Assembly articles from June 2006

Assembly archives from June 2006

End of the road.(Editorial)
June 1, 2006... By 2020 or sooner, it is expected that there will be 1 billion cars and light trucks on the road. That's 25 percent more vehicles than we have today--one for every 6 1/2 people on the planet--says Joseph B. White, Detroit Bureau Chief of The...

HMIs link assembly technology and people.(X-Y-Z)
June 1, 2006... The PSA Peugeot Citroen Group assembles the Citroen C3 and two other models at its factory in Madrid, Spain. The bodies-in-white for the vehicles are produced on an automated welding line. Forty programmable logic controllers from Siemens AG...

Ubiquitous SCARA Robot enters Hall of Fame.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... PITTSBURGH -- The hardworking SCARA industrial robot is now a member of the Robot Hall of Fame, joining such glamorous inductees as GORT, star of the 1951 classic film, The Day the Earth Stood Still. Established by James Morris, former dean...

Former NAM President dies.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Former National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) President Alexander "Sandy" Trowbridge has died. Trowbridge served as NAM President from 1979 to 1989. Before joining NAM, Trowbridge was vice chairman of Allied Chemical...

Toyota honors Norfolk Southern.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... NORFOLK, VA -- Toyota Logistics Services (Torrance, CA) has awarded Norfolk Southern Corp. (NS) its 2005 President's Award for overall logistics excellence among rail carriers, the company's highest award given to a logistics provider. The...

Canon acquires ATExpo.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... LOS ANGELES -- Canon Communications LLC, an Apprise Media Co., is acquiring Assembly Technology Expo (ATExpo) and seven other trade shows organized by Reed Exhibitions (Norwalk, CT). ATExpo, which is sponsored by ASSEMBLY magazine and held...

Mitsubishi to build 787 parts.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (MHI) has completed construction of a new plant in Shimonoseki, Japan, to manufacture composite skin stringers for wing boxes of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The 72,000-square-foot plant incorporates...

Contributor receives Shingo Research Prize.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... COVINGTON, KY -- Dr. Gwendolyn Galsworth, president of Quality Methods International Inc. (Portland, OR), has received a Shingo Research Prize for her book Visual Workplace--Visual Thinking: Creating Enterprise Excellence Through Technologies...

HP targets 'next billion customers' in India, Asia.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... PALO ALTO, CA -- Hewlett-Packard (HP) has announced it is increasing its efforts to develop products for its "next billion customers"--the citizenry of the Indian subcontinent. As part of this effort, HP Labs India (Bangalore, India) is...

World industrial fastener demand to reach $55 billion.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... CLEVELAND -- Global demand for industrial fasteners will rise 4.8 percent annually to $55 billion in 2010, accelerating from the 2000-2005 period, according to a study by The Fredonia Group Inc. Not surprisingly, leading the way in terms of...

TRW supplying brake systems to China's Chery Co.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... LIVONIA, MI -- TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. has developed a new line of antilock braking systems for Chinese automotive manufacturer Chery Automobile Co. (Wuhu City, China). The systems will be used in Chery's A520 midsized sedans. Chery...

ASSEMBLY mag sponsoring lean session at ATExpo.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... ROSEMONT, IL -- ASSEMBLY magazine is organizing a special lean manufacturing event at the 2006 Assembly Technology Expo in Rosemont, IL. The 3-hour "Lean Barrier Busting" session will take place on Tuesday, Sept. 26, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at...

Dispensing manufacturer publishes checklist.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... EAST PROVIDENCE, RI -- Dispensing equipment manufacturer EFD Inc., a subsidiary of Nordson Corp., has published a "Dispensing Components QC Checklist" to help assemblers ensure they are using well-made, disposable dispensing components. ...

Production begins on electric car.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... FARGO, ND -- Daimler-Chrysler subsidiary Global Electric Motorcars (GEM) has begun production of an all-new, six-passenger electric vehicle. The GEM e6 augments the company's existing line of two- and four-passenger vehicles. [ILLUSTRATION...

Dell to triple product reuse.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... OAKLAND, CA -- Computer maker Dell Inc. wants to triple the number of used computers it recovers from its customers by the end of 2009, as part of a comprehensive environmental sustainability effort. In the past year, Dell reused or recycled...

