Automatic assembly lines
PROBLEM:
mission is to defeat Asian competitors in the consumer products assembly market (as remote controls for domestic devices), preserving production flexibility and saving costs.
SOLUTION:
In order to reduce costs end reach a great flexibility, we have designed an innovative assembly line, capable to produce up to 250 different models of remote controls. Device components are automatically supply to the proper assembly line by dedicated systems (as vibrating bowl feeders, vertical elevators, Cartesian robots, …) and so the manual loading time is really reduced to the minimum. The plant is engineered to perform all the assembly, testing and packing steps automatically and no human supervision is required. After the assembly operations, each device is tested by the dedicated station and only the checked remote controls are then packed in boxes. Full boxes are closed and taped automatically, ready for the shipment. The Operator can change the production at any time even if the line is working, just selecting the new article code from the HMI.
ADVANTAGES:
this working solution, let the Customer have a great flexibility (article code can be changed whit no stops for the production) and reduce costs (manpower is requested only for loading and unloading operations). Moreover the assembly line has a reliable production rate and so delivery times to final customers can be scheduled for sure.
DESCRIPTION:
our automatic assembly lines mix flexibility, productivity and easy management: they let You face the unpredictable market demands with a great reduction in time and costs. The plant here presented is designed to assembly, test and pack remote controls for domestic electronic devices (TV, Hi-Fi, DVD,…) of all commercial brands: that means a wide range of models. From the OEM point of view, the task is to combine the capacity to produce all the possible variants and combinations with the flexibility to fulfill sudden Production demands. A remote control is usually composed of many parts (cases, keys, electronic board, key pad, battery spring and so on) and each of them can be supplied in various color and sizes according to the final product: our feeding systems are designed to manage all the requested versions. First of all the feeders load all the elements into special recipients, easy to be handled by Cartesian robots and carried to the relative stations. The assembly system is composed of a closed loop recirculating pallet line, with fixed station to perform the necessary operation: this solution gives the best results in terms of speed and accuracy of the movements. High-rate pick&place devices assemble each item in the proper sequence, while pallets pass from a station to the following one. At the end of the assembly process each key of the remote control is tested: good items are then packed and shipped. While the line is working, the operator can change model or tune some setting of the working cycle. The production rate is about 600 remote controls per hour. Lot traceability, production rate per time and shutdown statistics are all available data, and that makes easier both plant management and supply problem solving.
