In this first installment of Bosch Rexroth's "Lean Manufacturing Audio Series," Jamie Flinchbaugh, a founder and partner of the Lean Learning Center (Novi, MI) and co-author of the popular book The Hitchhiker's Guide to Lean talks about what lean organizations need to do to make sure supervisors contribute fully in the effort to be lean.
Lithium-ion batteries require extra assembly steps than other types of rechargeable batteries. Some manufacturers use ultrasonic welding to assemble their batteries.
Researchers at Stanford University have developed a way to use silicon nanowires to improve the rechargeable battery technology used in cordless tools and other devices. The new technology produces 10 times the amount of electricity of existing lithium-ion batteries.
Cordless tool manufacturers and their battery suppliers are focusing part of their R&D efforts on recharging technology. As a result, today's battery chargers are faster and smarter than ever.
The right tool for the right job: The old adage holds true for machine vision and parts tracking, the same as it does for anything else in manufacturing.
An aircraft engine manufacturer, for example, recently found it had a number of conditions it needed to meet if it was to automate the manual documentation system it used to track the thousands of components making up each of its engines-in compliance with the requirements mandated by “Air Transport Association SPEC 2000.”
The new automated tracking systems employs 2D Data Matrix codes imprinted on each part using a percussive dot-peen method. Because this method relies on small changes in depth to create the light and dark areas of the code-as opposed to contrasting colors-the imaging system needed to be both robust and sensitive to avoid reading errors. In addition, because the parts involved range in size from small metal tubes to large fan blades, the company needed a wireless system that would enable operators to move around a part to access the code-instead of having to maneuver the part closer to the scanner.
As a result the company went with a series of MS-Q handheld imagers, which feature wireless communication at a range of up to 300 feet. The MS-Q is also capable of reading low-contrast dot peen codes under challenging lighting conditions and was easy to integrate into the company’s designated tracking system.
Medical device manufacturers continue to consume more plastic than ever. ASSEMBLY recently asked two experts at a leading material supplier to comment on current market conditions.
By mimicking the brick-and-mortar molecular structure found in seashells, researchers have created a new type of composite plastic that’s as strong as steel, but lighter and transparent. It could be used in microelectromechanical devices, microfluidics and biomedical sensors.
Over the past year, the engineers at Vacuum Instrument Corp. have designed numerous leak testing systems for assemblers of all sorts of products. Here are three from the automotive industry.
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