NOVEMBER 2021

History Comes Alive in Chicago

New National Park Recognizes Pullman Factory

SCREWDRIVING
Error-Proof Your Process

VISION SYSTEMS
Line-Scan Cameras

SUPPLY CHAIN
MANAGEMENT
Vendor-Managed Inventory
 NOVEMBER 2021

CONTENTS
FEATURES

Manufacturing History Comes Alive in Pullman

Pullman perfected rail car production processes and pioneered the use of new materials.—Austin Weber

Error-Proof Screwdriving
Technological advances in manual and power tools make
repeatable error-proof screwdriving an achievable goal for
manufacturers.—Jim Camillo

Understanding
Line-Scan Cameras
Line-scan cameras excel at producing images of objects in
continuous motion past a fixed point.—Klaus Riemer, Ph.D.

Optimizing VMI
and Kitting Processes
The success of vendor-managed inventory programs hinges on better
collaboration.—Todd Grzych

ABOUT THE COVER

America’s newest national park recently opened on the South Side of
Chicago. The Pullman National Monument celebrates the unique history
of a company that mass-produced freight and passenger rail cars at the
site from 1881 to 1981. Photo by Austin Weber

November 2021
 NOVEMBER 2021

CONTENTS
DEPARTMENTS
Editorial
Proposal would help bridge the gap between r&d and manufacturing.—John Sprovieri

New & Noteworthy

App-based motion control.—Jim Camillo

Assembly Lines
WEF honors ‘lighthouse’ factories for sustainability efforts..—Austin Weber

Five Things
News and notes from the world of new energy.—John Sprovieri

Assembly in Action
Appliance maker speaks to need for more AI on assembly lines.—Jim Camillo

Aerospace Assembly
Nature inspires wing-in-ground-effect aircraft.—John Sprovieri

ASSEMBY Audible Podcast

Product Spotlights
In-depth profiles of the latest assembly technology.

Assembly Products
Conveyors, leak testers and other assembly products.—Jim Camillo

Case Histories
Learn how our advertisers are helping assemblers solve problems.

On Campus
Penn State R&D effort leads to new class of high-flying batteries.—Austin Weber

Advertisers Index

Sourcebook Premium Sponsorship

November 2021
 ONLINE CONTENTS
ASSEMBLY WHITE PAPERS
Reliability, Flexibility and Safety in
Manufacturing Power Distribution
Overhead power distribution, known as track busway systems, are
quickly becoming the solution of choice in manufacturing. Busways
have changed the way facilities supply electricity by forming a grid
above the production floor.

Overhead power distribution, known as track

busway systems, are becoming the solution of
choice in manufacturing. Photo courtesy Starline

Sensitive Processes, Intelligently Automated

At six-second intervals, a highly automated line with three Stäubli robots assembles tire pressure
sensors—at a rate of 4 million units per year.

Collaborative Robots and Machine Tending: The Prosperous

Path Forward
This white paper takes an in-depth look at machine tending operations within today’s factories,
and how cobots help machine shops free up valuable personnel, increase capacity, and breathe
new life into idle equipment.

Solving Reshoring Challenges: Utilizing PDMS for Faster

Ramp-Up
Many companies are undergoing new reshoring efforts or moving projects between plants to gain
greater control and efficiency.

ASSEMBLY WEBINARS
From Manual to Robotic: Four Ways to Determine if You
Should Automate Your Grinding Operations
This webinar will discuss four ways to determine if you should automate your grinding process.
We will discuss how a pre-engineered grinding system, the Fab-Pak OmniClean system, can help
reduce the stresses of labor availability on your manufacturing floor while reducing ergonomic
strain and helping you meet your outbound quality requirements.

A new pre-engineered grinding system, the Fab-Pak OmniClean system, can automate the process of grinding
weldments. Photo courtesy The Lincoln Electric Co.

Press-Fit Strategies for Manufacturing

In this webinar, Promess engineers John Lytle and Stephanie Price will walk you through several
press-fit strategies and why one may work better for an application over another. Lytle and Prece
will also relate how Promess was able to solve a few real-life application examples.

ASSEMBLY INFO CENTERS

Factory of the Future
The Industrial Internet of Things is transforming the world of manufacturing. Manufacturers are using
internet-enabled technologies to improve their operations, from the granular level of individual
manufacturing processes to the global level of worldwide supply chains. Here you’ll find information on the
latest smart automation technologies.

Smart Pressing Technology

Assembling one part to another usually requires a third material—screws, rivets or adhesives—but it doesn’t
have to. In fact, sometimes all you have to do is insert one part tightly into a hole in another part or bend, fold
or deform a feature on one part to capture the other. Here you’ll find information on how to get the most out
of servo-driven presses.

Sensor Solutions
Automation is dumb. It can only do what it's told, over and over again. Without a sense of sight or touch,
automated devices can’t know if parts are present. They can't tell if parts have been picked up successfully.
Here you'll find everything you need to know about sensors for automation.

Best Measurement Solutions for Manufacturing

Engineers rely on various sensors and systems to measure pressure, force, torque and acceleration. These
technologies are used to measure and analyze physical processes; develop, test and calibrate fastening
technology; optimize manufactured products; and monitor and control pressing and molding processes.
Learn about the latest technology here.

Ergonomic Lifting
For years, managers told assemblers to “work smarter, not harder.” However, this was easier said than done,
particularly for workers who have to lift heavy objects around their workstations. Now, assemblers can “lift
smarter and work easier,” thanks to a variety of cranes, hoists, intelligent assist devices and work
positioners.

ASSEMBLY PODCASTS
How 3D Additive Manufacturing And 3D
Printing Technology Is Building A Better
Future
3D Systems Chief Technology Officer David Leigh, Ph.D., joins the
show to talk about additive manufacturing. He covers some of the
biggest breakthroughs in the past 30 years, including medical use,
space travel and even the superhero Iron Man. But what about the
future? We dive right in to where the industry is heading and what
to expect.

The Future Is Now: Hitachi Astemo,

Additive manufacturing has come a
long way in 30 years. Photo courtesy 3D Artificial Intelligence and Smart Factories
Systems
With smart factory technology growing throughout the world,
Sudhanshu Gaur, Ph.D., vice president of Hitachi America and chief
architect for smart manufacturing at automotive supplier Hitachi
Astemo, talks about how to implement the technology, how to use
the data collected from it, and how companies of all sizes can
benefit from digital transformation. Gaur was the keynote speaker
at The ASSEMBLY Show in October.

