Assembly articles from June 2008

Assembly archives from June 2008

Wasteful disassembly.(Editorial)
June 1, 2008... Automakers usually try to find the best way to assemble the cars they build. In a bizarre twist on this theme, Mazda has spent the past 2 years and probably millions of dollars figuring out how to destroy cars. Writing recently in The Wall...

The cure for the common adhesive.(Bonding LINES)
June 1, 2008... Many structural adhesives undergo some form of cure to achieve their full performance. Curing involves a chemical reaction that causes cross-linking or chain growth to form complete polymers. This builds the internal strength of the adhesive...

X-rays reveal hidden flaws.(QUALITY in ASSEMBLY)
June 1, 2008... The proliferation of ball grid arrays and flip chips in electronic products has made automated X-ray inspection machines standard equipment in many electronics assembly lines. However, electronics assemblers are not the only manufacturers that...

Report: regional-jet market still strong.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... BELFAST, Northern Ireland -- Despite the ongoing downturn in the U.S. economy, regional-jet manufacturer Bombardier Aerospace predicts worldwide demand for small and mid-sized jets will remain strong in the coming years. [ILLUSTRATION...

Ford shifting to fuel-efficient transmissions.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... DEARBORN, MI--Ford Motor Co. says it plans to more than double the number of fuel-efficient, six-speed automatic transmissions it installs in its North American cars and trucks by the end of 2009-to about 1.4 million transmissions annually. ...

Lincoln Electric helping AWS promote Welding.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... MIAMI -- Welding equipment manufacturer Lincoln Electric Co. (Cleveland) has donated $300,000 to the American Welding Society (AWS) to help relieve what AWS is describing as a "nationwide shortage" of welders. In addition to the donation,...

Dukane opens automotive technical center.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... ST. CHARLES, IL--Plastics welding equipment supplier Dukane Corp. has opened a new automotive technical center in Wixom, MI, doubling the size of the applications area where it provides support for its customers' heat staking, and vibration-,...

SME launches lean registry.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... DEARBORN, MI--Working in collaboration with The Association for Manufacturing Excellence and The Shingo Prize for Excellence in Manufacturing, The Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME) has launched a new "lean registry" to serve as a free...

Siemens lands U.S. wind turbine contract.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... JUNO BEACH, FL -- Florida-based FPL Energy has ordered 218 wind turbines from Siemens Energy (Munich, Germany) to be installed in a number of energy-producing "wind farms" throughout the United States. To date, Siemens has received $2.4 billion...

Whirlpool teaming up with Hisense-Kelon.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... BENTON HARBOR, MI -- Home appliance manufacturer Whirlpool Corp. is teaming up with China's Hisense-Kelon Electrical Holdings Co. to collaborate on research and development work for the Chinese market. The companies plan to focus on...

Perkins opening China facility.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... PETERBOROUGH, England -- Perkins Engines Co. plans to begin manufacturing its 1100 series of diesel engines at a plant in Wixu, China, in late 2009. Initial production will be 60,000 engines annually. The decision expands on a plan announced in...

Magna expanding in the U.S. Southeast.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... AURORA, Ontario -- Cosma International, a subsidiary of automotive supplier Magna International Inc., is acquiring a stamping and sub-assembly plant in Birmingham, AL, owned by Ogihara America Corp. The plant supplies exterior and...

IBM training programmers in Asia.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... ARMONK, NY -- IBM Corp. recently unveiled a new program to help students at some 2,100 schools and universities in India, China, Singapore and Vietnam improve their programming skills. For a discounted rate of $30, students at universities...

Assembly webcasts resume next month.
June 1, 2008... BENSENVILLE, IL--ASSEMBLY magazine's Online University webcast series returns to the Internet next month, with new presentations from four of the nation's leading experts in product assembly and design. The webcasts cover part design, robots...

Ford joins Climate Registry.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... DEARBORN, MI--Ford Motor Co. has become the fi rst automaker to join The Climate Registry (TCR), a not-for-profit organization that measures and reports greenhouse gas emissions across multiple industries using a single reporting standard. ...

Ikea subsidiary opens its first U.S. plant.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... ANGELHOLM, Sweden -- Swedwood North America, a subsidiary of furniture maker Ikea Group, is building a new 810,000-square-foot plant in Danville, VA, to produce bookshelves, coffee tables, modular entertainment systems and wardrobe frames. The...

