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Initial Assembly Press Station
Intelligent assembly station which prompts the operator to load the required parts in the correct order, with “Poke-Yoke” checks. Closed loop testing can also be fitted such as Vision systems or other sensors in order to determine basic functionality of the assembled items. Pressing operation occurs inside an enclosure for operator safety.
Pointer Placement Station
Precision placement of pointers onto motor spindles. Utilises real-time pointer height and force measurement during placement to produce a closed loop process.
Air Blow Station
Controlled environment to allow parts to be cleaned before assembly. A slight positive pressure is maintained within the cabinet using filtered air, de-ionising jets are provided to remove dust particles from the parts.
Mask and Lens Assembly Station
Automatic press to force plastic clips together, with “Poke-Yoke” controls for component parts. Automatic confirmation check for the state of all of the clips at the end of the pressing process. Pressing operation occurs inside an enclosure for operator safety.
4 Head Test and Calibration Station
Automatic test and calibration of all elements of the product. The system takes both electrical measurements using a digital multi meter, as well as physical measurements using a Vision system. The 4 head system uses a 2 x 2 configuration mounted on a rotary table which can rotate 180 degrees backwards and forwards. Two nests are attached to each side of the rotating table with one nest above the other. This means that there are always 2 parts facing the front of the machine and two parts facing the rear, to achieve maximum effeciency. The nests facing the front are used for loading and unloading the parts as well as carrying out operator visual checks. The nests facing the rear of the machine are used for Vision checks and calibrations. Here the lighting can be controlled to achieve the optimum conditions.
2 Head Test and Calibration Station
As the 4 head above but now only one nest facing front and one facing back.
End of Line Packing Station
Intelligent station that can check that the part is finally acceptable to pack the part ready for shipment. This station confirms that the correct quantity of parts are packaged in the appropriate container. It can also produce any packaging labels that need to be fitted to the box for later indentification.
Instrument Cluster Assembly & Test Automatic Flow Line
All stations are located on a palletised conveyor system. This concept reduces handling of the product as well as having the added benefit of reducing the load and unload time for each station. Product type is selected by means of a batching system, where the user creates lists of batches to be produced, this can be done at the start of the day and then be left alone to manage the build of the parts.
Each pallet that arrives at the specified load station (start of process), is assigned the exact product to be built. This is controlled by the master system. The master is not responsible for testing or assembly functions, it purely controls the build of the parts and can be used to display SPC and other useful information while the line is running.
When the pallet arrives at each station in turn its ID is read and the pertinent data for that part can then be read across a network link to the master. This information is stored in a file, one file is created for each pallet, and the file contains information such as part number, variant type as well as any faults that have occured and the overall status of the part.
Upon arrival of the pallet at the unload station, the data is read from this file. The master then decides whether all the required testing has been completed sucessfully, if so the part is ejected and a pass label printed. Any failed parts will not be ejected, the pallet will be automatically released from the unload station and continue on to the Rework Station. Here the faults can be printed onto a ticket and kept with the faulty part for later analysis. This system means that good and bad parts do not get unloaded at the same position and get shipped in error.
Traceability
All results are stored in the factory traceability database.
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