ASSEMBLY TV
Why You Should Consider a Risk
Assessment and What To Look For
Brian Kramer, underwriting officer for manufacturing and wholesale
with The Hartford Financial Services Group, talks about why and
when manufacturing companies should consider risk assessments
and some of the signs to look for during them.

How Hitachi Astemo Is Using Artificial

Periodic risk assessments can help assemblers prevent
costly accidents. Photo courtesy Polaris Industries Inc.
Intelligence and Machine Learning
Sudhanshu Gaur, Ph.D., vice president at Hitachi America and chief
architect for smart manufacturing at automotive supplier Hitachi
Astemo, joins Assembly Audible to discuss AI and machine
learning. He also talks about how to avoid some of the stumbling
blocks of smart manufacturing.

November 2021
 FROM THE EDITOR

Proposal Would Help Bridge

the Gap Between R&D and CONTACT

Manufacturing John

A group of senators have proposed chartering a bank, owned by the U.S. government, that would finance high-tech
manufacturing projects nationwide, such as battery assembly plants. Photo courtesy Audi

The United States is far and away the world leader in R&D spending. In 2019, the U.S. spent $612.7 billion on R&D, more than any
other country. We spent 19 percent more than China, four times more than Japan, five times more than Germany, and six times
more than South Korea.

That’s great for U.S. universities and research institutions. But, when the time comes to turn new discoveries into marketable
products, our manufacturing sector rarely gets to enjoy the fruits of all that R&D spending. One reason why is that there are few
financing options to help build manufacturing capacity. Small- and midsized companies struggle to borrow the millions of dollars
necessary to finance a new factory, especially if those loans take 10 or 20 years to pay out. Venture capital firms are more
preoccupied with funding the next Facebook than the next Ford, and the big national banks aren’t too keen on funding projects
with long time horizons. As a result, many U.S. manufacturers look overseas to make “the next big thing.”

Now, a group of moderate Democratic senators, led by Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, has proposed chartering the Industrial
Finance Corp. of the United States, a bank owned by the U.S. government that would fill the “manufacturing gap” and finance
high-tech production nationwide.

The IFCUS would leverage $50 billion in capital to generate hundreds of billions of dollars of additional financing by working with
private capital partners. It will have the authority to issue and guarantee loans, purchase equity stakes, issue bonds, acquire
assets, create investment facilities and enterprise funds, and securitize its investments.

“This new investment in U.S. manufacturing will help create good jobs, rebuild key industries, and allow manufacturers to
overcome barriers to funding so they can continue to lead the world in innovation,” predicts Sen. Coons. “By establishing [IFCUS],
we will address gaps in our supply chain that have resulted in the offshoring of high-paying manufacturing jobs. Our international
competitors—particularly China—have invested heavily in capturing the commercialization of the next-generation of critical
technology. This bill responds by deploying strategic investments that amplify our own economy’s strengths and serve American
workers.”

For example, let’s say a struggling steel producer wants to expand into climate-conscious markets by replacing its blast furnace
with a high-tech electric arc furnace with lower emissions. Given its recent business challenges and the current market for steel,
private investors would be skeptical about the short-term payoff of the pivot. Realizing the long-term potential of the project, the
IFCUS would take an equity stake in the company to fund the capital investment.

IFCUS would work similarly to the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. (DFC), a bank that bipartisan majorities in
Congress authorized in 2019. The DFC is charged with investing in development projects primarily in lower- and middle-income
countries. In other words, the federal government is financing factories in other countries, but not our own.

The legislation has been endorsed by several organizations, including the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation; the
National Defense Industrial Association; MForesight, a manufacturing advocacy organization; and The Engine, a private sector
technology investment firm created by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

“For start-ups scaling up to commercial deployment, wherein technical risk has been removed but economic validation at scale
has not yet occurred, the private capital market is failing,” says Katie Rae, managing partner and CEO of The Engine. “Without
project finance or traditional private debt at this very critical stage, many of these companies will fail, or worse, be forced to go
overseas for capital. IFCUS could fill this void without stepping on, or being redundant to, private capital.”

We think it’s a good idea, too. And why not? Other countries have such institutions. For example, the third-largest bank in
Germany, the KfW, is a publicly owned development authority that lends to the manufacturing and clean-energy sectors.
Originally known as Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau or Credit Institute for Reconstruction, the bank was created in 1948 as part of
the Marshall Plan to help Germany rebuild after World War II. Today, the KfW has more than half a trillion euros in assets that it
uses to bankroll small and medium-sized manufacturers, among other things.

November 2021
 PRODUCTS

NEW AND NOTEWORTHY

App-Based Motion Control

Nicknamed the “smartphone of automation,” the crtlX

AUTOMATION platform provides companies an app-based
approach to motion control. These apps can be created in
programming languages such as C++, script languages like
Python, or the graphical language Blockly. Manufacturers
are using dozens of customized apps, including those for
vibration damping, but the supplier foresees hundreds of
apps being in use in the next few years. The platform
features more than 30 interfaces to communicate with
smart servo drives, I/O, HMIs and safety automation
products. Its key components include IIoT, PLC, software
(ctrlX WORKS), drives and motors (ctrlX DRIVE), and a
control system (ctrlX CORE). A data layer (ctrlX Data Layer)
ensures that real-time and non-real-time data exchange is
shared across domains. The platform handles drives
ranging from 1.5 kilowatts, to 140 kilowatts of continuous
power, to 210 kilowatts of peak power. Users can stack the
drives without additional wiring or accessories to better
distribute the power.

Bosch Rexroth

610-694-8352          

www.boschrexroth-us.com

Optimize Automation Configuration Flexibility

A subscription-based product, Brightware Studio

Microfactories software optimizes automation speed, cost-
effectiveness and configuration flexibility. It does this by
providing engineers with modular building blocks to ensure
successful completion of repetitive assembly and
inspection tasks. The software allows for a low- or no-code
workflow and features an intuitive user interface that lets
operators and technicians easily program, run, analyze and
debug any assembly process. Another key feature is the
software’s “self-serve” process optimization capability.
Once deployed, the software lets end-users easily add
process steps to the line—such as reconfiguring assembly
instructions or adjusting device settings—to ensure
optimum production from start to finish. Emphasizing self-
service also reduces end-user reliance on technical
experts, system integrators, or other automation vendors to
make changes, thereby improving their ability to
immediately respond to market changes.

Bright Machines Inc.

