Assembly Planbook - April 2008 - (Page 22) Assembly in Action Curtains Promote Better Space Usage L DEVELOPED, FOR SIMPLE ACTUATION. Electro-mechanical Servo Systems 1 - 40 tons • Precise and flexible force for all applications • Single modules, press drives and custom solutions • TOX®softWare – all processes at a glance • Accepts all standard interfaces • Safety Controls TOX® PRESSOTECHNIK L.L.C 4250 Weaver Parkway Warrenville, IL 60555 - USA Tel. +1 (630) 393-0300 Fax +1 (630) 393-6800 www.tox-us.com a system of blowers. Any sparks from grinding operations are kept in the cell area, and the curtains drape slightly on DI Industries Inc. (Manitowoc, WI) the floor with chain-weighted bottoms manufactures lubricating equipment to prevent them from flapping open and and hydraulic components for OEMs leaving gaps. and the MRO market. The company, The curtains protect employees from which specializes in fabricating hy- flash and UV light as they move down draulic reservoirs, recently moved to the aisles between workcells. At the a new 100,000-square-foot facility in same time, employees can see in and Huntley, IL, to accommodate increas- out of the cells, while ambient light ing demand for its products. passing into each cell improves working conditions. The clear curtain sections are combined with opaque top and bottom sections made of 14-ounce vinyl. All the panels are fire retardant. If a curtain is hit with weld splatter or suffers any other kind of damage, LDI can simply replace that curtain section. At floor level, the curtains attach to one another with 2-inch industrial Velcro fastLDI is maximizing productivity in its new facility by using protective curtains to divide the shop floor into ers. To enter the area, an operator simply spreads the curtains. 400-square-foot cells. “From our standpoint, it’s the As part of the move, managers decided ease with which our employees and the they wanted to improve the way they work can pass in and out of the workused their production space, with an eye cells that is important to a productive toward increasing overall efficiency. Spe- environment,” Klus says. cifically, the company was concerned that if it didn’t correctly coordinate its operations, the result would be a management nightmare and a waste of the new facility’s additional space. “In our old facility, we sectioned off welding, cutting and grinding operations using weld screens, but we felt there was a better way to do this,” says LDI maintenance manager Bill Klus. Ultimately, LDI elected to sec- LDI’s divider curtains are 22 feet high and tion off the production area into suspended from a robust track framework. 400-square-foot cells using custom-configured weld curtains from For more information on flexible Goff’s Enterprises (Pewaukee, WI). partitioning, call 800-234-0337 or visit According to Klus, the cell setup gives www.goffscurtainwalls.com. LDI managers much better control over workflow, because every step of the process and every worker now has a designated area on the shop floor. The curtains are suspended from easy-to-position, heavy-duty tracks, ffective readability and traceability and are 22-feet high, enabling trapped are critical to success in the consumer welding gases to be removed through electronics industry. By keeping track TOX®-ElectricDrive Code Readers Save $5,000 a Week E 22 ASSEMBLY / April 2008 www.assemblymag.com http://www.tox-us.com http://www.goffscurtainwalls.com http://www.tox-us.com http://www.assemblymag.com
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