Commerce department releases updated trade guide.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... WASHINGTON -- The manufacturing and services division of the Commerce Department's International Trade Administration has published an updated version of its Trade Finance Guide: A Quick Reference for U.S. Exporters. The guide is intended to...

Evergreen Solar expanding in New England.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... MARLBORO, MA -- Solar panel manufacturer Evergreen Solar Inc. is expanding its factory in Devens, MA, so that it will have 160 mega-watts of production capacity by the end of next year. "With this expansion, we will have approximately 1,000...

IPC revises ball grid array standard.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... BANNOCKBURN, IL--IPC-Association Connecting Electronics Industries has released IPC-7095B, a new standard for the design and implementation of ball grid array (BGA) components in electronics manufacturing. "This version focuses on the...

First 777 freighter leaves factory.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... CHICAGO -- The first 777 jet to be configured as a freighter recently left the Boeing factory in Everett, WA, for ground testing prior to its first test flight this summer. The airplane is the newest addition to Boeing's freighter fleet and...

Toyota to build second assembly plant in India.(Assembly Lines)
June 1, 2008... TOKYO -- Toyota Motor Co. is building a second plant on the site of its Toyota Kirloskar Motor Private Ltd. automobile production facility in Bangalore, India. When it ramps up in 2010, the plant will have an initial annual production...

Conveyor maximizes space usage, efficiency.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2008... Ophthonix Inc. (Vista, CA) manufacturers iZon high-resolution eyeglass lenses, featuring a kind of optical "fingerprint" technology called iPrint. Although the company initially considered outsourcing the production of the lenses, in the end it...

Meter mix system encapsulates connectors.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2008... Augat Automotive, now part of Tyco Electronics Corp. (Wilmington, DE), manufactures precision terminals, fasteners and connectors for use in electronics applications. To protect one of its under-the-hood automotive connectors, the company...

Filtration systems cut operating costs.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2008... A joint-venture company formed by Toyota Industries Corp. (Kariya, Japan) and DENSO Corp. (Kariya, Japan), Michigan Automotive Compressor Inc. (Parma, MI) manufactures magnetic-clutch air conditioning compressors for the automotive industry....

Robots assemble flashlights faster, better.(Assembly in Action)
June 1, 2008... Surefire LLC (Fountain Valley, CA) manufactures professional-grade, high-intensity flashlights used by people like hikers and police officers. Although it has long employed both automated and semiautomated processes on its assembly lines, the...

Standardized platforms improve production.(Assembly in Action)(Company overview)
June 1, 2008... Mega Pumps LP (Eatontown, NJ), a subsidiary of MegaPlast GmbH (Villngen-Schwenningen, Germany), manufactures airless metered pump dispensers used in the medical device and cosmetics industries. Established in 2000, the company initially had...

Fastening or bonding? Structural adhesives offer an alternative to traditional joining methods.(Appliance Assembly)
June 1, 2008... Aluminum, copper, steel and other metal parts used to assemble household appliances are usually joined together with mechanical fasteners or welding. But, structural adhesive is a serious alternative that more and more engineers are...

Loose lips sink assembly systems: want to a know what systems integrators are working on? Good luck! Sometimes their own engineers don't even know.(Automated Assembly)
June 1, 2008... The 19th century Prussian military historian Karl von Clausewitz wrote, "The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy." He was discussing battlefield tactics, but he could just as easily have been talking about profitable product...

DFMA cuts downstream costs: DFMA can make products and processes lean from the start, reducing short-term cost and improving long-term profitability.(Assembly Planning)(Company overview)
June 1, 2008... In principle, the best assembly--easiest, fastest and lowest cost--is no assembly. That, for example, is the raison d'etre for finish-formed parts. In practice, "best assembly" tends to be a lot like lean manufacturing: A never-ending journey...

Robots lend a hand: thanks to better designs and controls, robots are being used to hold and position parts for processing by robots and other machines.(Robotics)
June 1, 2008... When I was a kid, I dreaded Saturdays when my father worked on his jalopy du jour. "I could use an extra pair of hands," he'd ask cheerfully, but I knew this was doublespeak for "hold a work light for the next several hours and keep quiet." As...