415-820-5000

www.brightmachines.com

Gripper Design Based on Human Hand

Flexion Series FG gripping technology is inspired by the

ultimate gripper, the human hand. Highly configurable, the
technology consists of one- to five-finger modules situated
on either a parallel or radial gripper hub. The modules can
be mounted in any position for any application to optimize
finger versatility and adaptability. When actuated, the
fingers’ multiple joints work in unison to conform and
encapsulate a part, or grip it by the fingertips. Each finger
can also be equipped with two switches to sense positions
providing feedback to controls. The system supports ISO
9409 mounting standards, which allows for mounting
directly to most robots on the market. Adjustable operating
pressure provides users with a wide working range of
usable force—from industrial strength for demanding
applications, to a delicate touch for soft and sensitive
product handling.

PHD Inc.

800-624-8511

www.phdinc.com

Miniature Cobots

Both the Model SO and DBO cobots are ultra-compact,

folding six-axis arms with a payload of 1.1 pounds. The SO is
the smaller unit, weighing just 7.7 pounds for easy
transport, placement and operation anywhere in a plant. Its
offers repeatable accuracy of 10 microns. The DBO is
somewhat heavier, at 10.3 pounds, and offers 5 micron
repeatability. Each cobot features a built-in control panel
for simple guided teaching of the robot to the exact
position coordinates for trouble free and efficient
operation. The panel runs on cpcstudio software, which
uses language that conforms to IEC 61131-3 for robotic
programming. The software allows easly networking of the
cobots to a PLC, and comes with debug and manual modes.
Other company products for assembly include linear motor
stages, linear guides, linear motors, a magnetic encoder
and a motor servo driver.

Chieftek Precision USA Co. Ltd.

909-773-1200

www.chieftek.com/product.asp

November 2021
ASSEMBLY LINES
WEF Honors ‘Lighthouse’ Factories
for Sustainability Efforts
GENEVA, Switzerland—The World Economic Forum
(WEF) has added to its Global Lighthouse Network, a
community of world-class manufacturing facilities
that use Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR)
technologies to increase efficiency and productivity.
Three facilities were cited as Sustainability
Lighthouses for their efforts to deploy advanced
technology that makes an impact on the
environment.

The Lighthouse network serves as a blueprint for

adapting new technology, improving processes and
developing workforce skills to scale across the
production chain. These diverse organizations are
Ericsson’s 5G factory in Lewisville, TX, is powered 100 percent by renewable
demonstrating how 4IR technologies can increase electricity. Photo courtesy Ericsson
profits while also having a positive impact on the
environment.

“Increased global concern for environmental impact has made sustainability a must-have to maintain business viability,” says
Francisco Betti, head of the WEF’s Shaping the Future of Advanced Manufacturing and Value Chains initiative.

“The Sustainability Lighthouses make it clear that by realizing the potential of 4IR technologies in manufacturing, companies can
unlock new levels of sustainability in their operations and explore a win-win solution: Greater operational competitiveness while
simultaneously making commitments to environmental stewardship, leading to a cleaner, more sustainable future as a result,”
explains Betti.

“Lighthouses have achieved a sustainability breakthrough,” adds Enno de Boer, partner and global head of operations technology
at McKinsey & Co. “Companies no longer have to choose competitiveness or sustainability because smart manufacturing lets
them achieve both.

“Fourth Industrial Revolution technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robotics and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT),
amplify human capability and technological innovation to accelerate sustainability, while also strengthening competitiveness,”
claims de Boer.

“From using advanced analytics to predict exactly the inputs and outputs needed for a manufacturing process to augmented
reality that simulates a production line so machines can be operated remotely, Lighthouses are reducing resource consumption,
waste and carbon emissions, while increasing productivity and profit,” says de Boer.

The three plants designated as Sustainability Lighthouses are:

Ericsson (Lewisville, TX). Ericsson’s greenfield 5G factory is powered 100 percent by renewable electricity from on-site solar
and green-e certified renewable electricity from the utility grid. The smart factory integrates sustainable technologies, such
as thermal ice storage tanks, with the IIoT stack to proactively monitor energy usage. It is designed to use 24 percent less
energy and 75 percent less indoor water usage, avoiding 97 percent operational carbon emissions than comparable
buildings. Earlier this year, it became Ericsson’s first factory to achieve LEED Gold certification.

Henkel (Düsseldorf, Germany). In an effort to improve visibility of factory consumption to drive better decision making,
Henkel deployed utility meters on machines integrated in a digital twin that connects and benchmarks 30 factories and
prescribes real-time sustainability actions. This effort has reduced energy consumption by 38 percent, water consumption
by 28 percent and waste generation by 20 percent compared with factory baselines set in 2010.

Schneider Electric (Lexington, KY). To capture greater energy consumption granularity, when and where it happens in the
plant, the smart factory leveraged IoT connectivity with power meters and predictive analytics to optimize energy cost.
This has led to a 26 percent energy reduction, 30 percent net CO2 reduction, 20 percent water use reduction and a Superior
Energy Performance 50001 certification by the U.S. Department of Energy.

USCAR Issues ‘Roadmap for Automotive Additive Manufacturing’

SOUTHFIELD, MI—The United States Council for
Automotive Research LLC (USCAR) has issued a
“Roadmap for Automotive Additive Manufacturing.” The
goal of the publication is to better understand and
communicate the opportunities and pathways for more
widespread, efficient and sustainable use of additive
manufacturing in automotive production facilities.

The scope of the roadmap includes all aspects of the

manufacturing life cycle, from design to materials,
manufacturing processes, operations, maintenance and
workforce. It provides a structure for engagement of the
automotive industry with the additive manufacturing
industry and research institutions.

“The ‘Roadmap for Automotive Additive Manufacturing’ represents an automotive voice in an effort to enable additive
manufacturing as a commonly accepted part of the production of automotive components and vehicles,” says Steve Zimmer,
executive director of USCAR. “Work like this is critical to accelerating development of additive manufacturing systems and
materials that will work best to open the doors to industry wide use.”

“While the automotive sector has been using additive manufacturing processes for decades, it has yet to become integrated into
high-volume production processes,” adds Zimmer. “Challenges exist due to high cost of materials, equipment and operations.

“The speed and reliability needed for high-volume applications are not possible with current additive manufacturing systems,
which are used mostly in low-volume batch production,” explains Zimmer. “Through this roadmap, [we hope] to document
challenges of current additive manufacturing technologies and bring industry partners and research institutions to the table for
mutual benefit.”

To download a copy of the "Roadmap for Automotive Additive Manufacturing,” click www.uscar.org.

