Ask a random group of people to explain Rotabroach annular cutting, and you’ll probably get silence. Pose the same question to workers at Lum, MI-based Lumco Manufacturing Co. and you’ll get an earful. The reason: They often make machines that use this technology to cut ferrous and nonferrous metals.
If you’ve ever received a package from an online retailer, you probably didn’t give the protective packing material a second thought. You opened the box, removed your order, and discarded everything else.
Integrators love a good challenge, and automotive OEMs and suppliers never disappoint. Not only do these two groups expect integrators to meet increasingly high production goals and come in or under budget. They also rely on integrators for creative solutions to all types of automation problems.
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.
Manufacturers that use adhesives and sealants to assemble their products know how critical it is for these materials to be dispensed with accuracy and repeatability.
Large companies and small towns are sometimes a perfect fit. The most well-known example of this is Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which is the world’s largest retailer but is headquartered in tiny Bentonville, AR.
What does a manufacturer do if it needs to increase production, but its robot’s range limit has been reached and space limitations prevent the addition of a second robot?
A wide range of ready-to-install components and subassemblies enable manufacturers and integrators to quickly build custom automated assembly machines.
At some point during a philosophy 101 class, college students learn about Aristotle’s belief that the best way to understand something is to break it down to the smallest components. For an increasing number of manufacturers and integrators, however, the best way to assemble a product is to use a machine built with modular automation components that quickly and easily fit together.