Companies considering an automated fastener assembly system should base their decisions on sound production strategy that adds value at each stage of the process. The driver must always be efficiency and the goal should be installation of the right types and quantities of fasteners while optimizing production, reducing costs, and enhancing quality of the final product.
Design and engineering are the first and primary elements in the automation value chain. These activities begin with a comprehensive analysis of production requirements that leads directly to joining and assembly solutions that increase productivity and ensure the best possible in-place costs.
Assembly strategy should never disconnect the fastener from the automation equipment. They should be intertwined in a total system integrated into the manufacturing environment. Dealing with them separately snaps the value chain and inevitably leads to long-range problems that are difficult and expensive to rectify.
Indeed, incorrect decisions based on faulty analysis and strategy can result in needlessly expensive processes that hamper rather than enhance efficiency and productivity. Many companies succumb to the false enticements of technology and waste capital on equipment that doesn''t perform to standards. Their choices lack a clear focus on manufacturing strategies and priorities, and often neglect the realities of regional economics. Such missteps can result in warranty claims and even liability issues if there are product failures.
When creating an automated fastener assembly system, designers and engineers must answer three fundamental questions:
- Will it add value to the production process?
- Will it provide a competitive advantage?
- Does it fit the core competency of the manufacturing facility?
The process starts with fasteners. Designers and engineers must consider many factors when selecting the right fastener for a specific application. These include point of assembly, materials used, stress and loading, the critical nature of the joint, high and low limits for torque, angle value, clamp load, bending capability, frequency of removal, and much more.
The right automation equipment must fit a range of criteria, including:
- Consistency of setting and accuracy -- a repeatable process that eliminates variations and performs reliably over a long period.
- Robust design that reduces production cycles.
- Flexibility that allows integration of new products that meet market needs -- a system that can be easily reconfigured and even moved about the plant floor.
- Ergonomic benefits that replace difficult, tedious, and hazardous manual processes.
- Compact design that reduces floor space and improves line of sight.
- Reduction in part numbers and inventory.
- Ease of maintenance and repair.
- Capital investment that provides favorable depreciation and quick payback
- Sufficient volume over the life of the equipment.
- Suitability of the fastener to the level of automation.
- Compatibility with existing systems in the plant.
Electronic monitoring and reporting should play a major part in designing an automation process. Modern systems are smart, accurate, and totally integrated into the process. They virtually eliminate variations, guarantee consistency, and avoid slowdowns, breakdowns, and catastrophic failures. Every assembly sequence is precise and is tracked, documented, and archived. Aberrations are instantly known and quickly corrected. Service schedules are maintained, and replacement parts are delivered to the exact requirements of daily build schedules. The right system provides a virtual manufacturing process adjustable to the requirements of flexible manufacturing.
Industries Differ
Each industry has its own assembly techniques and processes that require varying degrees of automation. Automobile production is highly automated, with the typical assembly plant having a forest of robots performing complex tasks. The focus here is on agility, with a growing emphasis on flexible systems that adapt quickly to changing markets.
Trucks, buses, and off-road vehicle production is less automated, largely because axles, brake systems, engines, and other major components arrive at plants preassembled. Airplanes and helicopters are produced through a "build out" system in which workers surround the aircraft and assemble it in layers. Printed circuit boards require fasteners that are almost microscopic, and need automation systems that place them with infinitesimal precision.
Not only are industries different, but manufacturing processes vary by prevailing economic conditions in individual countries. The degree of investment in automation is usually in direct proportion to the cost of labor. Newly emerging nations have lower labor costs and tend to depend more on manual assembly processes.
If designing an automated fastening system seems difficult, that''s because it is. Most companies do not have the internal resources or the experience to design or select an integrated fastener production process to suit their long-range requirements. For that matter, few fastener firms provide total assembly solutions for their customers. They either sell fasteners or production equipment, but rarely both.
Companies with the capability to design automated fastener processes into an integrated system serve as assembly solution consultants. They analyze the situation and work closely with the customers to create a customized production system that meets long-range needs.
For a company considering an integrated fastener production process, the guiding principle should be: start with a value-added strategic process with clear, long-range objectives -- then automate. Decisions made at the earliest stages have repercussions throughout the life of the equipment, with major and continuous impact on production planning, productivity, quality, cost, and profits. In the end, it''s all about value -- and that should be the strategic foundation upon which an automated fastener system is built.