Core Technologies, New Products, and 40 Years in Motion
During the
A3 Business Forum in Orlando, representatives from PBC Linear sat down with Winn Hardin, host of
Manufacturing Matters, to discuss core technologies, new products, and their
40th Anniversary. The panel included (from left to right): Tim Stellmacher, Vice President of Sales; Beau Wileman, Director of Applied Cobotics; David Dieter, President of PBC Linear.
40 Years
PBC linear was founded in 1983 by Bob Schroeder. It has continued as privately held business under the Schroeder family, building on its core Simplicity line to include linear slides, rollers, and actuators. In addition, PBC Linear holds multiple brands including 3D Platform, LEE Linear, and Applied Cobotics. Over the last 40 years, we have grown with our customers through innovation, continuous investment, and a steady offering of linear motion solutions to fit evolving markets.
"The founder and the family have all been innovative in nature, which is really the backbone of our business… We are heavily vertically integrated, with very innovative processes."
– David Dieter
“From the bottom to the top, we have one of the most diverse product lines in the bearing industry. We can offer just the bearing to full systems that can include a motor, belt drive to ball screw drive… a wide range!”
– Tim Stellmacher
See more on our 40 Years of linear motion solutions.
Ball Screws
PBC Linear will soon introduce our anticipated miniature metric ball screw assemblies, which are currently in the final testing phase. The product line will feature 6 mm, 8 mm, and 10 mm diameter screws. This new addition of ball screws is in response to an influx of customer inquiries and increasing demand. Our miniature ball screw line will meet those demands and provide balance to our lead screw line. In addition, customers can expect shorter lead times due to production processes, avoiding costly downtimes and delays to market.
“We will be introducing our miniature metric ball screw line very soon. This is a product that is going to be available from stock, which will be great for customers in lab automation, medical field, and more.”
– Tim Stellmacher
"Screw-driven technology is one of the areas that we have a lot of focus and definition going forward. Ball screw is the next product that we are adding on to our popular lead screw line."
– David Dieter
Get rolling with American manufactured miniature ball screw assemblies from PBC Linear. Comming Soon!
Cobot Feeder
Cobots have become ubiquitous within the manufacturing landscape. Back in the year 2020, the owner of PBC Linear brought in approximately twenty cobots to help alleviate the loss of manpower due to Covid. Once implemented, the team of engineers quickly realized that there was still considerable cobot/machine downtime. How could they maximize automation from their cobot investments, and then bring that solution to others? The answer was the Cobot Feeder from our Applied Cobotics brand.
“Our owner posed a challenge to get cobots running longer, so our team of engineers developed a rough prototype using our components. The Cobot Feeder has been successful. Any part you throw at us, we can create a mold for you that will work perfectly with our Cobot Feeder system. It works well with high mix or high volume.”
– Beau Wileman
“The idea is to solve the pain [labor shortage] because that’s not going away anytime soon. We built the Cobot Feeder for ourselves first, and now we’re commercializing it.”
– David Dieter
“The feedback that we're getting from the trade shows is that flexibility is extremely important, but also the small footprint. You can fit our unit into a space and not have to move other machines to make it fit -- and still run a thousand parts at a time.”
– Tim Stellmacher
The Factory of Our Future
As PBC Linear continues to grow and evolve, we will continue to provide expanding markets with effective products and services, and in turn reinforce the PBC Linear brand as a trusted source for linear motion technologies and automation success.
“Additional product innovations are in discussion. The biggest challenge right now is finding resources to capture opportunities, so we are looking at potential partners to help us accelerate our ability to get to market. There’s a ton of potential and we’re really excited about it!”
– David Dieter
Discussion Participants' Bios
David Dieter,
President of PBC Linear
Tim Stellmacher,
VP of Sales at PBC Linear
Beau Wileman,
Director of Applied Cobotics and PBC Linear
Winn Hardin,
Host of Manufacturing Matters and founder of TECH B2B Marketing