Find the gaps. Automate. Scale.
MDCI closes automation gaps with the simplest effective solution — without redesigning your entire facility. Explore our solutions by technology or by operation zone. Either way, the goal is the same: solve the constraint and create a clear path to scale.
The automation gap looks different in a fulfillment center than it does on a pharma packaging line, but the pattern is the same: a manual touch limiting an otherwise automated flow. MDCI works across three environments.
Fulfillment, Distribution & 3PL
High-volume operations where throughput is the currency and manual touches between systems are the ceiling. We close gaps in induction, sortation, scanning, and pack — often without WMS integration, so the solution deploys fast and stands alone.
Representative work: 3PL shipping sorter (2,200 PPH), robotic parcel induction (1,250 PPH per robot), hands-free scanning pack stations, AutoStore overhead scanning, label-detection scan tunnels.
Where a single manual station — loading a machine, tending a cell, kitting a build — caps the output of the whole line. We automate that station and integrate it with your existing machine controls.
Representative work: CNC robotic machine tending integrated to existing controls; robotic kitting and light-assembly cells.
Pharmaceutical, aerospace, and detection environments where the automation has to hold tolerances and pass audits, not just move faster. We build to spec and to standard, from serialization conformity through validated, lights-out production.
Representative work: aerospace bearing serialization built to US Air Force conformity requirements; pharmaceutical robotic vial loading with custom ASRS running full shifts lights-out; pharmaceutical robotic packaging integrated to the upstream line; Bio-Detection systems in serial production.
Start from where your bottleneck actually is. Each zone links to the gaps we close there and the success stories that prove it.
Not sure which zone is costing you the most? That is exactly what an Automation Gap Assessment surfaces.
Reduce the manual touches that remain around your automated lines. Robotic induction, kitting, machine tending, palletizing, and depalletizing — applied to a specific station, integrated with your existing controls, and sized to the problem rather than the whole building.
Applications: parcel induction, CNC machine tending, cobot palletizing, depal, kitting.
Machine Vision, Scanning & RFID
Increase scan and verify speed and take quality checks off the operator. Scan tunnels, overhead and pass-under scanning, five-sided pack-station cameras, OCR, defect detection, and RFID asset tracking to replace manual barcode handling.
Applications: offline scan tunnels, AutoStore overhead scanning, hands-free pack stations, label QC, RFID tracking.
AMRs, Buffering & Conveyance
Improve material flow between systems that were never designed to hand off to each other. Autonomous mobile robots, custom buffer stations, and conveyor interfaces that keep product moving without adding headcount.
Applications: AMR material movement, custom buffer stations, conveyor integration.
Controls & Systems Integration
The competence that makes brownfield work safe. We interface with your existing WMS, ERP, PLC, and conveyor controls so a new cell drops into a live operation without becoming an unsupportable island. This is the difference between a custom machine and a solution you can run, maintain, and scale.
Applications: WMS/ERP integration, conveyor controls, PLC integration, upstream/downstream system handoffs.
Every one of these solved a concrete operating constraint without replacing the core system. Filter by operation zone, technology, or industry to find your analog. Each opens with the impact; the engineering detail is one click down.
Shipping sorter for a 3PL
Custom ecommerce shipping sorter for a 3PL operation. Offline scan tunnel means no WMS integration was required, so the system deployed as a standalone unit. Sorts to up to 13 destinations at 2,200 parcels per hour.
Pattern: solve a concrete operating constraint without replacing the core system.
Designed for a mixed parcel population including boxes, polybags, and jiffy packs. Handles a broad size range up to 27 x 17 x 17 in and 35 lb, at an induction rate of 1,250 parcels per hour per robot.
Hands-free scanning pack stations
Five-sided camera system for hands-free scanning that frees both operator hands for productive handling. Defect detection for marks, tape, labels, tags, and tears. Barcode and OCR read with easy WMS integration.
AutoStore overhead scanning
The opportunity was to increase pick-and-pack efficiency in the AutoStore area. The bottleneck: handheld scanners force one operator hand into scanning instead of productive handling. The solution was a turnkey, fixed-mounted pass-under scanner kit, delivered complete with power, protection, cables, mounting, and hardware.
Low-cost cobot palletizing
Robotiq palletizer running on a UR20e cobot with a custom end effector. Modsort used for automatic case alignment ahead of the pick. A low-cost, small-footprint answer to the repetitive manual palletizing at end of line.
Label-detection scan tunnel
Overhead vision system performing a QC check of labels on packages, integrated with the conveyor controls, plus a new eject station to divert non-conforming product automatically. Adds a quality gate where none existed without slowing the line.
