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Sensors and RFID: The Unbeatable Team for Advanced Error-Proofing
Error-proofing is now an accepted tool for achieving substantial gains in product quality and manufacturing efficiency. This white paper provides an overview of some of the ways that sensors can be used to error-proof automated production processes. It’s a tool to help start an error-proofing discussion or augment an error-proofing program.
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Introduction to Wireless Networking
We are all familiar with highly connected wireless networks such as mobile phone networks, but concerns about reliability, performance, and security have kept this technology from making its way to the shop floor. Instead, the current generation of wireless products used in automation applications typically relies on simple transmitter-receiver pairs, offering no advanced networking. To make the most of wireless products, automation and process engineers and managers need to understand how these products work with each other.
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How to Reduce Assembly Costs with Coiled Spring Pins
In any assembled component there are two ways to reduce the overall cost of the assembly: reduce the cost of the individual components or reduce the cost to assemble the components. The coiled pin is designed to be a versatile, integral, and cost effective solution to many assembly problems.
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Lean Manufacturing: Principles, Tools and Methods
In today’s manufacturing environment, assembly work is routinely characterized by short production cycles and constantly diminishing batch sizes, while the variety of product types and models continues to increase. Constant pressure to shorten lead times adds to these demands and makes the mix truly challenging, even for the most innovative manufacturers. Lean manufacturing is one solution to these challenges.
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Total Cost of Ownership and Linear Motion
You may not realize it, but many of the products you buy actually cost a lot more than the initial price you paid for them. For example, let’s say you paid $25,000 for your vehicle. How far do you drive and how many gallons of gasoline do you use each week? How much does gasoline cost in your area? How often do you change the oil, rotate the tires, or have other maintenance work done? Over a 5-year period, these expenses, all a necessary part of operating your vehicle, can easily add up to $12,000—or approximately 50 percent of the price of the vehicle. Similar logic can be applied to linear motion systems.
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How “LOSTPED” Can Help With Sizing
A common mistake that engineers make when designing linear motion systems is to overlook critical application requirements in the final system. This can lead to costly redesigns and reworks, but may also result in an overengineered system that is more costly and less effective than desired. However, by focusing on seven key parameters, engineers can design an optimal, cost-effective system.
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Raise Your Assembly Quotient
In many companies, the question is not “Should we outsource the assembly operation?” It is “Where should we have it assembled?”
But wait. There are several manufacturing functions that must be performed in addition to the assembly operations. The better questions are “Precisely which manufacturing-related functions are we going to do internally and which should we outsource?” and “Where does the assembler’s role begin and where does it end?” These questions demand thoughtful introspection, honest self-evaluation, thorough consideration of prospective manufacturing partners, and quite a lot of homework. The result can be viewed as a kind of acquired intelligence—your AQ (Assembly Quotient)—that will help you identify and compare prospective assembly partners.
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Fastening Hardware Using Surface Mount Technology
In the past, when electronics manufacturers needed to add fasteners to a printed circuit board, they had two choices. They could deal with the inconvenience and poor productivity of loose fasteners. Or, they could use broaching fasteners, which hold circuit boards securely but can easily damage populated boards if not installed correctly. Now, there is another option. Surface mount technology can now be used to add fasteners to PCBs. These fasteners are affixed directly onto a solder pad on the surface of the board, using the same soldering processes as the board’s other components.
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New Concept in Vacuum System Design Allows for Increased Productivity and Reduced Energy Consumption
Vacuum, or negative pressure, is used in a variety of applications, such as packaging, assembly, conveying and graphics. While effective, vacuum systems are not always optimized for their purpose, due to physical limitations or system complexity. Now, technological improvements enable engineers to locate small, pneumatic vacuum pumps directly at the point-of-use. The result is greater reliability and energy efficiency.
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How Workstations Have Changed to Meet Today’s Surface Mount Technology Needs
In the old days, workbenches were little more than wood or laminate surfaces over crude frames. Assembly of circuit boards was essentially a mechanical process: Through-hole components were secured to the board with bent leads before they were soldered in place. Little concern was given to issues such as electrostatic discharge, modularity, ergonomics or flexibility. How times have changed!
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The Role of Workstations in Lean Manufacturing
Even in today’s automated environment, skilled workers continue to dominate the shop floor, from material preparation through product shipment. Moreover, the tasks those workers perform, and the processes they use, are in constant flux. The nine principles of lean manufacturing—right-sized equipment; elimination of waste; flexibility; visual factories; error proofing; point-of-use storage; set-up reduction; workplace organization; and just-in-time production—can help engineers set up manual operations in the most optimal way.
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Improving Medical Device Coating Processes With Low-Volume, Low-Pressure Technology
Medical devices, or specific portions of them, are often coated with primers, lubricants, drugs or other fluids. As these devices become smaller and more complex, meeting stringent tolerances and cosmetic requirements for the coating process becomes more difficult. If medical device manufacturers are having difficulty achieving consistent results with their coating processes, low-volume, low-pressure spray technology may provide a solution.
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