Assembly articles from June 2005

Assembly archives from June 2005

Assembly behind bars.(Editorial)
June 1, 2005... Recidivism is bad. Rehabilitation is good. A civilized society strives, at least in principle, to offer people who have been incarcerated an opportunity to rebuild their lives and return to society as productive citizens. That is, or at least...

Retaining rings make shaft assemblies a snap.(X-Y-Z)
June 1, 2005... Retaining rings are circular fasteners that, when installed in a groove, hold components on a shaft or inside a bore. They hold gears, cams and pulleys on shafts, and they keep bearings, valves, nozzles and locks inside housings. Also known as...

Purdue researchers make small cool.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... WEST LAFAYETTE, IN -- Mechanical engineers at Purdue University are working on a class of cooling devices they hope will someday facilitate the manufacture of increasingly powerful electronics systems and computer chips. [ILLUSTRATION...

PCs in use to top 1 billion by 2007.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, IL -- The worldwide number of personal computers (PCs) in use, including Macintosh and other platforms, surpassed 820 million in 2004 and is projected to top 1 billion in 2007, according to a report by Computer Industry...

Cessna order books full.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... WICHITA, KS -- Cessna Aircraft Co. is reporting booming sales of its single-engine piston aircraft line. During one 3-week period this past spring, the company received more than 450 orders. With 2005 production already sold, orders are now...

Toyota lauds Norfolk Southern performance.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... NORFOLK, VA -- Toyota Motor North America Inc. (Torrence, CA) has awarded Norfolk Southern Corp. the 2004 President's Award for overall logistics excellence, based on the rail carrier's customer service, on-time performance and quality. ...

Toyota opening Russian factory.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA -- Toyota Motor Corp. (Tokyo) is building its first manufacturing plant in Russia as part of an effort to tap into the country's rapid economic growth. The new plant, to be located in St. Petersburg's Shushary...

Manufacturing Institute receives $1 million grant.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... WASHINGTON -- The Manufacturing Institute, the education and research arm of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), has received a $1 million grant from the Timken Foundation (Canton, OH). Manufacturing Institute president Jerry...

Hyundai building 2nd Indian factory.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA -- Hyundai Motor Co. will build a second assembly plant in the port city of Chennai in southeast India, in an effort to capitalize on the automotive market being created by that country's burgeoning middle class. ...

Asymtek takes on Russian distributor.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... MOSCOW -- Asymtek (Carlsbad, CA) has signed on Ostec Enterprise Ltd. to market its automated fluid dispensing systems in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Established in 1991, Ostec specializes in the sale of equipment and materials...

Alcoa opens fifth plant in North Carolina.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... PITTSBURGH -- Alcoa's subassembly and logistics division, which manufactures wheel and tire assemblies for Freightliner Group (Portland, OR), is opening a new manufacturing plant in Salisbury, NC, creating 75 jobs in the area. The new...

Performance assembly to build Viper motorcycles.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... MINNEAPOLIS -- Viper Motorcycle Co. has contracted Performance Assembly Solutions (Livonia, MI) to manufacture and assemble its new Viper line of motorcycles. Viper Motorcycles will continue providing development, marketing and dealer-support...

French plant to produce GM six-speed transmissions.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... DETROIT -- General Motors Corp. is investing $207 million in its transmission plant in Strasbourg, France, to produce the company's new six-speed rear-wheel-drive automatic transmissions. The investment will include facility renovation, new...

Elcoteq now manufacturing in India.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2005... IRVING, TX -- Electronics manufacturing services company Elcoteq Network Corp. has opened a plant in Bangalore, India, where it will manufacture telecommunications equipment for customers throughout the Asia-Pacific region. When fully...

Rotary actuators.(ASSEMBLY SPEC SHEET)
June 1, 2005... Looking for a rotary actuator? Complete this form and fax it to your potential suppliers! [GRAPHIC OMITTED] Supplier Contact Information American Grippers Inc.--Fax: 203-452-5943 Arthur G. Russell Co. Inc.--Fax: 860-583-0686...

Robot, vision system unloads gears.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2005... Component manufacturer Len Industries (Leslie, MI) wanted to reduce labor costs and increase throughput by using a robot to unload randomly placed transmission gears from their storage bins. As part of this process, the robot also needed to...