Smart Factory Institute Debuts in Tennessee

CHATTANOOGA, TN—Deutsche Messe Technology
Academy recently opened a Smart Factory Institute
here. The facility is designed to stimulate innovation in
industrial companies in the southeastern United States.
It is supported by several local partners, including Peak
Performance Inc., a human resource development
company, the Tennessee Manufacturers Association
and the Volkswagen Academy.

“The technologies presented in the facility cover all

aspects of Industry 4.0,” says Denise Rice, director of
the Smart Factory Institute and CEO of Peak
Performance Inc. “[We will] focus on seven main
categories: additive manufacturing, augmented and
virtual reality, big data and analytics, cloud computing,
collaborative robotics, cyber physical systems and
systems integration. Deutsche Messe Technology Academy recently opened a Smart Factory
Institute in Chattanooga, TN. Photo courtesy Deutsche Messe Technology
Academy

“We will also offer workshops and training on new ways of working, such as SMART TPM and Agile Working,” explains Rice.

Both face-to-face and online events are planned in Chattanooga. Volkswagen’s assembly plant is providing the infrastructure for
the academy, which is located next to the factory.

Elite Robots Invests in Future Growth

KNOXVILLE, TN—Elite Robots Inc. recently received a $27
million infusion of Series B funding that will be used to help
the company grow its line of collaborative machines.
Specifically, the firm will use the funds to scale production of
cobots, grow its engineering and sales team, establish
regional support for customers across the world, and invest in
new products and technology innovation.

“This latest round of financing testifies to the investor’s belief

in the promise of collaborative robotics and [our] CS series
robot,” says Peter Farkas, CEO of Elite Robots. “In addition to
launching the CS cobot later this year, [our] research
continues to make notable contributions to the field of
robotics hardware. [We are] working with partners, including
Foxconn and ZTE, to accelerate the real-world impact of this Elite Robots is expanding its line of collaborative machines used for
disruptive technology.” a variety of assembly and material handling applications. Photo
courtesy Elite Robots Inc.

Reshoring Activity Surges to Record High

SARASOTA, FL—The coronavirus pandemic has spurred a
national push to strengthen the domestic supply chain,
especially for essential products, driving reshoring numbers
higher. According to a recent report by the Reshoring Initiative,
reshoring and foreign direct investment job announcements
for 2021 are projected to be over 220,000.

“That is a 38 percent increase over 2020 and, by far, the

highest yearly rate recorded to date,” says Harry Moser,
president of the Reshoring Initiative.

The report provides data and analysis in categories ranging

from the number of manufacturing jobs gained, to a Reshoring activity continues to bolster American manufacturing.
breakdown of data by industry, country and state. Photo courtesy Kent International Inc.

According to Moser, the jobs that are coming back in the transportation equipment sector are mostly in electric vehicle battery
production. However, the computer and electronics industry has seen the largest jump in percentage of jobs, due to
semiconductor and microchip investments. So far this year, Ohio, Arizona and Tennessee have seen the most job
announcements.

“Reshoring continues to be key to U.S. manufacturing and economic recovery in 2021 and beyond,” claims Moser. “We see the
Biden administration dealing at a superficial level, applying needed tourniquets like investing in chips and EV batteries, but not
addressing the underlying problem: Our manufacturing costs are about 15 percent higher than Germany’s and 40 percent higher
than China’s.

“If we do not address the underlying problems, we will not be producing enough electronic products and EVs to absorb our
subsidized chips and batteries,” warns Moser. “We will go from being dependent on Taiwan and China for chips to being
dependent on those countries to buy our chips to install in the products we buy from them.

“Additionally, many countries are investing heavily in chip facilities,” says Moser. “When the industry has a global surplus, the
high-cost U.S. chips will not be competitive in the low-cost markets.”

Humans and Robots Go to School Together

FRANKFURT, Germany—The global push to automate is
changing the way humans and machines work together, claims
the International Federation of Robotics (IFR). The IFR has
researched how robotics training shapes current and future
workforce education, enhancing skills development for
employees.

“Automating dull, dirty and dangerous tasks is changing job

profiles of factory workers for the better,” says Milton Guerry,
president of the IFR and president of Schunk Inc. “Academies
run by robot manufacturers play a key role in making this
transition possible. Employers send thousands of workers to
robotics training every year.”

Suppliers like ABB, Fanuc and Kuka all register between 10,000
The global push to automate is changing the way humans and
and 30,000 participants in their robot classes across more than machines work together. Photo courtesy Fanuc America Corp.
30 countries every year. The training programs range from
basic programming for first-time users to complex workshops.

“The automotive industry traditionally plays a leading role in upskilling workers for the use of robotics,” says Gerhard Müller, vice
president of global customer services at Kuka. “Volkswagen, for example, decided to host one of our colleges directly at their
headquarters factory in Wolfsburg, Germany.

“We start with basic training for people who have never used a robot before,” explains Müller. “For professionals, we offer about
70 different modules ranging from basic operation and programming to complex commissioning of entire robot systems.”

“Training programs set up by international robot manufacturers provide key skills for the industrial workplace of the future,” adds
Alexander Bongart, head of the Fanuc Academy Germany. “What participants learn in our [flagship] school in Japan is what they
also get in our training schools established in the United States, Europe or China.

“Robotic certificates for workers are valid around the globe and qualify for fantastic new career opportunities,” notes Bongart.
“This is not limited to the classic adopters of robotics and automation, like the car industry, but also true for small and midsized
companies from a wide range of branches.”

As more industries than ever move toward automation, robotics training is also becoming part of public education in the U.S.,
Europe and Asia.

“Simulation software and augmented reality open up new ways of teaching,” says Arno Strotgen, senior vice president of ABB
Robotics & Discrete Automation. “The days when everyone needed to be an engineer to handle a robot are definitely over.”

“Governments face the need to update their education policies,” adds Guerry. “The qualification to program and use a robot is an
essential skill required of workers before they even enter a job on the shop floor.

“To enable the transition, robot manufacturers are the best possible partners, providing the right skills necessary to work with
intelligent automation systems,” claims Guerry. “The IFR invites public authorities to team up with the experts and to use their
know-how to deliver education for the workplace of the future.”

November 2021
 THEME NEW ENERGY

5 THINGS
Swiss Solar Module Manufacturer to Build
U.S. Assembly Plant

1
Swiss solar panel maker Meyer Burger is planning to build its first U.S. assembly plant. Photo courtesy Meyer Burger Technology AG

Meyer Burger Technology AG, a manufacturer of solar modules based in Thun, Switzerland, is planning to build its first U.S.
assembly plant.

