Automated Assembly Systems

RSS

Composite structures in airplanes are often thin-walled and lightweight, resulting in significant compliance. This presents a challenge for handling and assembly.

The current paradigm of car manufacturing, which provides a variety of models, colors and options, is called mass customization. However, mass customization is now transforming into mass individualization. In mass individualization, products are uniquely catered to consumers’ desires. For example, some car buyers may want to replace ordinary car seats with luxury brands, such as Louis Vuitton, to differentiate themselves.

COOKEVILLE, TN—ATC Automation has delivered a state-of-the-art, modular automated assembly system for a global leader in drug manufacturing and drug delivery medical devices to. The system was designed and built at ATC’s campus in Cookeville, TN, and installed at the customer’s assembly plant on the East Coast.

Rotor blades, guide vanes and other components for jet engines are made from costly materials and machined to precise tolerances. Such components are typically made in batches, due to the time involved in setting up machine centers. The process also requires a fair number of people to tend the machines and assist in changeover.

There’s nothing quite like a multistation automated assembly system. Watching robots, actuators and indexers go about their carefully choreographed routines with little or no human intervention can seem nothing short of miraculous.

CHANGWON, South Korea—Automation has enabled LG Electronics to boost productivity, decrease defects and increase safety at its appliance assembly plant here.

ISLANDIA, NY—Festo Didactic and SICK have created a new training program to teach students the latest thinking and technology related to robot safety.

WOLFSBURG, Germany—Volkswagen Group plans to automate 20 to 30 percent of production at its new Trinity assembly plant under construction here.

GROB-Werke GmbH & Co. KG creates high-volume production systems for the electric vehicle (EV) market. Based in Mindelheim, Germany, the machine tool manufacturer recently completed a sophisticated system for making hairpins, which form the stator winding rims of electric motors.

Selecting a conveyor for an automation project is certainly not a “one-size-fits-all” scenario. Automation applications are incredibly diverse, and the options and features available on conveyors reflect that. Some industries have specific health and safety requirements, while others are less restrictive. Some will need a certain feature for the automation application to work, while others are more flexible.