Flow racks make assembly more efficient.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2005... In 2003, Android Industries (Flint, MI) opened a 226,000-square-foot facility in Shreeveport, LA, to provide outfitting for engines and transmission going into Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon trucks from General Motors Corp. (Detroit). The...

Robot welder replaces pneumatic welding unit.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2005... Automotive Lighting Corp. (Juarez, Mexico) needed a machine to ultrasonically weld plastic lens-and-reflector assemblies. Initial designers envisioned a nine-headed welding unit. However, the concept was rejected, because the unit would have...

Plastic bonding adhesives.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Primerless methacrylates bond today's engineered plastics, composites, and dissimilar materials with little or no surface preparation. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

High-strength epoxies.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Fast curing epoxies produce high-strength bonds to virtually any material or surface. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

One-part epoxies.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... SC Series no-mix epoxies offer unlimited working times and rapid heat or induction curing. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Metal bonding adhesives.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Metal Welder[TM] adhesives are ideal for bonding metal where welding would be impractical or unsightly. Longer open time versions available [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Flexible adhesive.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Flex Welder adhesive produces highly flexible bonds with exceptional shock, vibration, and fatigue resistance. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Potting compounds.(Advertisement)
June 1, 2005... Thermally- and electrically-conductive potting compounds provide exceptional impact and environmental resistance. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Magnesium flair: less ductile than steel, magnesium alloys require special screws and tightening methods.(Screwdriving)
June 1, 2005... Magnesium is an attractive material for auto parts. It's 36 percent lighter than aluminum and 78 percent lighter than steel, yet it has a better strength-to-weight ratio than either metal. It's also highly moldable. Magnesium parts can be...

A perfect fit: thermoformed plastic trays protect parts during transport and keep them oriented for automated assembly.(Parts Feeding)
June 1, 2005... Automotive assemblers want to concentrate their time, effort and money on building better vehicles, not on transporting parts. To that end, parts and subassemblies are often shipped in custom-made plastic trays, or dunnage. These trays protect...

Aerospace rework in a lead-free world: aerospace electronics assemblies, especially in military applications, are often repaired in the field, posing special challenges as the electronics industry incorporates lead-free materials.(Lead-Free Electronics)
June 1, 2005... The global transition to lead-free (LF) products is having a significant impact on the electronics industry in many areas, including aerospace. Even though the aerospace industry is specifically excluded from the mandates of the European...

Curing adhesives with LEDs: compared with other light sources, LEDs last longer, cost less to operate and generate less heat.(Adhesive Bonding)
June 1, 2005... Light emitting diodes (LEDs) offer many potential benefits over traditional light-curing equipment. LEDs last longer, cost less to operate, generate less heat, and can be used in more flexible configurations. Until recently, LEDs have not...

Here and there: engineers have a wealth of options for getting assemblies from point A to point B.(Conveyors)(Cover Story)
June 1, 2005... Engineers care about conveyors the way drivers care about highways. Drivers don't care whether a highway is asphalt or concrete. They don't care how the roadbed was prepared or how the lane stripes were painted. They only care about one thing:...

Radial rivet-forming.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... AGME introduces the new pneumatic radial riveting machine, model RR-18. This size riveter is available either as a stand-alone- or tabletop riveting machine, a riveting head for integration, or as a component used in our CNC-riveting machines....

Assembly tool guides at your fingertips.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... All Web inquiries receive a response within 24 hours! View our library of Quick Start Guides to understand torque, joint types and learn about the variety of fastening tools available from AIMCO. The "Guides" will help you select the right...

Pneumatic components and systems.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... Catalog contains the entire Air Logic product line. Components include: Modular Precision Regulators & Manifold Systems, Pressure and Vacuum Switches, Pneumatic Accessories, Miniature Quick Disconnects, Plastic Fittings, Assortment Kits, and...

Photoelectric sensors catalog.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... The industry's most complete catalog of sensing products just got even better! Detailed product and technical information on 15,000+ photoelectric, vision, measurement & inspection and ultrasonic sensors is now in full-color. New iKnow section...