Spline shaft available in stainless steel.(Products)
June 1, 2008... Spline shaft series is now available in 304 stainless steel for use in applications requiring corrosion resistance. Featuring a proprietary, low-friction Kerkote TFE coating, the spline shafts can be used in light and moderate-load applications...

Analyzers monitor shock, vibration.(Products)
June 1, 2008... IOtech 640e and 650e dynamic signal analyzers can be used for shock and vibration monitoring, as well as rotating machinery analysis. Any of the four inputs on the IOtech 640e or the five inputs on the IOtech 650e can be used to measure...

Pull vacuums efficiently, effectively.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The PentaLine line of rotary-vane pumps features an optimized drive system, which provides cost-effective, environmentally friendly vacuum for applications in the low and medium range of [10.sup.-3] millibar. The pumps are available with...

LED array cures coatings, adhesives.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The BlueWave LED visible light, high-intensity spot curing system offers a number of advantages over traditional UV spot-curing systems. These include no bulb change outs, cool cures, no warm-up and constant intensity over thousands of hours of...

Workstation frees up powered equipment.(Products)
June 1, 2008... NB series mobile powered workstations allow operators to perform tasks wirelessly throughout a manufacturing facility. Typical applications include inventory management, mobile on-demand label printing, and shipping and receiving. The standard...

Process high-volume orders.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The CTX wire processor can incorporate as many as four dedicated workstations for processing high-volume runs with maximum speed and efficiency. Standard features include a pair of integrated crimp-force monitors and a 2-meter wire batching...

SCARA robot requires less maintenance.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The YK900XG SCARA robot features a 900-millimeter arm length and a maximum payload of 20 kilograms. With a reduced number of parts, the system requires less maintenance than conventional models. It has a positioning accuracy of [+ or -]0.02...

Dispenser offers three modes.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The SL101 self-teach benchtop dispenser features 10 memory locations to automatically cycle 10 self-taught programs. Auto cycling is one of three operation modes available. The other two are: manual mode, enabling a dispense operation...

Compression limiters cost less.(Products)
June 1, 2008... Series CL101 and CL111 brass compression limiters have been redesigned to reduce cost. Specifically, wall thicknesses have been reduced without compromising performance. In addition, assemblers have the option of using series CL200 and CL250...

Driver is light, powerful.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The BTD141 cordless impact driver weighs 3.4 pounds and features a four-pole, variable-speed motor that delivers 1,330 inch-pounds of torque and 3,200 impacts per minute for a wide range of fastening tasks. The system is powered by an 18-volt...

Elevate your dumping.(Products)
June 1, 2008... High-reach dumpers are well suited to applications that require lifting a container or load to a high elevation and then dumping it. The systems eliminate the need for power conveyors or mezzanines serviced by lifts. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]...

Clamp knob prevents slippage.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The 2013, 2017, 2027 and 2037 series of horizontal-handle hold-down action clamps feature a knob on the end of the U-bar to prevent spindle slippage. The design also provides increased hand clearance in the open position, improving ergonomics...

Servo dispensing ensures quality.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The Servo-Flo 401 series servomotor drive meter system can be used to apply precision beads and small precisely metered shots of adhesives, sealants or lubricant materials in both robotic and manual dispensing applications. The system's...

Software simulates Robotic dispensing.(Products)
June 1, 2008... CSR E-Hub Dispensing simulation software for desktop robots makes it possible for engineers to optimize complex dispensing paths, avoid collisions with parts, and train operators ahead of production. The software simulates all robot operations,...

Fastener secures panels.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The 1-035SL Captive-Joiner securely fastens one panel to another while allowing the panel to be removed by the consumer or technicians. The fastener can be completely removed from both panels on-site and reinstalled quickly with a simple push....

Vision software for any camera.(Products)
June 1, 2008... VisionPro 5.0 machine vision software can be used with any camera or vision source. The software provides preconfigured, tightly integrated acquisition support for the complete range of industrial cameras and video formats. Images can be...

Stage provides 1-micron resolution.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The DR positioning stage can be used as the X axis in stacked, multistage vision inspection applications, pick-and-place machines and automated assembly systems. Maximum travel length is 160 inches. Maximum payload is 442 pounds. Maximum...

