Despite its advanced capabilities, automation equipment used on assembly lines remains susceptible to failure. This presents manufacturers with the ongoing challenge of preventing unplanned equipment downtime, which is always disruptive and costly.

Saving a penny per part or a millisecond of cycle time might not matter to some manufacturers. But machine builder Eclipse Automation knows that even small gains can offer huge competitive advantages for its customers. Greater flexibility and uptime through predictive maintenance are also crucial.

With our newly developed LATC series of precision indexing conveyors, we can achieve and guarantee a +/- 0.04 mm accuracy across the entire system. Similar to the LFA, the LATC is manufactured with an inner structure manufactured from aluminum extrusion and very high-grade aluminum links.

Move products quietly and efficiently with VarioFlow plus conveyors from Bosch Rexroth. The most flexible plastic chain conveyor available, VarioFlow plus makes it easier to move high-volume package or consumer goods up, down, over, under and even around obstacles.

Change is constant in the packaging industry. In our technical article, Bosch Rexroth experts explore how choosing a conveyor system like VarioFlow plus increases flexibility, improves productivity and minimizes downtime.

The twin-strand pallet-transfer conveyor has long been the go-to transfer system for asynchronous automated assembly lines. But, it’s not the only game in town.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a massive surge in demand for a variety of medical devices, not the least of which are N95 respirators and other personal protective equipment. To meet that need, manufacturers worldwide are building new factories and installing new automated assembly lines. Two of those companies are Breathe Medical Manufacturing in Kelowna, BC, Canada, and Husco International Inc. in Waukesha, WI.

Automated assembly systems can be classified into two major categories: synchronous and asynchronous.

Transportation, moving parts or assemblies from place to place in a factory, is one of the seven wastes specified in the principles of lean manufacturing. Transportation does not add value.