In April, electronics assembler Mack Technologies completed work on a substantial installation of money-saving technology at its factory in Westford, MA. The company didn’t get a new paste printer, reflow oven or pick-and-place machine. In fact, the plant’s slick new technology had nothing to do with assembly.
Traditionally, automobiles, lawn mowers, airplanes, dishwashers and other products contain a wide variety of rigid parts connected by joints that are designed to be strong and stiff.
Compliant mechanisms are jointless, elastic structures that reduce costs and simplify product designs. These single-piece flexible structures elastically deform without joints to produce a desired functionality.
Design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) does well as a stand-alone methodology for simplifying product designs and lowering production costs. However, DFMA should also be hailed as a pathway to lean manufacturing.
Manufacturers vigorously seek out best practices because they can improve metrics, such as stock price, sales and profitability. There’s only one problem: Best practices are the actions that solved yesterday’s problems.
Producers of plastic, rubber and composites use Dynisco Inc. melt-pressure and temperature sensors, controls, and analytical instruments to maximize manufacturing efficiency and productivity. Dynisco has served these customers well for more than 50 years, providing leading-edge technology manufactured to ISO 9000 quality standards.
Aircraft Technologies Inc. makes sinks, toilets and other assemblies for airframe manufacturers, completion centers, and maintenance and repair facilities.
Each year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration logs some 100,000 reports of adverse events related to medical devices. More than a third of those are due to human error.