Motor is compact, powerful.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The EC16 brushless DC motor is 16 millimeters in diameter, 56 millimeters long and yet has a power rating of 40 watts. Its top speed is 60,000 rpm. The control magnet is separate from the main magnet, so Hall effect sensors are protected...

Stripper adjusts automatically.(Products)
June 1, 2008... Equipped with inductive sensors to measure wire diameter, Kappa 330 and 350 wire processors automatically adjust cutting and stripping parameters to process different wire sizes. This shortens changeover times and reduces the risk of operator...

Rework system controls two tools.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The MFR-2200 soldering and rework system can control one or two handpieces at the same time. The system responds to thermal load demand and delivers only the energy needed to complete each connection. Various cartridges are available for the...

Adjustable self-clinching fasteners.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The position of these floating self-clinching fasteners for stainless steel sheets can be adjusted up to 0.03 inch to compensate for misalignment of the mating holes. Nonlocking Type A4 and self-locking Type LA4 fasteners provide load-bearing...

Laser provides stable power.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The PureBeam is a temperature-stabilized, fiber-coupled, high-output laser for industrial applications. It has integrated drive electronics and laser-welded mechanical components. With a single-mode optical fiber delivery system, it provides...

Press swages ball joints.(Products)
June 1, 2008... This high-force electromechanical assembly press was built to assemble a family of 12 stabilizer bars into ball sockets with a swaging process. The press is 5 feet tall, weighs almost 3,500 pounds and delivers a maximum force of 112,404 pounds....

Ratchet wrench for confined areas.(Products)
June 1, 2008... This ratchet wrench has a compact circular head and a 5-degree arc swing, enabling it to be used for delicate jobs in confined areas. The wrench has a free-spinning bearing ring and an ergonomically designed thumbwheel for reversing direction....

Metering cabinets save space.(Products)
June 1, 2008... PowerLogic high-density metering cabinets are available in 1-, 4-, 8- and 16-meter configurations. Their vertically stacked meter arrangement saves space in equipment rooms with limited square footage. The preassembled, prewired cabinets come...

Compact, pneumatic rotary actuator.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The SRU pneumatic rotary actuator is now available in sizes 8 to 14. The actuator is driven by a rack and pinion and double compressed air actuation. Depending on the size, it supplies a torque of 0.14 to 1.15 newtonmeters. Either elastomer...

Valve dispenses solder paste.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The SV-100 slider valve dispenses dots and lines of solder paste or silver-filled epoxies with minimal clogging. It dispenses solder paste at a rate of 20,000 dots per hour. With type 4 and 5 paste, it can dispense dots as small as 300 microns...

Machine scribes solar panels.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The SolarScribe is specifically configured for scribing photovoltaic panels. Split-axis and gantry-style systems can be equipped with either mechanical or air bearings. The system has been designed to maximize throughput while maintaining tight...

Six-axis robot fits on tabletop.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The F5 is a desktop six-axis robot for machine tending, material handling, assembly, dispensing and testing. It has a maximum payload of 5 kilograms. Pneumatic and electrical connections for end-of-arm-tooling are located on joint 4. ...

Adhesives bond most materials.(Products)
June 1, 2008... Two-component methyl methacrylate adhesives adhere well to various materials, including PVC, ABS, polycarbonate, nylon, acrylic, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, ceramics and hardwoods. With a mix ratio of 1-to-1, these non-sagging adhesives...

Force tester does not need PC.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The Chatillon TCD225 performs simple or multivariable digital force testing of medical devices, springs and other components without relying on a PC or complex software. Intended for use on the production floor, the tester measures force with...

Robot has seven axes of motion.(Products)
June 1, 2008... The Presto MR20 has seven axes of motion, enabling it to closely emulate the motions of a human arm. The design allows the arm to avoid singularities while providing multiple posture solutions for the same tool center point. The system has a...

Those darn corporate guys.(Leading Lean)
June 1, 2008... The plant lean team is huddled around the table. The corporate guys are coming in tomorrow for an assessment. The mood is somber. Will it be easy for us to pass, or will we get hammered with deficiencies? Will it be helpful, or distract us from...