Automated Assembly Systems

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Load cells and sensors used with presses measure several key variables, such as ram force, distance and time, and help ensure they stay within allowable tolerances.

The fundamental start of any project is a scope of work document, which specifies what we want the project to achieve. The project scope may start out broadly described based upon business objectives, but it will become increasingly detailed over time.

In my first postcollege job, I was a manufacturing engineer for Cummins Engine Co. in Columbus, IN. Two weeks into the job, my boss came to me with a project to purchase an industrial wash system, and I leaped at the opportunity. It was a disaster.

When manufacturing engineers are tasked with automating a process that is currently done manually, their main question for an automation supplier is, "Have you ever automated this specific process before?"

Whether the product being manufactured is a mobile phone or an aircraft seat, the assembly processes will likely require some combination of manual and automated transfer operations.

For Flex, there isn't a question of what can't they do, but what they will do next. The 50-year-old company began manufacturing electronic products, something it still does today, but has expanded to offer end-to-end production across the globe.

Factories of the future will feature advanced technology, such as additive manufacturing, artificial intelligence, augmented reality, data analytics and digital twins. While many manufacturers are still ramping up their Industry 4.0 initiatives, several assembly plants are already at the forefront. They are embracing the Fourth Industrial Revolution and reaping the benefits.

More than 20,000 manufacturing professionals saw the newest robots, vision systems and motion control technologies during the 2019 Automate show and conference, which was held April 8-11 at McCormick Place in Chicago.

Lights-out automation has been a dream of engineers for more than 200 years. The goal is to push a button and let machines work unattended.