Meyer Burger is reviewing a list of possible locations in several U.S. states, and the company expects to make a decision by the
end of 2021. The criteria for choosing a location include available buildings, regulatory and tax considerations, state and local
economic development programs, available qualified workforce, proximity to transport infrastructure, the supply of renewable
energy, and the commitment of local communities.

The company’s decision to expand to the U.S. is driven by a strong domestic solar market and positive economic policies for
clean energy. Meyer Burger wants a U.S. plant so it can assemble modules as close as possible to its customers, create a more
sustainable supply chain, and provide greater flexibility and faster delivery times.

The factory will assemble solar modules for residential rooftops, commercial roof systems and solar power plants. Initially, the
plant is expected to produce enough modules annually to generate 400 megawatts of electricity, but it could someday be
expanded to make enough modules annually to generate several gigawatts of power. Production is expected to begin at the end
of 2022.

“Meyer Burger is very pleased to expand production in the USA,” says CEO Gunter Erfurt. “The United States has a long history in
the solar industry. In the 1970s, the world’s first production facility for solar modules was built in California—well ahead of Europe
and Asia. Now is the time to get back to the roots of the industry and help end [the country’s] reliance on imports from abroad.”

Battery Manufacturer Airlifts Assembly Line

to Leapfrog Port Congestion

2
Enovix has begun producing lithium-ion batteries on a new automated assembly line. Photo courtesy Enovix Corp.

In August, Enovix Corp., a manufacturer of lithium-ion batteries for portable electronics, completed installation of a new
automated assembly line at its factory in Fremont, CA.

It almost didn’t happen. The line was designed and built in Asia, and the congestion gripping West Coast ports this year would
have delayed delivery by months.

Since that was not an option, Enovix and its logistics partner, TransPak, opted to transport the line to the U.S. by air. But, just any
wide-body cargo plane, such as a Boeing 777 or 747, wouldn’t do. Rather, the job went to Ukrainian-based Antonov Airlines and
its An-124, a super-jumbo cargo jet that was originally designed to carry tanks for the Russian military.

“We were faced with a choice: Accept a three-month delay [in] the startup of our factory…or try to find some creative way around
the backlog,” says Enovix chief operating officer Cameron Dales.

The automated assembly line consists of more than 25 machines and robots that work in unison. The total shipment weighed 55
tons. After undergoing extensive testing, the line was partially disassembled and carefully packed into 60 shipping crates before
being loaded on the An-124, which delivered it to San Francisco International Airport on a Sunday in late April. With a length of
nearly 230 feet, two internal cranes and front-and-rear ramps, the super freighter is well-suited for oversized cargo.

Most of the units arrived at the Fremont facility on flatbed trucks within hours of landing. One piece was so large it required an
escort by the California Highway Patrol the next day.

The air charter “certainly involved premium pricing relative to other modes of transportation, but from an ROI perspective it was
kind of a no-brainer for us. The time was just so valuable,” says Dales.

Enovix is a case study in how companies are going beyond traditional logistics tactics to keep their businesses running in the
face of supply chain delays. As of Sept. 21, some 65 container ships were waiting to enter the ports of Los Angeles and Long
Beach, a record number. Cargo is piling up in terminals faster than trucks and trains can move it out.

The Enovix factory is the first facility in the world capable of volume production of advanced lithium-ion batteries with a special
3D architecture called a silicone anode that offers up to 110 percent improvement in energy density compared to standard
batteries for mobile applications. At full capacity, the factory is expected to assemble 45 million batteries per year.

Battery Assembly Plant Coming to South Dakota

3
AEsir Technologies, a manufacturer of nickel zinc batteries, has selected Rapid City, SD, for a factory complex that could eventually employ up
to 1,500 people. Photo courtesy AEsir Technologies

AEsir Technologies, a manufacturer of nickel zinc batteries for aerospace, defense and data center applications, has selected
Rapid City, SD, for a factory complex that could eventually employ 1,500 people.

AEsir Technologies plans to construct four buildings. The first building will be a 150,000-square-foot manufacturing and
distribution center capable of producing 1.2 million batteries annually.

The company initially plans to hire 400 employees and expand to 1,200 to 1,500 employees. The first phase will cost around $90
million with a total price tag of $300 million when all four phases of the development are finished.

Rapid City beat out 20 other cities for the project, including San Antonio, Bozeman, MT, Charlotte, NC, Wichita, KS, and Tucson,
AZ.

AEsir Technologies’ nickel zinc batteries are two to three times more powerful than lithium ion batteries and last just as long. The
batteries use potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte, an active ingredient in soaps and shampoos, which makes the batteries
environmentally friendly.

GE to Build Turbine Blade Factory in UK

4
GE is building a factory in Teesworks, UK, to produce blades for its Haliade-X offshore wind turbines. Photo courtesy GE Renewable Energy

GE Renewable Energy is building a factory in Teesworks, UK, to produce the massive blades for its Haliade-X offshore wind
turbines. Each blade is 107 meters long.

Hiring for the plant is scheduled to begin in mid-2022, with an estimated 750 jobs to be filled. An additional 1,500 indirect jobs are
expected to be created to support the supply chain for the factory.

When production starts, the factory will initially produce blades for the Dogger Bank offshore wind farm, a group of offshore wind
farms under construction 78 to 180 miles off the east coast of Yorkshire, England, in the North Sea. The development will consist

5
of three offshore wind farms, each with a combined capacity of 3.6 gigawatts, enough to power 6 million U.K. homes.

2,000
Number of Tesla Megapacks ordered in September by Arevon, a renewable energy company based in Scottsdale, AZ. A
Megapack is a stationary energy storage system consisting of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries. About the size of a standard
intermodal shipping container, each Megapack can store 3 megawatt-hours of electricity. Megapacks are used to store energy
generated by intermittent renewable power sources, such as solar and wind. The systems are produced at Tesla’s Gigafactory 1
in Storey County, NV.

November 2021
ASSEMBLY IN ACTION
Appliance Maker Speaks to Need
for More AI on Assembly Lines
The pace at which artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a
mainstream technology in manufacturing is quite impressive.
Companies in many industries use AI daily to optimize assembly
processes, perform predictive maintenance, improve part and
product quality through enhanced vision inspection, and increase
data cybersecurity.

