Automated Assembly Systems

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There’s an old joke that the factory of the future will be so automated that it will have just two employees: a guard dog and someone to feed it. Fortunately or not, such a scenario remains the purview of science fiction. Indeed, despite advances in robotics and automation, people remain the most flexible assembly technology.

Semiconductor processing equipment is a notoriously demanding application for motion control engineers. Extreme precision, reliability and smoothness are absolute requirements. At the same time, space is at a premium.

TRAVERSE CITY, MI—Systems integrator Trantek Automation Corp. has opened a satellite office in Grand Rapids, MI.

MIDDLEVILLE, MI—Systems integrator TranTek Automation has designed and built an automated assembly system that has enabled Bradford White Corp. to keep producing water heaters in the United States.

AUBURN HILLS, MI—ABB Robotics and SVIA Industrial Automation have developed a vision-guided robotic machine tending cell for a Texas manufacturer of rock-drilling equipment.

EVANSVILLE, IN—Systems integrator Evana Automation Specialists recently delivered a compliant-pin assembly system to a Tier 1 automotive manufacturer of vehicle safety products.

SEATTLE—At a secret facility in Anacortes, WA, a small group of Boeing engineers will begin testing advanced automation methods for building the soon-to-be-launched 777X jet. The project promises to dramatically change how the plane’s metal hull is built.

ST. JOSEPH, MI—Michigan-based systems integrator Edgewater Automation will invest $3 million to establish a production facility in Spartanburg County, SC, and create 53 new jobs.

ADELAIDE, Australia—Electrolux has implemented a vision-guided robotic assembly cell to improve the production of oven doors.

EVANSVILLE, IN—Systems integrator Evana Automation recently received a contract from a Tier 1 automotive supplier to provide a multistation system to assemble and test a lane departure warning system.