Assembly articles from March 2006

Assembly archives from March 2006

Talent search.(Editorial)
March 1, 2006... Last July on this page, we suggested that global manufacturers need to plan for the possibility that people will increasingly become a scarce resource. One ASSEMBLY reader responded that our schools do not prepare enough technologists to do the...

Geneva mechanisms drive indexing assembly systems.(X-Y-Z)
March 1, 2006... What do an odometer, a film projector and a rotary indexing table have in common? All three rely on Geneva mechanisms to produce intermittent rotation in one shaft from the continuous rotation of another shaft. A Geneva mechanism is not...

U.S. manufacturing innovation on the wane?(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Downward trends in U.S. manufacturing innovation pose a serious threat to America's long-term economic growth, according to a study by the Council of Manufacturing Associations and The Manufacturing Institute, the research arm of...

Off-the-job injuries hurting business.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... ITASCA, IL -- Today's workers are safer on the job than they are at home, and those nonwork-related accidents are costing businesses plenty. According to the National Safety Council, recent gains in lowering workplace death rates--down 17...

Boeing building its last 717.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... CHICAGO -- Boeing has begun work on the last 717 jetliner to be produced on the company's pioneering moving assembly line in Long Beach, CA. The airplane is the 156th 717 produced by Boeing. Since its inception, the 717 program served as a...

'Factory of the world' hosting Chinese Assembly Expo 2006.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... SHENZHEN, China -- Reed Exhibitions (Norwalk, CT) has announced that the company's inaugural Assembly Technology Expo China will take place at the Shenzhen Exhibition and Convention Center in southern China Aug. 29-31. According to Reed,...

GE wins China pipeline contracts.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... FLORENCE, Italy -- General Electric's Europe-based oil and gas division has won a $196 million contract to provide gas turbines, compressors and installation services for China's West-East Gas Pipeline Project. The China Petroleum Material...

Former Baldor CEO Roland Boreham dies.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... FORT SMITH, AR -- Former Baldor Electric Co. CEO and chairman Roland S. Boreham Jr. died Feb. 5. Boreham, who served as CEO from 1978 to 1981 and chairman from 1981 to 2004, began his career with Baldor in 1947, working for his father, who...

ASI DataMyte strengthens China operations.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... MINNEAPOLIS -- Manufacturing software company ASI DataMyte Inc. has merged its Shanghai-based Asian division with long-time distributor Ameshen Instruments Ltd. (Shanghai) to promote continued expansion in the region. "This is an excellent...

Ford had a strong 2005 in China.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... SHANGHAI, China -- Although things were rough back home, Ford Motor Co. (Dearborn, MI) experienced record sales in China in 2005, thanks to the successful launch of a number of new models and expansion of its Asian manufacturing base. ...

Deere opens tech center in India.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... MOLINE, IL -- Deere & Co. has opened a new technology center in Magarpatta City, India, to provide information-technology, engineering and supply-management support for the company's operations worldwide. "We're now focusing on growing......

Deprag marks 75 years.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... AMBERG, Germany -- Screw-driving and assembly equipment manufacturer Deprag Schulz Ltd. is celebrating 75 years in business, with an official anniversary coming Sept. 1, 2006. The company's roots go back to the early 19th century in the...

Airbus has yet another good year.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... TOULOUSE, France -- The Airbus consortium had another record 12 months in 2005, outselling its chief competitor, Boeing (Chicago), for the fifth year in a row. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In total, Airbus delivered 378 airliners, including...

TRW unveils hybrid vehicle product line.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... LIVONIA, MI -- TRW Automotive Holdings Corp. is introducing a line of new technologies to support the growth of hybrid electric vehicles. The products and systems range from simple light-weight components to brake systems, a fully integrated...

NAM warns against overzealous lobbying reform.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... WASHINGTON -- Insisting that not all lobbyists are like disgraced lobbyist Jack Abromoff, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) is warning Congress not to be overly zealous in its reform efforts. Testifying before a Senate...

