Robotics Assembly

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A Fortune 500 manufacturer of electromechanical products previously operated six separate indexing assembly machines, each producing one of a family of products at about 40 parts per minute.

Most manufacturers are keen on automating production, so long as it can be done cost-effectively. This goal applies as well to KEEN Inc., a Portland, OR-based company that makes outdoor and lifestyle footwear.

Among Forrest Gump’s greatest life lessons was the insight that you could never be certain what you would find inside a box of chocolates. Although Gump never actually clarified what that uncertainty is, it’s generally assumed he was referring to the various types of fillings hidden in chocolate candies.

Vision systems play a vital role in automated assembly systems. They can check for the presence or absence of parts or materials. They can measure key dimensions of assemblies. They can tell robots the precise location of parts. They can even read 1D and 2D codes.

In the nautical disaster movie, “The Perfect Storm,” three weather fronts converge off the coast of New England to create one of the fiercest storms in U.S. history. A similar convergence is occurring in the manufacturing world today. It’s called Industry 4.0 and it promises to transform the way that engineers design and build products over the next two decades.

When the market demands products be made better or faster, manufacturers must respond in kind. For manufacturers in many industries, robots are essential to meeting these ever-changing customer needs.

Just a few decades ago, the typical American or European driver would never have believed that China, a communist country, would one day be the world’s largest car producer (by volume).