Ready-to-go Linear Motion solutions.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... Save engineering time and hassles with Rexroth Linear Modules. The new brochure, Fast Track to Precision Motion, Linear Modules and Cartesian Robots, introduces Rexroth's 12 families of linear actuators for compact, fast, precise, or heavy duty...

Aluminum framing catalog offers "everything to build anything".(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... A new 352-page catalog from Bosch Rexroth Corporation details hundreds of aluminum structural framing components, connectors, and accessories. Compiling information from 5 separate catalogs, this one-stop resource includes technical data,...

Are your dispense valves giving you peak performance?(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... Choosing the right valve system for a particular fluid dispensing application can have major impacts on your production line--helping you to cut downtime, reduce maintenance, control fluid costs, increase yields, and even cut reject rates. EFD...

Expansion to 2nd Generation EC-Electric Screwdriver Spindles.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... DEPRAG has again expanded the 2nd Generation of EC-Screwdriver Spindles, by adding a driver with an extreme high torque capability. The EC-Spindles are similar to the DEPRAG stationary pneumatic spindles in sizes (smallest major [empty set]...

Brazing and soldering automation.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... Find ideas for automating your brazing or soldering application with Fusion's 16-page capabilities brochure. Review rotary index and fixed station, "Braze Mate" machine types. Paste dispenser concepts and heating methods discussed, including...

Mechanical Indexing Table with integrated headstock / tailstock.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... The OSA-LATOR[R] Indexing Table is used in robotic cells due to its fast indexing times (as low as 1.5 seconds) and heavy-duty construction. Available in 2, 3, and 4 stations, the tables come in dial top, rectangular support frame, and head /...

Crimp, twist, flux and tin ultra-thin wire.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... The Gamma 255 from Komax is a flexible crimping machine that can process both ends of a wire from 16 AWG to 36 AWG--fully-automatically. The operator can leave the crimping press in place as a changeover is made to twisting, fluxing and tinning...

Machine vision solutions.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... ipd's website features innovative machine vision solutions for the factory floor. Learn about Vision Appliances, user friendly solutions that users install and run in minutes, Net-Sight II, a family of vision systems or download Sherlock, a...

Linear assembly system.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... Palletized transfer system with cam operated locking stations. Smooth acceleration/deceleration of workpiece carriers which are accessible from above, underneath, and side. High accuracy with fast index times. Modular design; minimal...

FREE NI Measurement and Control Designer resource CD.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... Up to two-thirds of your data acquisition and control application costs are spent on configuration and development time. The Measurement and Control Designer helps you step-by-step to quickly and easily select your measurement and control...

ATExpo, because the challenge never ends. Assemble it faster, better, for less.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... September 27-29, 2005 Rosemont (Chicago), IL www.atexpo.com Assembly Technology Expo is the only conference and exhibition in North America where manufacturing professionals can discover new products, ideas and technologies for the entire...

Wiha quality bits.(Hot Website & Literature Review)
June 1, 2005... Looking for production quality bits? Wiha Tools carries varieties of specialty Insert & Power bits including; Pozidriv, Square, Torq Set, Tri Wing, Spanner and MagicRing Screwholding Hex Bits. Along with Slotted, Phillips, Torx, TorxPlus,...

Software identifies inefficiency.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... Proficy Historian version 3.0 is a plant-wide data program that collects, archives and distributes real-time, plant floor production data. The software allows manufacturers to collect data from multiple sources and identify the root causes of...

Swing arm clamps come in new sizes.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... Series PB swing arm clamps now come in standard bore sizes of 25 and 32 millimeters, with both short- and long-stroke configurations available to accommodate a range of workholding applications, including welding. A hardened helical spline and...

Cordless drill has what it takes.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The BSZ 12 cordless drill and driver provides up to 460 in.-lb of torque and no-load speeds of up to 1,350 rpm. Its 1.4 amp-hour battery pack is part of an air-cooled charging system capable of taking on a charge in 30 minutes. The BSZ 12 uses...

Marker is mobile, flexible.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The 313 micro liner mobile marking unit can be used in handheld mode or integrated into a fixed assembly system. It inscribes both dot-matrix characters and Data-Matrix images in an area measuring 4.74 by 0.75 inches. Programmed by a separate...