Bosch Rexroth notes strong 2005.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... LORH, Germany -- Bosch Rexroth AG, parent company of Bosch Rexroth Corp. (Hoffman Estates, IL), is reporting that in 2005 sales worldwide totaled approximately $5.7 billion, a 12.6 percent increase over the previous year. "Since 2002,...

U.S. robotics orders drop 30 percent.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2006... ANN ARBOR, MI -- North American robotics sales fell 30 percent in the first quarter of 2006, according to the Robotic Industries Association (RIA). New orders from the automotive sector, which accounts for more than 60 percent of all robot...

Lockheed Martin streamlines process documentation.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2006... Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., a division of Lockheed Martin Corp. (Bethesda, MD) manufacturers some of the most advanced military aircraft in the world, and is lead contractor for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program--the single...

Press monitoring solves quality problems.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2006... Hatch Stamping Co. (Chelsea, MI) manufactures metal stampings and assemblies for Tier 1 automotive suppliers of seat belts, fuel delivery systems, brakes and seats. The company recently opened a fourth plant in Howell, MI. When...

Drive control enables precision testing.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2006... The Spintron test-bench allows NASCAR teams to maximize engine performance by running precision durability tests, component failure analyses and frictional horsepower checks on valve trains and bolt-on engine components. Developed and...

Conveyor expedites production changeovers.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2006... GW Plastics Inc. (Bethel, VT) provides design, injection molding and component assembly services to manufacturers in a variety of industries, including those in the automotive, medical, industrial equipment and consumer electronics sectors....

The hybrid challenge: engineers are scrambling to drive down redundant costs.(Automotive Assembly)
June 1, 2006... As gasoline prices continue to soar, more and more consumers are purchasing hybrid electric vehicles that improve fuel economy and reduce emissions. To bolster demand, state and local governments are offering numerous incentives, such as tax...

Crossroads in the UK: a multinational manufacturing effort in the english midlands is yielding world-class processes and products.(Global Assembly)
June 1, 2006... Historically, both manufacturers and the general public have perceived globalization as a matter of "us" vs. "them." Back in the 1980s, it was the Japanese, building cars and consumer electronics. Today, it's the Chinese and India. ...

Outsourcing the line: contract manufacturing offers pros and cons to automakers.(Automotive Assembly)
June 1, 2006... Most people who purchase a BMW X3 have no idea that it's not built by the company from Munich, Germany, that claims to provide "the ultimate driving machine." The $36,000 sport utility vehicle is actually assembled by Magna Steyr, a contract...

Microdot dispensing: new technology and materials are needed to dispense dots of solder paste that are less than 0.25 millimeter in diameter.(Dispensing)
June 1, 2006... Solder paste dispensing is not new. However, today's microelectronics require deposits smaller than 0.25 millimeter in diameter, and that has become a daunting challenge for suppliers of solder paste and the equipment to dispense it. Better...

How reliable are BGA connectors? Even though engineers may have experience with BGAs, they should not assume that BGA connectors will behave the same way.(Electronics Assembly)
June 1, 2006... When assembling complex electronic products, engineers often need to join small daughter cards with large motherboards. Press-fit connectors and ball grid array (BGA) connectors have recently been introduced to make this task easier and less...

Stretch bolts for precise assembly: hydraulic bolt tensioners stretch bolts and studs to produce clamp load in an assembly.(Fastening)
June 1, 2006... Torque is an imperfect measure of how tightly a bolted joint has been fastened. Friction, torsional stress and other variables can obscure what engineers really want to know: the clamp load on the joint. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] For most...

Valve provides long service life.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The VMP30H is a multipurpose, mini-poppet pneumatic dispensing valve that can be used with both low- and high-viscosity materials, such as silicones, RTV, epoxy, adhesives, grease and fill materials. The poppet design minimizes surface area and...

More powerful robot controller.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The RC7M robot controller has a program processing speed that is five times faster than its predecessor, the RC5, while still maintaining its predecessor's light weight and compact size. In its standard configuration, the RC7M features an...

Wire crimper offers options.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The Alpha 355 is a flexible wire crimping machine that automatically processes both ends of a wire from 10 AWG to 24 AWG. The system's dual-channel cutting head allows it to accommodate a wide range of wire sizes without blade changes. Fully...

Compact sensors offer long-range performance.(Products)
June 1, 2006... Long-range mini inductive proximity sensors are available in 4- and 5-millimeter unshielded versions with a sensing distance of up to 5 millimeters--a range equivalent to that of sensors that are three to four times larger. Principal...

