Assembly - February 2009 - (Page 28) Assembly in Action then leave the machine to run unattended. Floor space was also tight, because the machine had to be integrated into a larger workcell. Finally, because the customer’s program volume and duration were not going to be especially large, the budget for the new system was extremely limited. Although engineers at Arnold Machine knew a By implementing a low-cost pneumatic indexing conveyor, rotary indexing machine Arnold Machine Inc. was able to deliver an assembly machine that was precise, but still under budget. would satisfy most of the the automotive, appliance and heavy customer’s criteria, such a system would be too big for the allotted floor space. An equipment industries. Recently, it landed a contract with an in-line cam or servo-indexing machine, automotive parts supplier to build an on the other hand, would have easily automated system to assemble a com- solved the space problem, but it would have been too expensive for the project’s ponent with three separate parts. Among other requirements, the cus- small budget. To solve the problem, Arnold Machine tomer demanded that an operator be able to load up to six sets of parts and went with a lower-cost pneumatic indexing system from conveyor manufacturer Northstar Industries Inc. (Tiffin, OH). The resulting 8-foot-long system, employs a series of 8-by-6-inch pallets, each equipped with a single nesting fixture. The conveyor is long enough so that a number of nests are exposed for loading at the same time a number of the other nests are inside the machine being processed. The system’s heavy-duty frame serves as a solid base for mounting assembly tooling, and its $20,000 price tag proved instrumental in bringing the project in under budget. The system’s operating requirements are simple: three solenoid valves and six inputs. With a positioning accuracy of 0.003 inch, the conveyor is precise enough for a material-handling robot to unload the finished product with ease. Northstar Industries’ line of indexing conveyors is available in widths from 6 inches to 12 inches and lengths from 4 to 10 feet. For more on automated assembly Your Guide To Wire Processing The direction to higher production rates is clear with Schleuniger’s cut strip terminate machines. Crimp to Crimp Crimp to Crimp (closed barrel) Seal to Seal Twist / Tin to Seal Double Crimp (same terminal/seal) CrimpCenter 62 CrimpCenter 63 CrimpCenter 64 CrimpCenter 64HD CrimpCenter 65 CrimpCenter 66 Visit us at IPC APEX EXPO, March 31 - April 2, Booth #1349 www.schleuniger-na.com/cst_am / (603) 668-8117 28 ASSEMBLY / February 2009 www.assemblymag.com http://www.schleuniger-na.com/cst_am http://www.schleuniger-na.com/cst_am http://www.assemblymag.com
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