Appliance manufacturer BSH Hausgeräte GmbH hopes to soon

expand this list of achievements. Innovators in the company’s
Startup Kitchen division recently partnered with Fluent.ai Inc. to
bring speech-to-intent AI to assembly lines at BSH’s Traunreut,
Bavaria, factory. The goal is to improve worker efficiency and
ergonomics as they produce standard ovens, compact ovens with
integrated microwave, and radiant cooktops.
Workers at the BSH plant in Traunreut, Bavaria, use speech-to-
“After considering 11 companies for this partnership, we chose intent AI technology to more efficiently assemble standard
Fluent.ai because its offline technology offers robust noise ovens, compact ovens with integrated microwave (shown), and
radiant cooktops. Photo courtesy BSH Hausgeräte GmbH
controls and low latency,” says Ion Hauer, venture partner at BSH
Startup Kitchen. “This means the software is able to quickly and
accurately understand voice commands even in a noisy factory
environment. The company also provides multilingual and multi-
accent support, which is key for [our] global reach in more than 50
countries.”

Based in Montreal, Fluent.ai is a speech recognition software company looking to voice-enable all of the world’s devices—thereby
allowing everyone to be understood by their technology. It has developed several customizable AI voice-interface products for
OEMs and service providers over the past seven years.

Unlike popular voice-user interfaces in devices like Siri, Google Home and Amazon Alexa, Fluent takes speech recognition off the
cloud, embeds it on small footprint platforms, and uses low-power interfaces led by not-always-connected devices.

For BSH, Fluent.ai created a voice-recognition system that lets heavy machine operators at each workstation speak a Wakeword
followed by a command into a headset. The word and command trigger the appropriate movement of an appliance on the
assembly line.

Previously, an operator pressed a button at his workstation to move an appliance along the line to the next station. This
movement took up to four seconds between work areas.

Because the AI-based technology is hands-free, Hauer says that workers experience less fatigue and are much more productive.
He points out that early results show worker efficiency has increased an average of 75 to 100 percent.

“Implementing [this] technology has cut the [appliance transference] time from four seconds to one and a half,” says Markus
Maier, project lead at Traunreut. “In the long run, the production time savings will be invaluable. We started [using the voice-
recognition system] on one factory assembly line, then [increased it to] three, and [are now] considering rolling out the
technology worldwide.”

BSH is the largest manufacturer of home appliances in

Europe and one of the leading companies in the sector
worldwide. The company’s well-known brands include
Bosch, Siemens, Gaggenau, NEFF, Thermador, Home
Connect and Kitchen Stories. Products are assembled at
38 factories in 50 countries. Last year, BSH had 60,000
employees worldwide and posted sales of 13.9 billion
euros.

Fluent.ai is working with manufacturers in other industries

to implement its voice-recognition system. These include
CEVA Inc. (licensor of wireless connectivity and smart
sensing technologies), Ambiq Micro (energy-efficient
semiconductor designer) and COMMAX (smart home BSH is the largest manufacturer of home appliances in Europe and one
control and security devices). of the leading companies in the sector worldwide. Photo courtesy BSH
Hausgeräte GmbH
To learn more, call 800-729-2184 or visit https://fluent.ai/.

Compact SCARA is the Right Fit for

Brake, Suspension Manufacture
Bottlenecks can occur anywhere on the production line. A common
place for this problem to occur is the 90-degree corner, where
products usually fail to move as efficiently and quickly as they do on
straightaways.

Brake and suspension systems manufacturer BWI Group (BWI) of

Kettering, OH, is well acquainted with this challenge. In early 2021,
the company took steps to remove an ongoing bottleneck caused by
a right-angle turn that serves as a buffer transfer point between its
fully automated valve assembly and testing lines.

BWI explored several ways to transfer small parts in this compact

space, including a conveyor system, which proved to be inefficient
and cumbersome. Plant management then looked into using a robot
to pick and place the parts. This involved working with Korvis, a
company that engineers and builds multi-axis precision motion and
positioning systems, to help choose and integrate the best robot and
peripherals for the material handling application.

The two companies agreed that a practical choice would be a If the test zone line becomes out of synch with the SCARA
robot, it places the assembly part into an opening on this
Motoman robot from Yaskawa America Inc., since BWI already had a
buffer tray. Photo courtesy BWI Group
Yaskawa robot installed at the plant. Taking this approach would
make it easier to standardize operations.

Experts from both companies considered using a cobot in the tight corner area, but then rejected the idea since the application
required no direct robot-human interaction. After further deliberation, they agreed on installing a four-axis MYS450F SCARA robot
with a 6-kilogram payload capacity and end of arm tooling featuring a vacuum mechanism, and Keyence presence and optical
sensors.

Although BWI system operators were familiar with Yaskawa robot programming, two workers attended Yaskawa Academy robot
training to learn the ins and outs of the MYS450F. Another concern for BWI during installation was the robot’s ability to integrate
well with other machinery on the production line. To better facilitate this, company leaders upgraded the SCARA robot’s software
to perform well with BWI’s Siemens PLC.

During operation, the robot lifts each compact (6 by 12 by 60 millimeters)

and lightweight (100 grams) valve part and moves it from the assembly
zone to the testing one. Throughput is optimized because the robot is never
idle.

If the test zone becomes out of synch with the robot for some reason and is
not ready for part transfer, the robot places the assembly part into an
opening on a 100-piece grid buffer tray (10 rows by 10 columns) that serves
as a reserve part supply. However, if the assembly zone becomes out of
synch with the robot for some reason, it picks an available assembly part
from the grid tray and places it into the test zone load position.

Since being installed, the robot has eliminated the bottleneck by moving
parts in a systematic and timely manner with high-speed precision. It also
allows BWI to now perform part transfer six days per week, 20 hours a day.
Management estimates current productivity to be around 80 percent, but
anticipates reaching 90 percent in the near future.

Part pick-and-place is just one capability of the MYS450F, which has a

horizontal reach of 450 millimeters and a vertical reach of 180 millimeters. The MYS450F SCARA has a horizontal reach of 450
Others include assembly, dispensing, part kitting, case packing, packaging, millimeters and a vertical reach of 180 millimeters.
and solar and semiconductor processing. For more information, call 937- Photo courtesy Yaskawa America Inc.

847-3200 or visit www.motoman.com/en-us.

Apps Help Tier 1 Parts Supplier Increase Inventory Accuracy

For many automotive Tier 1 suppliers, tracking their inventory
is sometimes as challenging as manufacturing the parts
themselves. Westin, WI-based Precision Replacement Parts
(PRP) can attest to this statement.

Founded in 1986, PRP provides replacement parts for 25

manufacturers worldwide in the automotive industry. The
company specializes in extruded and molded rubber, PVC
and high-density polyethylene plastic components, as well as
stamped and extruded metal parts for classic and late-model
automobiles.

