Assembly articles from May 2004

Assembly archives from May 2004

Tomorrow's talent.(Editorial)
May 1, 2004... A brief announcement on National Public Radio at the end of March reported that Radio Flyer, while keeping its headquarters in Chicago, plans to outsource manufacturing to China before the end of this year. Thus the Radio Flyer, arguably the...

Ouchless injections may soon be possible.(Down the Line)
May 1, 2004... Most people hate getting a shot. They quiver at the mere sight of a needle. But, if researchers at Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech, Atlanta) have their way, that may soon be a thing of the past. Engineers have developed a...

No holes barred.(Down the Line)
May 1, 2004... Rather than bring the part to the tool, engineers at Boeing's Phantom Works advanced manufacturing research and development group (St. Louis) have developed a tool that goes to the part. The Flex-Track drill is a numerically controlled system...

Liquid lens sees potential.(Down the Line)
May 1, 2004... Engineers at Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam) have developed a variable-focus lens system that has no mechanical parts. Potential optical imaging applications include digital cameras, camera phones, endoscopes, home security systems and...

Laser-peened plane parts last longer and cost less.(Down the Line)
May 1, 2004... Traditionally, metals have been peened by bombarding the material with tiny metal balls, or "shot," to induce a layer of compressive stress at the surface that prevents metal fatigue and reduces corrosion. However, scientists at Lawrence...

Step by step.(X - Y - Z)
May 1, 2004... By some estimates, half of the motion systems requiring less than 1 kilowatt of power can be equally served by either step motors or servomotors. In applications with stable loads and speeds under 1,000 rpm, engineers can save the cost of...

Auto suppliers face a rocky road.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... TROY, MI -- The ongoing development of emerging markets and the need to compete with peers in low-labor-cost countries will continue to siphon the supply base of the U.S. automotive industry. A recent study conducted by Roland Berger Strategy...

Fuel cell market ready to skyrocket.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... CLEVELAND -- The commercial market for fuel cells is currently limited, but it is expected to skyrocket over the next 10 years. A recent study conducted by the Freedonia Group Inc. predicts that fuel cell demand in the United States will...

Dana turns 100.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... TOLEDO, OH -- In 1904, a young mechanical engineer named Clarence Spicer launched a new business in the vacant corner of a printing press factory in Plainfield, NJ. The company he started, Dana Corp., has been turning wheels ever since. ...

New life for an old Deere.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... MOLINE, IL -- Deere & Co. has acquired the oldest known John Deere tractor, an All-Wheel-Drive (AWD) model built in 1918. Of approximately 100 AWD tractors built, the machine is the only complete one known to still exist. The tractor spent...

Make way for more humanoids.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... TOKYO -- In the future, humanoid robots may be a common sight in assembly plants. Toyota Motor Corp. (Tokyo) recently unveiled a prototype humanoid robot that it hopes to mass-produce. The company demonstrated a biped humanoid and a mobile...

Future fighter unveiled.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... DETROIT -- A lean, mean fighting machine is about to roll into the war on terrorism. The SmarTruck III concept vehicle was recently unveiled by the U.S. Army's National Automotive Center (Detroit) and International Truck and Engine Corp....

Employment Outlook Survey reveals strong U.S. job prospects.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... MILWAUKEE -- According to Manpower Inc.'s Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, U.S. employers expect hiring activity from April to June to be stronger than it has been since the first quarter of 2001. Of the 16,000 U.S. employers that were...

IPC panel is struck by Lightning.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... BINGHAMTON, NY -- Universal's new Lightening high-speed placement head won the Apex 2004 Innovation Technology showcase award. The placement head is driven by a variable reluctance motor. The motor can index the head's 30 spindles within 55...

PMI index report confirms strength in manufacturing.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... TEMPE, AZ -- According to a report by the Institute for Supply Management, the manufacturing economy grew for the 10th straight month. According to the report, the PMI index jumped to 62.5 percent in March from 61.4 in February. "The...

Northrop Grumman sells Kester.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... DES PLAINES, -- IL-Northrop Grumman has sold its Kester division to American Capital Strategies Ltd. Kester supplies solder paste, flux, conductive adhesives and other electronics assembly materials. American Capital owns 84 percent of...

Industrial laser shipments remain level.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... MCLEAN, VA -- According to the Association for Manufacturing Technology's Laser Systems Product Group, 2003 shipments of industrial laser equipment and systems for North America and U.S. exports were level with 2002. Industrial laser...

MACtac to expand Columbus facility.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... STOW, OH -- As the result of a 130,000-square-foot expansion at MACtac's Columbus, IN, facility, an estimated 75 new jobs will be created. The Columbus facility manufactures pressure sensitive adhesive materials and is one of the most...

Advanced Adhesive Technology Workshops.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... ROCKY HILL, CT -- Henkel Loctite Corp. has announced the dates and locations for its Advanced Adhesive Technology Workshops in 2004. These workshops provide manufacturing, product and design engineers with an in-depth understanding of the range...