West coast consortium orders 157 hybrid buses.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... DETROIT -- A hybrid bus consortium consisting of 11 transit agencies in California, Nevada and New Mexico has awarded a contract to Gillig Corp. (Hayward, CA) for the purchase of up to 157 diesel-electric hybrid buses powered by General Motors'...

U.S. entrepreneurship is on the increase.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... MIAMI -- After dipping 20 percent in 2004, U.S. entrepreneurs are back in business. According to a study by the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor, MI) and Florida International University (FIU), in 2005 the number of entrepreneurs...

Robotics group accepting award nominations.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... ANN ARBOR, MI -- The Robotic Industries Association (RIA) is now accepting nominations for the 2006 Engelberger Robotics Awards, to be presented this May at the 37th International Symposium on Robotics in Munich, Germany. [ILLUSTRATION...

New mathematics may mean better machines.(Assembly Lines)
March 1, 2006... WEST LAFAYETTE, IN -- Engineers at Purdue University and Tel Aviv University (Tel Aviv, Israel) have created a new mathematical method for designing better structures, machines and robots. The team has done so by creating a battery of theorems...

Correction.(Correction notice)
March 1, 2006... In the article, "Surfactant Eliminates Dross From Wave Soldering," which appeared in the January issue, Larry Kay states that lead-free solder costs approximately 10 times as much as tin-lead solder. That is incorrect. Lead-free solder...

Lasers line up megayacht hulls.(Assembly in Action)
March 1, 2006... Janicki Industries Inc. (Sedro-Woolley, WA) manufactures five-axis milled patterns, molds, plugs and tooling for the aerospace, marine and general transportation industries. The company has 250 employees and works in a number of different...

Softeware fuels new product development.(Assembly in Action)(Company overview)
March 1, 2006... Founded in 1904, automotive- and commercial-vehicle component manufacturer Dana Corp. (Toledo, OH) employs 46,000 people in 28 countries, enjoying over $9 billion in sales. A supplier for such legendary vehicles as the Model T, the company...

Automation moves the A380.(Assembly in Action)
March 1, 2006... The A380 double-decked airliner from Airbus (Toulouse, France) is the largest commercial aircraft in the world, with space for 555 passengers. Representing the cutting-edge in aircraft development, it is incorporating many new technologies with...

Automated vial handler meets challenge.(Assembly in Action)
March 1, 2006... Varian NMR (Palo Alto, CA) manufactures nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy systems for pharmaceutical companies and university laboratories. The systems, which are used to test drugs and study the behaviors of organic compounds, include an...

Placing efficiency ensures competitiveness.(Assembly in Action)
March 1, 2006... Sagem Communication (Paris) is a subsidiary of France's SAFRAN Group and the world's seventh biggest mobile phone manufacturer, with annual sales of 21 million units worth some $1.5 billion. The company produces phones for both the consumer and...

Lean manufacturing: are we really getting it? Continuous improvement is key to long-term success.(ASSEMBLY Planbook)
March 1, 2006... What happens in 10 years when everyone implements lean manufacturing and it's no longer a competitive advantage? While such a day will probably never occur, the question is provocative. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The key to lean success...

Nine fatal mistakes in lean: does lean yield real value, or is it twaddle and folly? It all depends on you.(ASSEMBLY Planbook)
March 1, 2006... Lean can be an effective tool for improving productivity and reducing costs. But lean will not fix a structurally flawed and troubled enterprise. Lean is not a magic bullet. Merely putting up display boards, holding meetings at the start of a...

Outsourcing design: design engineering firms can help manufacturers turn ideas into reality.(ASSEMBLY Planbook)
March 1, 2006... Recently, a medical device manufacturer was working on a new model of infusion pump, a machine that carefully controls the rate at which intravenous medications are given. The potential market for these devices is huge. The leading brand of...

The build-to-order challenge: manufacturers are shifting from mass production to mass customization.(ASSEMBLY Planbook)
March 1, 2006... "Have it your way... special orders don't upset us" was a snappy advertising jingle used many years ago to promote a popular fast-food chain. The company was touting its ability to serve customers build-to-order burgers. [ILLUSTRATION...