Until recently, the company struggled with finding the right

software for its bar code scanners to provide exact control Precision Replacement Parts specializes in rubber, plastic, and metal
over its substantial inventory library. There were several products for classic and late-model automobiles. Photo courtesy
reasons for this. Precision Replacement Parts

First, PRP was up against an impending version update (from 8.10 to 9.2) of its JD Edwards (JDE) EnterpriseOne enterprise
resource planning system made by Oracle. PRP needed to make sure its scanner software would seamlessly adjust to the new
system, with little to zero code modification or downtime.

PRP management also had several other key requirements for the software. It must provide world-class inventory accuracy and
transparency, along with the ability to simultaneously work with Android and Windows CE devices used by PRP workers. The
software also needs to be version independent to integrate with future upgrades to the ERP system.

Earlier this year, the company purchased and implemented the Mobile Foundations app suite from RFGen Software to address
all of these needs. This suite enables flexible mobile data collection and directly integrates with any ERP software platform. It
provides high reliability and efficiency when taking inventory, while lowering tracking costs.

“The biggest benefit is we could update from JDE 8.10 to 9.2, and make any future updates, without making any technical
changes to the RFGen code,” says Anthony Henderson, IT systems architect and development manager at IGD Industries, the
holding company of PRP. “This was the heavy hitter for us.”

Another benefit of the suite is flexibility. Whenever necessary, members of PRP’s IT department can reshape the apps or
construct new ones to meet changing inventory needs.

The apps automatically provide two-way data exchange with any ERP system in real time. They also eliminate manual inventory
practices and bring end-users to the point of work, thereby reducing their wait and walk time.

Managers can remotely manage, deploy and support the apps, which utilize agnostic software that runs on Android, iOS and
Windows devices. Data collection and viewing is possible online or offline 365/24/7 on bar code scanners, mobile computers,
tablets, smartphones, vehicle mount computers, via RFID and on Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) devices.

Thus far, PRP management is quite happy with the apps’

performance. Along with higher customer satisfaction, the
company has seen a 70 percent increase in productivity and
achieved optimum inventory accuracy (99.5 percent).

Other app suites offered by RFGen include those designed

specifically for warehouse management, purchase orders,
production orders, sales orders, plant maintenance and fixed
assets. Manufacturers can connect the suites to databases, IBM
AS/400 and mainframes, .NET Assemblies, UNIX systems and
web services. The RFGen Mobile Foundations software app suite directly
integrates with any ERP software platform. Photo courtesy
For more information, call 888-426-2286 or visit www.rfgen.com. RFGen Software

November 2021
AEROSPACE ASSEMBLY
AEROSPACE ASSEMBLY PRODUCTS

Eliminate Torque Related Assembly

Errors Now!

The "seaglider" will fly five to 30 feet above the water, replacing
ferries and short-haul aircraft on coastal routes. Illustration
courtesy Regent Craft Inc.

Nature Inspires
Wing-in-Ground-
Effect Aircraft
Austin Weber // Senior Editor // webera@bnpmedia.com
Some birds, such as albatrosses and pelicans, skim over
ocean waves and fly long distances—up to thousands of
miles in a few days—without hardly flapping their wings.
Using this dynamic soaring method, seabirds continually
harness the power of air and wave currents to conserve
energy as they glide along.
Have torque capacity applications between 5 in. Oz. and 600 ft. lbs.
and want to reduce rework costs while increasing productivity and
throughput? Our wireless error-proofing tools and controllers are easy
to set up and use. Accurate, repeatable results with date/time
stamped NIST traceable documentation. Learn more here.
Sturtevant Richmont
630-864-6014
ryan.sarti@srtorque.com
https://rebrand.ly/gdjsq3g

By flying low, the birds exploit the aerodynamic benefits

of a phenomenon called ground effect. Flying close to
water, wing downwash angles and tip vortices are
suppressed, resulting in a major drag reduction and
outstanding cruise efficiency.

Just like Orville and Wilbur Wright studied birds to unlock

the secrets of wing warping 120 years ago, aerospace
engineers today are also borrowing ideas from nature.
They’re adapting ground effect and dynamic soaring
principles to develop a new breed of aircraft that ride on
top of a cushion of air to experience 70 percent less SPIROL® Threaded Inserts for Aerospace
drag than a normal plane. Applications
Ground effect is an aerodynamic principle that planes
experience when flying close to the earth’s surface—
either over solid surfaces or water. The phenomenon
takes hold when operating within a distance of one
wingspan from the surface.

SPIROL’s Threaded Inserts for Plastics are ideal components for

plastic assemblies in aerospace applications such as intercom systems,
ECU control modules, and radar and antenna domes. We offer
complimentary Application Engineering services, and understand the
intricacies of the aerospace industry to support your immediate needs.
Click image for more information!
Flying close to the surface creates a cushion of air under the
wing that is generated by downwash from the wing, thus
SPIROL
increasing lift. Illustration courtesy Flying Ship Technologies
Corp.
860-774-8571
info@spirol.com
Several startup companies are hoping to exploit
www.SPIROL.com
wing-in-ground (WIG) effect aerodynamics with electric-
powered aircraft for transporting passengers and
freight.

In Europe, engineers at Elfly are working on a twin-

engine seaplane that will ferry passengers and freight
along the coast of Norway. Two electric motors with a
maximum output of 825 kilowatts will provide a top
speed of 300 kilometers per hour.

Closer to home, Boston-based Regent Craft Inc. is

building a vehicle dubbed the “seaglider” that will fly five
to 30 feet above the water and replace ferries and short- Increase Production with
haul aircraft on coastal routes. When it enters Pneumatic Equivalents
commercial service in 2025, the half plane, half boat
vehicle will operate as a ferry in congested waterways
as well as a high-speed transport plane on open waters.

“[Our] all-electric flying machine combines the speed,

comfort and navigation systems of an aircraft with the
convenience, maneuverability and affordability of a
boat,” says Billy Thalheimer, CEO, a former Boeing
engineer. “It will be able to transport commercial
passengers and critical cargo with a range of 180 miles
at a speed of 180 mph leveraging existing dock
infrastructure.

“Similar to a hovercraft, seagliders fly on a dynamic air

cushion created by the pressurized air between the
wings and the water,” explains Thalheimer. “The
aerodynamic advantage of this so-called ‘ground effect,’
combined with operational efficiencies of always being a
few feet away from a safe landing, give seagliders
double the range of an electric aircraft.”
Reliable, ergonomic solutions for wire harness assembly. These direct
equivalents can be integrated into your assembly shop to deliver an
easy-to-use, high power alternative using existing DMC dies and
positioners. DMC also offers a line of accessories to support pneumatic
tools including adjustable bench mounts, foot pedals, and air pumps.