FANUC Robotics celebrates 30th anniversary.(Assembly Lines)
May 1, 2004... ROCHESTER HILLS, MI -- FANUC Ltd. has been in business since 1974, and since that time, it has produced 120,869 robots. Further, FANUC's American subsidiary, FANUC Robotics America Inc., has installed 59,581 robots in North and South...

'Backlash' was III-defined.(Letter to the Editor)
May 1, 2004... The XYZ column in the March issue, "The ABCs of XYZ," had good definitions of accuracy. Unfortunately, the description of backlash was, in my opinion, quite inaccurate. For gears, backlash is clearly defined in four categories, according to the...

Intake manifold assembly benefits from quality control.(Assembly in Action)
May 1, 2004... Quality control cannot be overemphasized on today's automotive part assembly line. Providing parts tracking and traceability is not only a wise business move, it is often mandated by a customer. That was the case with Siemens VDO in...

Adhesive bonds metal profiles on rail car doors.(Assembly in Action)
May 1, 2004... Huntsman Advanced Materials' (Los Angeles) Araldite 2015 epoxy is proving to be the ideal adhesive for bonding aluminum profiles to metal railcar door frames manufactured by Schlosser Metallbau GmbH (Nurnberg, Germany). The door frames are...

Flexible robot cells help differentiate car differentials.(Assembly in Action)
May 1, 2004... ZF Achsgetriebe GmbH (Thyrnau, Germany) is a subsidiary of ZF Passau GmbH. The company develops and manufactures drivetrains. ZF Achsgetriebe contacted Prowin Produktionstechnologie GmbH to build an automated line for assembling and testing...

Conveyor cuts car door production costs.(Assembly in Action)
May 1, 2004... Microplastics Inc. (St. Charles, IL) integrated an automated conveyor system that produces insert-molded door latch components for an automotive supplier. This conveyor eliminated the high cost of labor and reduced production costs by 30...

Dispensing equipment comes to the aid of microbiology instruments.(Assembly in Action)
May 1, 2004... Becton Dickinson Diagnostic Systems (Franklin Lakes, NJ) manufactures the Bactec 9000 series of automated blood culture systems. These blood culture systems are used in hospital laboratories to help diagnose life-threatening diseases. The...

Design for robotic assembly: the advantages of robotic assembly can be negated by poor fixturing or parts that slip out of grippers.(Assembly Robotics)
May 1, 2004... Watching a SCARA robot quickly assemble several small plastic parts, it's hard not to think of it as a person--a fast, accurate, tireless person, but a person nonetheless. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In reality, equating the abilities of...

Pushing paste: dispensing solder paste is not the same as printing it.(Electronics Assembly)
May 1, 2004... To get an idea of the technical challenges of dispensing solder paste, imagine a bucket filled with equal parts of water and sand. If you swing the bucket from side to side, like a pendulum, you'll notice that the water moves in one direction,...

Is flexibility a myth? A little foresight goes a long way.(Assembly Systems)(Cover Story)
May 1, 2004... In the circus, flexibility is a key attribute. Acrobats, jugglers, aerialists and other performers have to twist and turn innumerable ways. And, the people behind the scenes often have to jump through hoops and bend over backwards to ensure...

Plan for success: winning capital equipment investments balance long-range objectives and future technology changes.(Capital Spending)
May 1, 2004... Mass production continues to be the basic manufacturing tool for discrete product assemblers. Today's business environment requires accelerating capital investment to obtain greater productivity at lower unit cost, but it also requires that...

Roll out the barrels: thousands of coopers once mass-produced millions of wood casks.(Assembly then & Now)
May 1, 2004... Nearly everyone has heard of phrases such as "barrel of monkeys," "barrel jumping" and "barrel roll." But, few people today have actually seen a wood barrel. That wasn't the case 100 years ago. Everything from soup to nuts was transported...

Torquing for tightness: assemblers measure torque during fastening to ensure process capability.(Inspection)
May 1, 2004... To many manufacturers, the concept of torque is a mystery. Despite the confusion, correct control of this force is critical to quality manufacturing and has a direct impact on bottom-line issues like product quality, reliability and safety....

Aluminum precision framing.(Products)
May 1, 2004... Series 60 aluminum profile framing can be used for heavy-duty machine support, frame building, linear motion and material handling. The framing is fastened with M12 screws and special nuts that can be located anywhere along each section's...

Stanchions add versatility.(Products)
May 1, 2004... Stanchions enable precise positioning. Stanchions are available in more than 40 versions, including single- or double-shaft bases, blank or predrilled mounting plates, or single- or double-mounting blocks in 1-, 1.5- and 2-inch bore sizes. ...

Aluminum raised rail.(Products)
May 1, 2004... This aluminum raised rail, for terminating wire into components, includes centered mounting slots and 1-inch-diameter cable routing holes. It is available in 1- and 2-meter lengths. It has an industry standard of 2.26 inches, with a reduced...

Leveling mounts.(Products)
May 1, 2004... LN Series of nylon leveling mount sizes range from 20 to 120 millimeters, enabling them to handle loads ranging from 100 to 8,000 pounds. Made of a nylon-based material, they can be combined with any thread type and size. They are available in...

