Contrary to popular belief, mass production and
flexibility are not antithetical concepts. A case in point is a rotary indexing
machine designed recently by Itus-Industrietechnik und Sondereinrichtungen GmbH
of Solingen, Germany. Custom-built for a German automotive supplier, the
machine processes interior parts for right- and left-hand side-view mirrors.
An assembler was using a robot to load and unload a machine. The robot would load a part, wait for the process to finish, unload the part, and pick up a fresh one-a perfect application. And yet, there was still room to improve. This article provides tips and tricks for reducing cycle time in robotic workcells.
Make no mistake about it, error-proofing the fastening process continues to be extremely important for assemblers. The reason is simple: People make mistakes when installing fasteners. Here are some best practices for the fastening workstation.
HVHC Inc. is the parent company of Eye Care Centers of America Inc. To meet Eye Care Centers’ need for product, HVHC opened a new plant in
Schertz, TX. However, one problem remained: several
smaller-volume material-handling applications were being addressed by
people pushing carts between multiple locations.
La Marche Manufacturing has
overcome the limitations related to just-in-time delivery by using Millennium III, an enterprise resource
planning software system with several
modules that tracks the entire manufacturing process from
start to finish.
Advanced Coating
Technologies plays a crucial role in the performance of Pratt & Whitney jet
engines for commercial and military aircraft. Its thermal burner coatings
provide essential heat resistance to the burner section of the
engines. Recently, ACT expanded its capabilities.
Containing hydrogen
sulfide, sour crude oil is a sulfurous mixture that corrodes the iron in the
carbon steel pipe that extracts the oil. ARC Specialties Inc., a custom automated and robotic equipment manufacturer in
Houston, has developed the KLADARC TriPulse hot-wire gas tungsten arc welding cladding machine, which controls this corrosion.
The ceiling of a vehicle
has become an information hub, containing everything from DVD players and
televisions to navigation and communications devices.This reality has been a challenge for Covert Manufacturing, which builds
machines and fixtures to assemble headliners for the automotive, heavy truck
and aircraft industries. Covert‘s customers require the machines to have precise controls and sensors in
the assembly fixture, without increasing the size of the control panel.
Error-proofing with power tools has an extensive history and an exciting future, including technologies such as wireless networking and ultrasonic fastening control.
There are multiple ways to create the master signature for signature analysis. The methods range from simple to quite complex, depending on the process requirements. Techniques include teaching a single part cycle, in multiple cycles or in a max/min signature range.
