John Sprovieri

Five Things: Automated Assembly Systems

John Sprovieri

July 24, 2020

Lanco Integrated has completed an assembly system to produce components for coronavirus test kits.

Wire Harness Manufacturers Get Help Through MEP

John Sprovieri

July 23, 2020

Located in Portland, OR, AmFor Electronics Inc. has been manufacturing wire harnesses, cable assemblies, electrical panels and electromechanical assemblies since 1961. Its products can be found in cars, trucks, construction equipment and agricultural equipment.

90 Years on the Assembly Line

John Sprovieri

July 15, 2020

Numerous studies have revealed a peculiarity about our next-generation workforce. While they might have a positive perception of manufacturing, most would not consider careers in the industry.

System Feeds Conical Washers

John Sprovieri

June 11, 2020

How do you singulate and orient a conical washer made of soft metal only 0.005 inch thick and almost 1 inch in diameter?

FTC Pans Retailer’s ‘Made in USA’ Claims

John Sprovieri

June 9, 2020

All things being equal, most U.S. consumers would prefer to buy products that are made in the USA. So when a company claims a product is made in this country when it's not, it can get burned.

Force-Controlled Assembly With Universal Robots and Robotiq

John Sprovieri

June 1, 2020

Robots have always struggled to match human touch. But, recent advances in sensor technology now enable the machines to process the sensitive forces needed for delicate assembly tasks, such as placing, inserting and tightening parts.

Automated Assembly in the Age of Industry 4.0

The IIoT is changing how systems integrators are designing automated assembly systems

John Sprovieri

May 15, 2020

A high-speed, multistation automated assembly system can produce tens of thousands of products per day.

Fastening, Pressing and Industry 4.0

Engineers can do more with force and torque data than simply make “good” or “not good” decisions about assemblies

John Sprovieri

May 15, 2020

Just as the Rose Bowl is the "granddaddy" of college football bowl games, torque and angle might well be the granddaddies of manufacturing data collection. Assemblers have been monitoring their fastening processes for decades, but those efforts have reached a new level in the era of Industry 4.0.

Cybersecurity for Today’s Assembly Plant

As assembly plants become more connected to both suppliers and customers, cybersecurity is becoming more important

John Sprovieri

May 15, 2020

On May 12, 2017, hackers launched a "ransomware" cyberattack that would eventually infect 300,000 machines in 150 countries over a three-day period.

Assemblers See Promise—and Challenges—in IIoT

Our exclusive new survey reveals assemblers’ usage, plans and expectations for the Industrial Internet of Things

John Sprovieri

May 15, 2020

When you hear the phrase, "Industrial Internet of Things," what do you think of first? When we asked subscribers to ASSEMBLY and Quality magazines that question earlier this year, the answers were all over the map.