Automated Assembly Systems

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In every manufacturing industry, tradition is becoming less important. Companies no longer assume that what worked in the past will be enough to keep and gain customers. Instead, they look to the latest technology to improve manufacturing processes, optimize product quality and expand their customer base.

COOKEVILLE, TN—Systems integrator ATC Automation is investing $10.4 million to expand its operation here and create 110 new jobs during the next five years.

ATLANTA—Adidas will be opening a factory in Atlanta in 2017 where shoes will be produced entirely by robots. In a press release, the company outlined how the factory, dubbed the Speedfactory, will allow the company to manufacture shoes faster while bringing production closer to U.S. consumers.

COLOGNE, Germany—Workers at Ford’s assembly plant here are working hand-in-hand with collaborative robots to fit shock absorbers to cars.

Today’s automobiles contain dozens of electric motors. They adjust the mirrors, position the seats, aim the headlights, provide heating and cooling, and raise and lower the windows. In fact, a luxury car might have as many as 120 electric motors of various sizes.

ANN ARBOR, MI—Foxconn vice president Chia Day has won 2016 Engelberger Robotics Award for automating electronics assembly at the contract manufacturer’s electronics factories in China.

RENTON, WA—Boeing has added a new robotic system to its 737 factory here to automate the process of drilling holes and installing bolts in wing spars.

MUNICH—Some 248,000 industrial robots were purchased worldwide in 2015, a record high and a 12 percent increase from 2014. Global sales of robots have increased four-fold since 2009.

Whether fully automatic, semiautomatic or manual, almost every assembly system has some type of sensor for inspection, error-proofing or production monitoring. Thanks to new technologies, sensors are becoming smaller, more robust, more accurate and easier to integrate.