Six-axis robot.(Products)
May 1, 2004... Mitsubishi's RV-S Series of vertically articulated robots have 20-micron repeatability at speeds up to 9,100 millimeters per second. The robots have a standard pick-and-place cycle time of 0.37 seconds. The drive is a digital AC servo system....

Modular guarding system.(Products)
May 1, 2004... FastFrames modular guarding modules require no engineering, cutting or welding. The modules arrive preassembled. The panels and doors are made of heavy-duty 1.5 by 1.5-inch anodized aluminum, with clear Lexan or PVC-coated wire mesh inserts....

Benchtop X-ray system.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The Verifier portable x-ray system has a foot-print of only 29 by 32 inches, and can handle bare or fully loaded boards up to 16 by 18 inches. High-resolution, 33-micro imaging in continuous real time enables users to discern bridging, missing...

Automatic parts sorter.(Products)
May 1, 2004... Using machine vision, Model J189 sorts small parts based on length, width and diameter. Several models are available for parts ranging in size from one-sixteenth to 2 inches. It can inspect and sort parts at a rate of 15,000 parts per hour with...

CP Feeder.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The CP-Feeder is a substitute for vibratory or centrifugal bowl feeders. It runs at conventional bowl-feeding speeds in one-half size or less of the footprint. Servo drives ensure that precise speed matches downstream equipment. MGS...

X-ray inspection system.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The Tiger X-ray inspection system offers collision-free inspection that protects the sample during inspection. The high-resolution image intensifier rotates 360 degrees and tilts up to 60 degrees, allowing inspection of complex assemblies....

Inspection and failure analysis system.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The Nanome|x incorporates an X-ray tube that can operate in four modes. It projects images up to 2,000 X without rotating the board. The unit is powerful enough to see through materials like tungsten alloys that are commonly used in integrated...

Keyed lock screw.(Products)
May 1, 2004... Keyed-lok screws feature a lock keyway forged into the screw head. They feature different, randomly selected, exclusive socket geometry, making them virtually tamper-proof. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Bryce Fastener Mfg.Inc. ...

Shutter pins.(Products)
May 1, 2004... Shutter pins are used to assemble shutters. These translucent, off-white nylon fasteners have excellent wear properties, low coefficient of friction and good chemical resistance. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Micro Plastics Inc. ...

Self-piercing fastener.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The Twist-Tack is a one-step fastener that can attach rubber, plastic and thin-gauge aluminum to steel tubing, aluminum extrusion and lightweight metal castings. It does not require a predrilled hole. It can achieve hundreds of pounds of...

Vibration-proof fastener.(Products)
May 1, 2004... TineLok nuts and bolts are now available in plastic versions. The plastic version is a one-way combination nut and bolt fastener that locks into position at preset intervals when the nut is counter rotated along the bolt thread. This...

Key Drive thumb screw.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The Key Drive series of thumbscrews has a dual-locking and adjustment system. Each screw size has a hex equivalent to a standard socket head cap screw so no special tools are required for installation. The fasteners are available in nine screw...

Conveyor belt fastener.(Products)
May 1, 2004... By using a guide-block tool, Alligator Ready Set Staple conveyor belt fasteners compress plates into belt covers for a tight grip. The fasteners are designed for conveyor belts from 1/16 to 1/4 inch thick, and with mechanical fastener ratings...

Gripper finger sensor kit.(Products)
May 1, 2004... When sensing is needed, this kit provides a signal when the gripper finger is activated. This kit will not increase the length of the gripper, and it can be attached to any new SAS single-acting or double-acting cylinder gripper fingers. It can...

Adapter for hot-melt nozzles.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The GIA swivel right-angle hot-melt nozzle adapter accepts any industry standard 3/8-24 UNF threaded single or multiorifice nozzle. It can be installed on most hot-melt guns, heads or valve modules to provide adjustable right-angle dispensing....

Profiling scanner.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The L1 3D line scanner is a Class III-rated sensor that provides 60 profiles per second. It has a 120-degree field of vision and a 600-millimeter measurement area. The scanner has a resolution of 1.5875 millimeters, a standoff distance of 483...

Ultra compact carriage.(Products)
May 1, 2004... The BMK ball monorail carriage is available in two sizes--BMK 15 and BMK 20. Dimensions range from 24 to 28 millimeters in height, 34 to 44 millimeters in width, and 37 to 47.7 millimeters in length. Loading capacities range from 5,200 N for...

Hand torque wrench.(Products)
May 1, 2004... This ergonomically designed torque wrench is light weight. It has a strength of 300 ft-lbs. It is suitable for use in automotive, light and large truck, and off-highway vehicle assembly operations. It has a low-level analog input capability,...

How to manage ... not: how many of these examples do you see in your firm, especially those that you personally instituted? Hopefully, none, but that would be a miracle.(Uncommon Sense)
May 1, 2004... Many books du jour address how to be a manager, and how to organize, motivate and lead people. Writing these books doesn't necessarily require experience; enough platitudes can make a bestseller. I posit, however, that it takes practical,...