AIA: Modular Conveyors Facilitate Flexibility, Process Control
Continental Automotive Systems (Auburn Hills, MI), a division of Continental AG (Hannover, Germany), produces electronic control modules, including steering and brake systems, for the automotive industry. To cut production costs and the cost of accommodating new products at its newly acquired plant in Elma, NY, Continental decided to upgrade the conveyors it uses. The company also wanted to implement conveyors that could be easily combined with the controls software and communications systems that are increasingly a part of its production processes.
With these requirements in mind, Continental Automotive Systems began using Quickdraw MR conveyors from MagStar Technologies Inc. (Hopkins, MN). Because the conveyors are modular and sectional-with the sections coming in standard lengths from 6 inches to 5 feet-they can be quickly assembled and reconfigured to fit a wide range of production requirements. Each section contains its own motor, drive-motor card and cabling, so it can be directly integrated into a production control system with the help of Solid Model software. With track-and-trace software, Continental AG production supervisors can monitor the condition of each electronic control module that is being manufactured as it passes from station to station.