Assembly - November 2008 - (Page 40) ASSEMBLY Automation Systems Your Builder IS Your Partner Successful automation begins with communication. Here’s what your machine builder needs you to know for a profitable partnership. f there is a manufacturing company in Camelot, the factory will always have orders to be filled with products that can be delivered on time and sell at a profit. It will always have a trained and motivated workforce available, and will always be able to start up special manufacturing processes as they are needed for a new product. I can’t help you with factory orders or staffing issues. But special machine builders can help you improve performance and—ultimately—profitability. Becoming “partners in productivity” with your machine builder is the basis for a mutually beneficial relationship, and here’s what your builder needs you to know to make that relationship successful. Getting Started The earlier we are involved in your project, the better we can help you design the product for manufacturing and assembly. We have probably already solved problems similar to those that you will encounter in your project. There are dimensioning and tolerancing interrelationships concerning the manufacturing processes, the product materials, the assembly of the product, and the interface of the finished product with other parts or assemblies. We can help you through these issues to ensure the product and processes are compatible. We have manufacturing experience as well as special machine expertise; we can help to plan your processes and workcells. If you want to break your line into several modules, each doing a portion of the total process, we can help you to ensure that your process combinations make sense with respect to material handling, product orientation, process compatibility and rate. Your Equipment Specification Please discuss with us what you expect this equipment to do, then document your expectations in a specification so there are no misunderstand- This lean cell supplies subassemblies to an automotive assembly line. By Edwin H. Zimmerman CMfgE, P.E. Director of Technical Operations Apex Automation Inc. Elizabethtown, PA But where the rest of us live, things go wrong. The order delivery schedule is a series of irregular peaks and valleys, causing sporadic overstaffing, understaffing and missed delivery dates. Workers leave so new people need to be found and trained. The special process equipment is nowhere to be found— because it’s special. Special machine builders probably 40 ASSEMBLY / November 2008 www.assemblymag.com http://www.assemblymag.com
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