Fixtures, Models and Automated Tools/Machines 

for automotive industry today

drillandsawcasestudymachineDefinition

  • (6) Machines to drill aluminum: Chevy or Cadillac RH/LH parts (four different styles in total)
  • Make the repurposed drill motors function
  • Work without GDT
  • The drill units automatically adjust side to side for either hand parts.
  • The various models have varying part lengths.
  • Change over between models: has to be less than 15 minutes.
  • Part load to be vertical for minimal floor space.
  • All the extrusions are formed (bent) resulting in inconsistency in geometry through the center axis.
  • Material handling: cut off end pieces
  • Find a means for a right hand part in the right hand nest without having to “baton” the part.

Implementation:

  • Identify what had to be changed over and what had to move while maintaining tolerance
  • Color code the four parts blue, yellow, red and green and carry that over to the machine function.

Results:

  • Machine cycle time 4 seconds not including load/unload.
  • Change over time of 3 seconds. The 15 minute requirement could not have been meant via manual changeover - this had to be automatic.
  • Multiple parts can be run in one machine.
  • Consistent and repeatable output by not having a manual changeover.
  • Right hand part is loaded in the right hand nest without having to “baton” the long parts for correct orientation.
  • Air blow off to move the cut off piece into the chute.
  • Visible four color stack light on all six machines. One color on all six machines indicates run of one style part.
  • Time improvements beating target time by: 73% for machine cycle.
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