Engine Cover Assembly Automation Cell
Project summary
MWES provided this automotive parts supplier with a robot automation cell for assembling plastic automobile engine covers.
The Challenge
Relying exclusively on manual labor for an entire assembly line can be a liability for your throughput. With high worker turnover and staffing shortages, this firm approached MWES to provide an automation solution for several steps of an existing engine cover assembly line. The human operator would handle the initial assembly steps, while robotic automation would handle the remaining assembly and inspection.
The Solution
The solution MWES provided our customer utilizes two Fanuc LR Mate 200ic/5L industrial robots, a Fanuc M10iAs/10kg robot, Flex-Link XK pallet conveyor system and safety fencing. All three robots are equipped with End of Arm Tooling to accommodate the PPT vision inspection camera, a Herman Ultrasonic Tool and a reject gripper as part of the testing and rejection stage.
The operator first manually places the brand emblem on the top and the acoustical material on the inside of the engine cover. The engine cover is then manually placed on a pallet in the infeed conveyor and the operator presses the cycle ready button. The engine cover automatically indexes to the first ultrasonic welding station where the robot partially welds the acoustical material to the inside of the cover.
The cover then indexes to the next station where the robot picks and loads four rubber grommets into predrilled holes and places 3.3mm push nuts onto the posts. Once complete, the cover indexes to the final ultrasonic welding station. A vision inspection camera does a final pass/fail quality check. If the part fails it is transferred to the rejection conveyor and if it passes it is picked and placed into the unload station where the cover is manually removed.
Impact to the Customer
The robot automation solution MWES provided to our customer gave them the throughput they needed to stay competitive. The consistent cycle time of 60 seconds from part to part was a substantial improvement from their previous process.
Midwest Engineered Systems has extensive experience building custom systems for the automobile industry. If you want to improve your assembly automation throughput, we have the knowledge and experience to make the project successful.
Contact us to learn how Midwest Engineered Systems can automate even your most complex and challenging operations today!
Innovation Through Automation
Client Details
A manufacturer of OEM parts for the automobile industry based in Wisconsin.