Dispenser keeps cyanoacrylates moisture-free.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The LDS9000 AirFree positive displacement system removes unreliable moisture-filled air from the dispensing process when applying cyanoacrylate adhesive. The polypropylene barrel reservoir and piston are also treated with a noncontaminating...

Cylinders are compact.(Products)
June 1, 2006... RLQ pneumatic cylinders are compact, and feature an integrated locking mechanism and improved air cushion, which eliminates the need for a cushion ring. The cylinders are available in four bore sizes--32, 40, 50 and 63 millimeters--and can be...

System assembles medical devices.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The Spaceline is a flexible automated assembly system for medical devices. It performs a range of tasks and does not take up a lot of clean room space. The system accommodates 13 to 54 cam-driven assembly stations. It is currently being used to...

Robotic insert molding cell.(Products)
June 1, 2006... Automatic insert molding cell consists of a TX 60 six-axis robot and a BOY 55 VV insert molding machine. The fast, compact robot can move with a repeatability of [+ or -]0.02 millimeter. It installs inserts, removes finished parts from the...

Battery-powered crimping tool.(Products)
June 1, 2006... Battery-powered hydraulic crimping tool produces 6 tons of nominal output force and 10,000 psi of operating pressure. It crimps copper connectors ranging from 8 AWG to 600 MCM; aluminum connectors ranging from 10 AWG to 400 MCM; and H-taps up...

Frame mounts to wall.(Products)
June 1, 2006... Framing system mounts to a wall to store parts and tools. With good anchors and a strong wall, two frames can hold 300 pounds, or three frames can hold 500 pounds. The frames are 72 inches high, and can be cut in two 36-inch frames or four...

Multistage vacuum pump.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The P2010 multistage ejector vacuum pump generates vacuum for picking and placing microelectronic components. It is only 1.08 inches high and weighs just 0.54 ounce. It can generate a vacuum of 24.9 inches of mercury at an input pressure of...

Split pillow blocks.(Products)
June 1, 2006... Type SAF split pillow blocks integrate self-aligning ball bearings, spherical roller bearings, or toroidal roller bearings lubricated with grease or oil. These two-piece assemblies mount quickly to shafts and accommodate heavy radial loads....

Controller directs 10 robots.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The R-J3iC CNC robot controller can coordinate the activity of 10 six-axis robots. It has a special function that eliminates vibration of the arm during motion. This enables the robot to accelerate and decelerate very quickly. For spot welding...

Storage cabinets.(Products)
June 1, 2006... Storage cabinets can be delivered in 2 to 3 days. Cabinets can store 440 pounds, and drawers are available in seven sizes. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Lista International Corp. www.listaxpress.com 800-722-3020 eInquiry 113

Industrial shock absorber.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The SC 25M-HC is a miniature shock absorber for high-speed production equipment. It has a quick rod-ready time and a short stroke for use with linear slides, robots, pick-and-place mechanisms, packaging machines, and rotary actuators. ...

Digital vacuum gauge.(Products)
June 1, 2006... Digital vacuum gauge verifies the accuracy of vacuum pressures in leak testing systems. It has a KF16 fitting that connects directly to the system's vacuum fittings. It measures vacuum from 1 pascal to 1 atmosphere. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Sensor uses patterns to inspect parts.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The Checker 101E sensor uses patterns to detect and inspect parts. The sensor accepts signals directly from an encoder, eliminating the need for a PLC when tracking and rejecting parts on variable-speed production lines. It can process more...

Dispenser for robot arms.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The Servo-Flo 404 is a compact shot meter and integrated dispense valve for robotic and automated dispensing applications. The positive-displacement dispensing system can handle various filled materials, including epoxies, silicones and...

Hydraulic crimping tool.(Products)
June 1, 2006... The 4-Point Hypress is a dieless hydraulic crimping tool for use on copper and aluminum wires that are compressed, compact, stranded, solid or flex. Operating on 10,000 psi hydraulic pressure, the press delivers 6 tons of crimping force. It has...

Planning 5S? First know why!(Leading Lean)
June 1, 2006... Companies have applied 5S so pervasively that many regard it as a system or process unto itself. Unfortunately, the vast majority of 5S applications that I witness do not live up to their full potential in terms of delivering results. Given how...