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Toyota Innovation TILTS Against COVID-19

April 27, 2020

GEORGETOWN, KY — Engineers at the TILT Lab at Toyota's assembly plant here have joined in the fight against COVID-19.

GM Expands Medical Projects and Charitable Deliveries to Hospitals

April 21, 2020

DETROIT—With ventilators and face masks now in production, GM is expanding its manufacturing of personal protective equipment, including latex-free face shields, protective gowns and aerosol boxes. All of these supplies are being donated.

Cutting and Stripping Coax

The latest technology for stripping coaxial cable gives engineers unprecedented control

John Sprovieri

April 13, 2020

Stripping coaxial cables places high demands on processing equipment. Several thin, concentric layers must be carefully removed within a single cycle: insulation, metal braiding, foil and dielectric. The strip length must be exceptionally accurate, since the tolerance ranges of coaxial connectors are narrow.

Options for Tinning Wire

Whether applied manually or by a machine, the tinning process improves the mechanical strength of bare copper wire

Jim Camillo

April 10, 2020

Like any assembly skill, manual soldering of wire can be learned through proper training. This training begins by teaching the person how to cleanly strip, tin and solder the wire to a connector, PCB or terminal.

Pull-Force Testing Crimped Wires

Consistency is key in pull-force testing

Zoe Leduc

April 9, 2020

Of the many steps in the process of assembling a wire harness, testing the crimped terminal is a crucial one. If the terminal hasn't been properly attached to the end of the wire, it can cause the wire and eventually the entire wire harness to fail. Most manufacturers use pull testing to assess crimped connections and ensure that terminals are properly attached.

Appliance Makers Keep It Together With PSAs

Pressure-sensitive adhesives are helping appliance assemblers enhance aesthetics, performance and reliability

Michael G. Price II

April 8, 2020

Pressure-sensitive adhesives are helping appliance assemblers enhance aesthetics, performance and reliability

Threaded Fasteners for Plastics Assembly

Here are some tips, tricks and suggestions for using threaded fasteners to assemble plastic parts

John Sprovieri

April 7, 2020

With so many ways to formulate plastic to get just the right combination of color, texture, strength and durability, it’s easy to forget how the parts will be assembled. However, if the parts will be assembled with screws, overlooking such parameters as thread style, driver speed and boss design could spell disaster on the assembly line.

New Process Welds Clear Plastic Parts

Clear polymer materials can be successfully bonded with a new process that combines simultaneous through-transmission infrared laser welding with precision ultrasonic spray deposition technology

Tom Hoover

April 6, 2020

Laser welding of plastic parts creates precise, high-quality, particulate-free joints for medical devices, consumer products and other assemblies. However, for the process to work, the laser light must pass through the top part to be absorbed by the bottom part. Welding a clear plastic part to another clear plastic part was not possible.

Alternatives to Pallet-Transfer Conveyors

Need to linearly index parts and subassemblies with accuracy and repeatability? Consider precision-link conveyors and walking beams

Jim Camillo

April 3, 2020

There are many ways to linearly move an object from point A to point B on an assembly line. But, not all of them are designed to optimize speed, accuracy and repeatability while performing the task.