Getting green on the shop floor: increasingly, what's good for the environment is also good for the bottom line.(ASSEMBLY Planbook)
March 1, 2006... To say that industry and environmentalists don't always get along would be putting it mildly. Environmentalists are all about keeping the world in its natural state. Manufacturers are in the business of making money. It seems the two groups...

Going wireless: more and more factories are pulling the plug on old-fashioned cable and wire.(ASSEMBLY Planbook)
March 1, 2006... Twenty years ago, coin-operated public pay phones were located on nearly every street corner in most American towns and cities. Today, finding one is about as easy as locating a needle in a haystack. In addition to altering the urban landscape,...

Pump works with thick materials.(Products)
March 1, 2006... The model 560092B manual pail pump extracts bulk viscous materials like grease and paste from 5-gallon straight-walled pails. The pump can be used to bottom-fill 2.5-, 6-, 8- or 12-ounce cartridges, and 3- to 55-cc luer lock syringes, without...

Epoxy has unlimited working time.(Products)
March 1, 2006... SC 2002 NS one-part epoxy bonds to a range of different substrates, including fabrics, wood, steel, aluminum, ceramics, glass and concrete. Dispensed as a non-sagging, self-leveling gel, it can used to fill gaps and produce flexible, durable...

Encoders are durable, fast, precise.(Products)
March 1, 2006... RELM linear encoders and RESM rotary encoders deliver accuracy to [+ or -]1 micron, resolution to 20 nanometers and speeds above 10 meters per second at temperatures up to 85 C. The systems are durable for use in industrial settings and provide...

Splice station has it all.(Products)
March 1, 2006... Splice station is a portable trolley that comes with all the necessary tools to attach a new reel to an old reel in electronics manufacturing. Unique features include a secured splicing tool with placement pins for increased accuracy, handheld...

Weld with overhead robots.(Products)
March 1, 2006... The ArcWorld V-1000 series of robotic welding cells is suitable for use in precision fabrication applications and Tier-1 automotive production. Each cell features an over-head-mounted six-axis EA1400TN "Expert Arc" welding robot. The ArcWorld...

Pump can handle viscous fluids, high pressures.(Products)
March 1, 2006... The A7VK axial-piston, variable-displacement pump can be used for high-pressure pumping of materials like polyol and isocyanate, which are used in making polyurethane. The feed channel is separated from the drive work chamber to allow high...

Workstations provide flexibility.(Products)
March 1, 2006... Series 8000 modular workstations can be configured in a variety of heights and lengths, providing effective use of vertical space up to 84 inches. A "starter and adder" system provides unlimited layout possibilities, including X- and Y-style...

Illuminate with stability.(Products)
March 1, 2006... The Model 21 DCL computer-controllable, stabilized fiber optic illuminator can be used in microscopy automated high-throughput machine vision applications requiring high stability. A photodiode and feedback circuitry stabilize the halogen lamp...

Dispensor offers variation, control.(Products)
March 1, 2006... The GP80 VR is a variable-ratio gear metering dispenser for processing pourable, nonabrasive adhesives and sealants. The system features two independently driven gear pumps that allow a wide range of ratios, as well as digital shot size...

Controller comes in a small package.(Products)
March 1, 2006... The 371-0028 brushless DC motor controller provides 1,000 watts of power in a footprint measuring 3 by 4.65 by 1.75 inches. The system can be used in both closed- or open-loop velocity and torque control applications. It accommodates input...

Camera is compact.(Products)
March 1, 2006... The CS3970CL camera can be used in industrial vision applications, such as precision gauging, alignment, character reading and fine-defect inspection on very small parts. Using a progressive scan CCD, the system captures full-frame images at a...

SMT spacer-nuts come in a range of sizes.(Products)
March 1, 2006... Threaded PEM ReelFast SMT spacer-nuts are available in range of thread sizes for spacing of stacking printed circuit boards, or mounting and attaching boards and components. The nuts can be installed at the same time as other surface mount...

Fix my manager, please!(Leading Lean)
March 1, 2006... I want to share an e-mail I received recently from a lean-savvy individual who was hired by a company to lead its lean transformation efforts. It quickly became clear to him that the company's executives were not committed enough to take the...