2013 April

The 2013 April Assembly includes a cover story about assembling motors and bearings and articles about DFMA, tablets, and wire processing. Check it out today!

Assembling Motors and Bearings at Baldor

Baldor benefits from investing in U.S. assembly operations.

John Sprovieri

April 1, 2013

It has become fashionable lately for some U.S. companies to tout how they’ve reshored production from overseas. Baldor Electric Co. isn’t one of them—it never left. The company has been manufacturing electric motors, drives, bearings and other motion control products in the United States for decades.

Display Assembly With UV-Cure Adhesives

High-power LEDs safely cure liquid, optically clear adhesives during assembly of touch-panel displays.

Brian Ventrudo, Ph.D.

April 1, 2013

Worldwide, sales of smart phones and tablet computers have skyrocketed. A report by Credit Suisse predicts annual sales of smart phones will cross the 1 billion mark in 2014, driven by the launch of lower-end handsets and increasing demand from China. Tablet computers are also experiencing rapid growth. Forrester Research projects sales of tablet computers to grow from 56 million in 2011 to 375 million in 2017, a compound annual growth rate of 46 percent.

Handheld Crimping Tools

Hand tools are ideal for prototyping, repair and small production runs.

Austin Weber

April 1, 2013

A fully automatic stripping and crimping system might be the “glamour” technology of wire harness assembly shops. However, there’s still plenty of work for handheld electric, pneumatic and manually powered crimping tools.

Improving Printability of Wire and Cable

By raising surface polarity, atmospheric plasma treatments optimize the adhesion properties of insulation materials.

Rory A. Wolf

April 1, 2013

Wire and cable insulation is typically made from thermoplastics, thermosets or fibrous coatings such as fiberglass and fiber-braiding. Unfortunately for manufacturers, inks and coatings do not print or bond well to most of these materials when using standard techniques.

Copper Strikes Back!

New, high-strength copper alloys enable automakers to use thinner wires in their harness designs.

Konrad Kundig Robert Weed

April 1, 2013

Despite recent inroads by aluminum, copper will remain the dominant material used in automotive wiring harness applications over the next few decades. That’s because harness weight can easily be reduced by using finer wires wherever electrically feasible.

A Trade Show on Your Desktop

At Tech ManufactureXPO, manufacturing professionals can attend educational sessions and interact with suppliers via their computers.

John Sprovieri

April 1, 2013

America’s manufacturing sector gained 14,000 jobs in February, according to the latest data from the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.

DFMA — A Potent Lean Methodology

With its emphasis on simplifying designs and standardizing parts, DFMA can help manufacturers get lean.

Richard J. Schonberger, Ph.D.

April 1, 2013

Design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) does well as a stand-alone methodology for simplifying product designs and lowering production costs. However, DFMA should also be hailed as a pathway to lean manufacturing.

Choosing a Vision Interface Standard

Recently introduced USB3 Vision joins several other established standards, all of which increase component selection, simplify setup and expand the market for vision systems.

Jim Camillo

April 1, 2013

Component interoperability for PC-based vision systems has come a long way in a short time. The main reason for this quick evolution is interface standards, which the AIA, a machine vision trade group, began introducing in 2000.

Usability Tests Lend Insight Into Medical Device Design

Engineers sometimes fail to account for who will be us-ing the device and where it will be used.

John Sprovieri

April 1, 2013

Each year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration logs some 100,000 reports of adverse events related to medical devices. More than a third of those are due to human error.

The FireWire Factor

Jim Camillo

April 4, 2013

In 1987, Apple Computer Inc. introduced FireWire. It was the first direct-connect digital interface (IEEE1394) and standard (DCAM) on the market.

When Best Practices Aren’t Best

Yesterday’s best practice is not tomorrow’s.

Dr. Mike Shipulski

April 1, 2013

Manufacturers vigorously seek out best practices because they can improve metrics, such as stock price, sales and profitability. There’s only one problem: Best practices are the actions that solved yesterday’s problems.

DFMA Software Generates Cost-Efficient Product Design

April 1, 2013

Producers of plastic, rubber and composites use Dynisco Inc. melt-pressure and temperature sensors, controls, and analytical instruments to maximize manufacturing efficiency and productivity. Dynisco has served these customers well for more than 50 years, providing leading-edge technology manufactured to ISO 9000 quality standards.

UV LED Lamp Cures up to 100 Optical Lenses per Hour

April 1, 2013

Fabricating and testing optical components is a very detailed process. It begins by grinding a spherical glass blank using ring tools to create a semifinished lens. Next, the lens’ rough surface is rotated and rubbed against a tool having the desired surface shape.

Laser Scanning Lessens Waste for Toilet Manufacturer

April 1, 2013

Aircraft Technologies Inc. makes sinks, toilets and other assemblies for airframe manufacturers, completion centers, and maintenance and repair facilities.

Lock Washer Secures Safe Rendezvous to Space Station

April 1, 2013

On May 22, 2012, after eight years of preparation, Space Exploration Technologies (better known as SpaceX) launched the Dragon spacecraft atop a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft traveled more than 200 miles to reach its destination: the International Space Station (ISS).

Indexing Dial Fills, Assembles Beverage Caps

Before snapping the parts together, the system dispenses liquid or powdered ingredients into the assembly.

April 1, 2013

Premixed, ready-to-drink, functional beverages are certainly convenient, but that convenience comes with some trade-offs.

Fresh Meat for the UAW?

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again. That appears to be the mantra of the United Auto Workers this year.

John Sprovieri

April 1, 2013

In early March, UAW officials met with workers from Nissan Motor Co.’s assembly plant in Smyrna, TN, to lay the groundwork for a third union representation vote. Plant employees turned down the UAW by a 2-to-1 margin in 2001. A 1989 attempt to organize the plant also failed.

On Demand Learn how manufacturers are bridging the gap between the shop floor and ERP systems to gain real-time visibility, streamline operations, and kick-start digital transformation—without waiting years.

Sponsored by:

On Demand In this presentation, Dr. Herman Tang shares practical insights from his industry experience and research on buffer management in manufacturing operations.

Assembly eMagazine

Cover Story

Assembling Motors and Bearings at Baldor

Features

Display Assembly With UV-Cure Adhesives

Handheld Crimping Tools

Improving Printability of Wire and Cable

Copper Strikes Back!

A Trade Show on Your Desktop

DFMA — A Potent Lean Methodology

Choosing a Vision Interface Standard

Columns

Usability Tests Lend Insight Into Medical Device Design

The FireWire Factor

When Best Practices Aren’t Best

DFMA Software Generates Cost-Efficient Product Design

UV LED Lamp Cures up to 100 Optical Lenses per Hour

Laser Scanning Lessens Waste for Toilet Manufacturer

Lock Washer Secures Safe Rendezvous to Space Station

Indexing Dial Fills, Assembles Beverage Caps

Fresh Meat for the UAW?

Never miss the latest news and trends driving the manufacturing industry

Stay in the know on the latest assembly trends.