entire cleanline. Existing automation dropped disks frequently, had low…

A major hard disk manufacturer had developed a lab-scale UV processing technology and needed to scale it to high-volume production. The system had to handle media at high speed, integrate seamlessly with…

View all case studies
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Let’s talk

Talk to AIR’s team about your latest manufacturing challenge. We’re here to help you bring your latest innovations to market quickly and at scale. Ideating, designing, building, commissioning, and supporting your next wave of automated manufacturing.