When manufacturing engineers evaluate robotic palletizers, case packers, and material handling systems, published speed is only half the equation. The metric that governs whether a line hits its numbers is availability: the percentage of scheduled production time a system actually runs without unplanned stops.
Availability depends on two things: how often a system stops (mean time between failures, or MTBF) and how quickly it gets running again (mean time to repair, or MTTR). PASCO®, a St. Louis OEM manufacturer of end-of-line automation since 1976, has installed 1,200+ systems across 900+ facilities. Its approach to availability starts with engineering choices at the structural, electrical, and support levels.
1. Mechanical architecture: built for real plants
Forklifts hit equipment. Dust and debris build up. Operators push systems to their limits every shift. Much unplanned downtime at the end of the line traces back to equipment that wasn’t built for those conditions.
- Structural steel construction. PASCO systems are fabricated from structural steel channel at PASCO’s St. Louis facility, where cutting, welding, and machining are part of everyday production. Durability is the baseline, not an add-on. See why in-house manufacturing matters.
- Roller conveyors that hold speed. PASCO belt-driven live roller (BDLR) conveyors use Poly-V belts instead of rubber bands, so grip stays consistent and belts don’t stretch. For pallet handling, PASCO chain-driven live roller (CDLR) conveyors use heavy-duty chains engineered to the load and to OSHA standards.
- End-of-arm tooling built in-house. PASCO designs and manufactures its end-of-arm tooling for each product and environment. PASCO tooling routinely exceeds 5 million cycles before overhaul.
- Engineered for harsh environments. PASCO builds for corrosive chemicals in paint and coatings and petrochemical plants, abrasive materials like cement and sand in building products, wet and freezing conditions in ice production, and Class I Division I and II hazardous locations.
| Subsystem | Common failure point | PASCO approach | Effect on uptime |
|---|---|---|---|
| Roller conveyor drives | Rubber band drives that stretch and slip | Poly-V belt drives | Consistent roller speed without belt stretch |
| Pallet handling | Conveyors not sized for the load | Heavy-duty CDLR engineered to load requirements and OSHA standards | Pallet transport built for the actual load |
| Case erecting | Changeover between case sizes | Robotic case erector that handles any case size without changeover | No changeover stops between case sizes |
| End-of-arm tooling | Generic tooling not matched to the product | Custom in-house EOAT | Routinely exceeds 5 million cycles before overhaul |
| Structure | Frames damaged by plant traffic and debris | Structural steel channel, fabricated in-house | Built to take daily plant abuse |
2. Electrical and control integrity: visibility without lock-in
Unplanned stops get longer when maintenance teams can’t see what the system is doing, or can’t get replacement parts without going back to the original vendor.
- Control panels built in-house. PASCO designs and builds every structure, control panel, and electrical enclosure at its St. Louis facility. For wet and corrosive environments, such as ice production and petrochemical plants, PASCO uses climate-controlled electrical panels.
- I/O-Link diagnostics. PASCO systems include I/O-Link-enabled diagnostics that give operators and maintenance teams real-time performance data and historical trends for every shift.
- No proprietary lock-in. PASCO provides original part numbers for every motor, sensor, and actuator, so plants can source replacement components locally instead of waiting on PASCO.
- Rockwell Automation Gold OEM Partner. Pasco Systems Corp holds Gold OEM Partner status in the Rockwell Automation PartnerNetwork.
3. Rapid recovery and lifecycle support
Every system eventually needs wear parts and service. What matters is how fast the line gets running again. PASCO supports every system with the same in-house team that engineered and built it. See how PASCO parts and service works.
- Three-ring phone answer. When a PASCO customer calls, a real person answers within three rings. There are no phone trees, and the person who picks up knows the system because PASCO built it.
- Immediate remote diagnostics, 24-hour on-site aim. When a line goes down, PASCO starts remote diagnostics immediately and aims to be on-site within 24 hours, with PASCO technicians rather than subcontractors.
- 1,200+ parts stocked. PASCO stocks 1,200+ parts at its St. Louis headquarters, and most ship same-day. Non-stocked parts are quoted in under an hour.
- FANUC Certified Service Provider. Fewer than 5% of FANUC integrators hold Certified Service Provider status. It authorizes PASCO technicians to perform robot warranty repairs at the same level as FANUC factory engineers, so one call covers the full system.
- Tested before it ships. PASCO validates and tests complete systems at its own facility before installation, so issues are caught before the equipment reaches the plant floor. See PASCO’s integration process.
- Throughput buyback guarantee. Every PASCO system is engineered to a documented throughput target. If a system doesn’t hit its quoted throughput, PASCO buys it back.
- Support for the life of the system. PASCO keeps engineering records on every build and repairs, retrofits, or replaces components on systems installed decades ago. Every system includes a one-year zero-cost warranty covering the full system, including robots.
Technical summary for plant engineers
Line availability = MTBF ÷ (MTBF + MTTR)
- MTBF (mean time between failures): extended through structural steel fabrication, Poly-V conveyor drives, in-house end-of-arm tooling that routinely exceeds 5 million cycles, and equipment engineered for harsh environments
- MTTR (mean time to repair): reduced through I/O-Link diagnostics, original part numbers with no proprietary lock-in, three-ring phone support, immediate remote diagnostics, 1,200+ same-day parts, and FANUC CSP robot service
- Accountability: a documented throughput target on every system, backed by PASCO’s buyback guarantee, from a family-owned company that earns 70% of its business each year from returning customers
Evaluating vendors for your next project? Read what to look for in an end-of-line automation partner, or request a quote to talk with PASCO’s applications engineers.