Precisely measure angles.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... Angular measure and alignment kit offers an accuracy of 0.0003 degrees for use in aligning precision mounts and fixtures, molding machine platens and press faces. Measurements can be checked over surfaces up to 40 feet long. The kit includes a...

Stud welder packs a punch.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The ISW 1,000-amp inverter stud welder can execute up to four 5/8-inch stud welds per minute. It weighs 75 pounds and measures 17 by 12.5 by 24 inches, making it both portable and compact. A chopping frequency of 20,000 hertz provides a smooth...

Dispenser offers reliable, affordable service.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The JB1113 air-controlled benchtop dispenser includes a timer for accurate deposits of 0.01 to 30 seconds. A "snuff back" feature prevents leakage after each dispensing cycle. The system can be used with both low-viscosity liquids and heavy,...

Portable unit dispenses dual cartridges.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The EZ-mix HI is a gun-type dispenser that can be used with 50-milliliter dual cartridges and produces 200 pounds of force. It dispenses up to 30 cartridges on a single charge and includes a control knob for regulating dispense rate. ...

Perform high-speed product checks.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... PresencePLUS P4 EDGE vision sensors can evaluate as many as 10,000 objects per minute, examining features like height, width and the location of labels. They can also be used to examine the fill level of liquid in bottles or capsules, as well...

Slides are low-profile, quiet.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... Low-profile, self-lubricating linear slides and table assemblies provide smooth motion for applications in the robotics and medical sectors. Components can be used in clean rooms and incorporate a ceramic coating on rail and carriage assembly...

AC drive double voltage.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... SECO variable-frequency AC drives include an isolated front end for reliable operation and a voltage doubler that can output 230 VAC from a 115-VAC power supply. These dual-voltage inverters can also accept a speed reference signal without a...

Robotic cell welds it all.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The eCell is a dual, fixed-table robotic cell that can be used for welding a variety of materials, including steel, stainless steel and aluminum. Operated using an R-J31B controller and Arc-Tool software, the cell incorporates a Power Wave 355...

Repair fine-pitch assemblies with rework station.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The Weller micro repair soldering station can be used for fine-pitch, high-density surface mount soldering and rework. It consists of a 120-volt soldering controller, soldering pencil and pencil stand. Additional tip configurations are...

Adhesive needs no primer.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... Dev-Thane 5 is a primerless urethane adhesive for bonding rubber and metal to glass, concrete or wood. It can also be used for bonding expanded polystyrene to foam. The adhesive cures at room temperature and has a pot life of 5 minutes. Fixture...

Give electrical cords, cables a break.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... Lay-In Lockit strain-relief bushings support and protect electrical cords and cables, smoothing the edges on raw electrical enclosure holes. Applications include those in electrical housings, cabinets and motor or pump chassis with...

Rodless cylinders offer compact performance.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... Lintra Lite rodless cylinders provide a compact option for machine designers. Available in 25-, 32- and 40-millimeter diameters, the cylinders are sealed to prevent air loss and dust contamination. Movement is from a carriage running on the...

Tables are adjustable, and clean room and ESD compliant.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... AdjusTable work tables incorporate stainless steel components, and laminar flow and electrostatic discharge features for use in clean room and electronic assembly environments. Additional wire or stainless steel shelves can be added on 1-inch...

Controllers enable accurate dispensing.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The DC-300 series of benchtop, microprocessor-driven dispenser controllers provide accurate, repeatable performance for use with a variety of different fluids. The controllers can store 10 different dispensing programs, and an adjustable,...

Cell offers high repeatability.(Products)(Buyers Guide)
June 1, 2005... The C-500 XYZ dispensing work cell is a benchtop system for automated electronic dispensing in gasketing, sealing, potting and filling operations in electronics assembly. It provides a 13-by-11-inch operating envelope with a servomotor drive...

Win with KISS management.(Uncommon Sense)
June 1, 2005... Many organizations struggle with operations that are too complex to manage effectively, especially if management doesn't pay enough attention to details. This can be corrected by using activity to identify the critical components on which to...