IEN: What are the major concerns facing providers of assembly technology and related products and services in the next few years? How can they be addressed?

Bulleit/Lauzon: As companies strive to be competitive in today's market, the need for lower cost labor becomes more intense. Companies are looking for ways to reduce the labor content of their products. Labor-intensive products are being driven to offshore destinations, where cheaper labor abounds.

As a supplier of handheld assembly tools, it is incumbent upon us to provide solutions to our customers that reduce their costs. Direct labor savings are a key area, but reducing exposure to ergonomic concerns and improving the customer's product quality also boost a client's bottom line.

This system of matching solutions to a client's individual priorities is called the PERQ system from AIMCO. An identical application found at two separate manufacturers might warrant two different solutions based on each engineer's priorities surrounding productivity, ergonomics, reliability, and quality. (For more on PERQ, click here.)

IEN: What innovations are in store in assembly related systems, equipment and components, materials, and software?

Bulleit/Lauzon: Due to liability costs and the need for reduced labor costs, ergonomics is becoming increasingly important. Engineers need to reduce or eliminate torque reaction, provide lighter tooling or support structures, and reduce noise and vibration of the tooling. Assembly tools suppliers are responding by bringing innovative tooling to the marketplace, especially with the latest generations of pulse tools.

Pulse tools, traditionally the mainstay of automotive assembly lines, are being utilized in more production lines than ever before. Even when its superior torque control is not necessary, such as with office furniture assembly or sheet metal screws, the ergonomic benefits easily justify the capital investment.

Quality control reduces costs both before and after a product leaves the factory. Documentation and process verification provide assurances that the product was assembled correctly the first time. Typically, this would mean DC electric tooling, which incorporates transducers and controllers to monitor, control, and document the torque and other factors on every rundown. But to strive for effective process verification at a lower cost, tightening monitoring (verifying a complete cycle, but not the torque value) is being implemented. TM tools measure the air pressure within the air motor to signal when the fastener has been run down.

Lastly, as production lines become more flexible, providing many types of cordless tools is important. With onboard batteries instead of air hoses or electric cords, these tools can go anywhere with no installation costs. More than just weekend warrior tools like one would get at a home improvement warehouse, most industrial grade tools, including pulse tools and torque control shutoff clutch tools, are also available in cordless styles and are designed for continuous use. Another quality benefit of cordless tools is in the virtual elimination of scratching and marring of a client's product from the cords or hose fittings.