Screwdriving and Riveting Assembly

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U.S. manufacturing continued to roll in 2017. Want proof? Look no further than Toyota Motor Corp. In September, the world’s largest automaker announced that it will invest $374 million at five U.S. factories.

Aslew of technology is available to ensure threaded fasteners are installed in the correct sequence and at the correct torque and angle.

U.S. automakers are wrestling with the challenge of reducing vehicle weight to meet the 2025 CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Economy) mandate, which requires new cars and trucks to achieve 55 miles per gallon. Meeting that challenge will require the latest advances in materials and fastening methods.

Sometimes, when a product has been around for many years, the best way to gain market share in a crowded field is to completely rethink the design.

If poet Gertrude Stein had also worked as an assembly machine operator, could she have ever written the line, “a rivet is a rivet is a rivet”? No one can say for sure, but it’s highly unlikely since operators know that rivets are distinctive in their design and function, as well as how they are installed.

A cell phone manufacturer had a problem: Although it was staffed by four assemblers, the screwdriving station had become a bottleneck.

During a recent visit to this bright, open, state-of-the-art factory, I took a turn on the line assembling one of DEWALT’s hottest products, the 20-volt MAX XR three-speed cordless drill and screwdriver, which is powered by a brushless motor and a 5 amp-hour lithium-ion battery.

Plastics and polymer composites are essential to a wide range of safety and performance parts in cars today. In fact, the use of plastic and polymer composites in light vehicles has increased from less than 20 pounds per vehicle in 1960 to 334 pounds per car in 2015.

The popularity of cordless tools on the assembly line continues to grow. Battery-operated devices allow assemblers to more easily work on platforms or inside car interiors, tractor cabs, aircraft wings and other tight spaces.

Orbitform knows the importance of the bottom line, and how imperative it is to keep things running smoothly and efficiently.