CNC robotic machine tending
Custom robotic machine tending solution automating the loading and unloading of parts to two CNC machines, integrated with the existing CNC controls. Frees the operator from a repetitive, dead-time task and holds consistent cycle timing.
Aerospace bearing serialization
Custom robotic system using CIJ (continuous inkjet) printing to serialize bearings for an aerospace manufacturer, built to conform to US Air Force requirements. Replaces manual marking with a repeatable, traceable, standards-compliant process.
Pharmaceutical robotic vial loading
Custom robotic solution to load vials to a fill and packaging line, paired with a custom ASRS for vials and packaging and integrated with the vial singulator ahead of the packaging machine. Runs a full shift unattended.
Pharmaceutical robotic packaging
Custom robotic solution to package finished product. The previous manual solution was the line bottleneck; the new system increases throughput for the entire line and integrates with the upstream system.
Find the one that looks like your operation, then find out what your gap is worth.
We start from your constraint, not a catalog. Off-the-shelf components where they fit, custom engineering where they do not.
We prove the solution against your real product, mix, and rates before committing to build.
When it works, we can produce it at volume with consistent quality — the same path behind thousands of fielded systems.
The solution stays yours to run. We train your team, stand behind the build, and support it in production.
How we approach every gap
Off-the-shelf components where possible. Standardization and simplicity over complexity. Reasonable cost. On-time and on-budget delivery. Solutions that scale from one line to the whole network. That discipline is what lets a single solved gap become a documented, repeatable win instead of a science project.
Start with an Automation Gap Assessment
A practical first step for brownfield operators. We walk your operation, quantify where manual work is capping your automated flow, and define a focused pilot with ROI logic and a path to scale. No full redesign required to get started.
Where are people still touching product between your automated processes?
We observe your receiving, induction, pick and pack, sortation, palletizing, and shipping touchpoints — looking for the manual touches, bottlenecks, and workarounds around your automated systems.
We estimate the labor hours, throughput impact, ergonomic risk, and quality issues each gap creates — and whether the fix would repeat across other lines or sites.
We rank them by value, deployment complexity, integration risk, and multi-site potential, so you solve the highest-return constraint first.
We build a focused solution concept with ROI logic, a timeline, and a clear path to scale from one line to your network.
The assessment targets a defined problem, not your whole facility. You get a prioritized, quantified view of where your automation is being held back — useful even before you commit to a single project. If a pilot makes sense, you will have the ROI case to justify it internally.
MDCI provides mechanical, electrical, controls, and software programming services — from concept and prototype through serial production, all from our 30,000 sq ft facility in Hatfield, PA.
Multi-tier system design and implementation across multiple commercial control systems, software languages, and industrial communications.
Manufacturing services from prototype through serial production. MDCI has a 30,000 sq ft manufacturing facility in Hatfield, PA, where we set up serial production of your product or system.
UL508A Panel Building & Certification
MDCI is a UL508A certified control panel fabricator, adhering to all NFPA, NEC, and CSA codes and guidelines. From a small wall mount to a multi-door electrical panel — our engineers review your design and provide feedback on ways to reduce material and labor cost.
Because we design, build, and certify under one roof, you get end-to-end certification and compliance services: panels engineered to standard, fabricated in-house, and delivered UL508A labeled — no third-party certification handoffs.
Design & engineering · component selection · UL508A certification & compliance · serial production — 1 panel a month or 200, with just-in-time shipping.
From concept to reality through an iterative design process. Our facility includes robotics, electronics, machining, and engineering labs where we quickly test proof-of-concepts, prototype with modern 3D printing and additive manufacturing, and collaborate with our supply chain to leverage the best available technology.
On-demand part production for faster, smarter, more dependable results — with the added benefit of supply chain resilience while reducing costs and downtime. Offered as a service, so production costs stay purely variable with no up-front equipment investment.
Have a design, panel, or production need? Start the conversation.
A history of service to defense contractors and U.S. government agencies
MDCI Automation has a history of providing engineering services, material handling equipment, automation equipment, and controls systems to major defense contractors and government agencies as a second- or third-tier supplier and also directly to U.S. government agencies as a small business.
MDCI Automation has sold engineering services, control panels, material handling and postal sorting systems, and specialized bio-detection component-handling systems to government agencies including:
Yes — we can accommodate e-buy requests and accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover cards.
Vendor, supplier, and project documents — fillable online forms and downloadable PDFs.
Tell us where people are still touching product, and we will tell you what it is likely costing you. The fastest start is an Automation Gap Assessment, but if you would rather just talk first, reach us directly.
Book an Automation Gap Assessment — we will walk your operation and quantify the opportunity.