According to Thalheimer, aircraft operators are excited Daniels Manufacturing Corp.

because the seaglider promises to be more cost-
407-855-6161
effective to operate, while ferry operators are intrigued
www.dmctools.com
because the vehicles will be six times faster than
traditional ships.

Autonomous ground-effect vessels will be 10 times faster than

boats and more cost-effective to operate than cargo planes.
Illustration courtesy Flying Ship Technologies Corp.

Other entrepreneurs hope to harness WIG technology to

provide fast, low-cost cargo delivery to coastal locations.

Engineers at Flying Ship Technologies Corp. are

developing autonomous ground-effect vessels that will
be 10 times faster than boats and 30 percent to 50
percent more energy efficient than traditional cargo
airplanes.

“Our vessels will provide fast, inexpensive delivery of

time-critical, price-sensitive goods,” says Gus Bateas,
executive vice president and chief operating officer of
Flying Ship Technologies Corp. “Initial variants will
feature fully electric engines with a range of 500 nautical
miles and a cargo capacity of 1,200 kilograms.”

Future variants will be larger, incorporating alternative propulsion technologies to increase range and capacity to 1,000 nautical
miles and 2,700 kilograms. Initially semiautonomous, Flying Ships plans to eventually transition to fully autonomous operations.

“Our first full-scale vessel launch is anticipated in 2024,” notes Bateas. “We are currently testing systems on our second
development vessel.

“A number of the systems we are using have not previously been used in the maritime environment,” claims Bateas. “These
vessels require an equal balance of specialists from both the aerospace and maritime industries. We are integrating aerospace
systems into platforms for use in the maritime environment, so using the knowledge base of both disciplines is critical.

“The initial variant will have a 41-foot wingspan, and about a 7,000-kilogram gross weight or displacement,” explains Bateas.
“Lithium-ion batteries are likely to be used, though we are looking at alternatives.

“We will have four or more electric motors on the initial variant,” says Bateas. “For larger variants, we’ll be looking at a number of
options. We are also assessing the materials to be used as we finalize the outer mold design.”

Flying Ship Technologies has not yet decided where its products will be assembled. “We have a multi-site strategy that is
focused on the manufacturing and support requirements of regional customers,” Bateas points out. “We are evaluating multiple
locations in the United States and overseas.”

According to Bateas, the biggest challenge to developing WIG vessels is on the regulatory side. “Safety is of critical importance,
yet this is a new type of vessel for maritime operations, so there is no history with operating [it] in the current maritime
environment,” he explains.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has established guidelines both for WIG vessels and autonomous operations, but
the regulatory framework for this new class of craft has not yet been finalized.

The IMO defines WIGs as “craft supported in their main operational mode solely by aerodynamic forces which enable them to
operate at low altitude above the sea surface, but out of direct contact with that surface. Accordingly, their arrangement,
engineering characteristics, design, construction and operation have a high degree of commonality with those characteristics of
aircraft. However, they operate with other waterborne craft and must necessarily utilize the same collision avoidance rules as
conventional shipping.”

November 2021
 FASTENING
Error-Proof Screwdriving

Technological advances in manual

By Jim Camillo // Senior Editor //
camilloj@bnpmedia.com
and power tools make repeatable
error-proof screwdriving an
achievable goal for manufacturers.
A green light on the 1350-TD Torque Driver manual screwdriver indicates an error-
free installation. Photo courtesy Sturtevant Richmont

P eople are imperfect, but, on occasion, they can perfectly perform a complex task. A pitcher can toss a perfect game in
baseball. A gymnast can earn a 10.0 in international competition. A student can ace an exam.

In the world of assembly, workers rely on specially designed tools and equipment to consistently perform error-free work.
Manual, pneumatic and electric screwdrivers are the tools of choice where fastening is concerned.

“Error-proof screwdriving became more commonplace in the 1970s with the advent of DC tools,” explains Dave Cash, marketing
application specialist at Mountz Inc. “The goal of error-proofing is to both prevent mistakes and catch them. These mistakes
primarily involve missing fasteners in a product or subassembly, and improperly installed fasteners in the joint.”

Two years ago, Mountz helped a global electronics contract manufacturer document the torque level applied to every screw
used to install PCBs in servers and routers. Some of the boards being assembled cost upwards of a million dollars apiece.

Up to that point, documentation compliance was the duty of each assembler. The problem was, the assembler sometimes let go
of the tool before the correct torque value was reached, and occasionally used an incorrect bit.

To ensure that each fastener is tightened to the right torque, the manufacturer uses Mountz MD-Series DC screwdrivers and the
MDC Controller for data collection. As for the latter problem, Mountz developed a Bit Socket Tray with sensors to detect a
different color tape wrapped around each bit. The tray directly connects to the controller.

Now, when a PCB arrives, the assembler scans the bar code on the base. This indicates which color bit he should take from the
four-position tray. When the right bit is attached, the screwdriver is automatically set to the correct torque specs. If the incorrect
bit is selected or no bit is attached, the tool has no power, thereby preventing assembly errors.

Mountz’s smart socket tray is one example of how assemblers and tool suppliers are using technology to error-proof fastening.
For consistent error-free fastening, engineers must address every aspect of the assembly process, including the tool, the
fastener and the parts.

Tool-Focus Time
Tool selection is the most important factor for error-proof screwdriving. Manual options include preset and adjustable
screwdrivers. Torque-limiting screwdrivers have been used since 1961, when Richmont company founder Frank Livermont
patented the tool. His model featured a limited-slip clutch, whereas most of today’s torque screwdrivers feature a torque-limiting
clutch that disengages once the proper torque has been reached. Low-, mid- and high-torque range screwdrivers are available.

“The great things about the manual torque-limiting screwdriver are its simplicity, accuracy and reliability,” notes John Reynertson,
president of Sturtevant Richmont. “The operator simply presets it to a specific torque and installs the screw. An internal
mechanism prevents the screwdriver from overtorquing the fastener, and a light or sound signals to the operator when the
proper torque is reached.”

Four types of manual preset torque screwdrivers are most commonly used in assembly: the limited-slip, cam-over, dial-indicating
and digital. The latter are increasing in popularity as the need for fastening data increases. Torque on all of these screwdrivers is
preset with a torque tester.

Manufacturers typically use preset torque screwdrivers in applications where one torque setting is required and engineers need
to prevent incidental or deliberate changes to the setting. However, if the torque specification changes or a new project requires
a different torque setting, the screwdriver is still flexible enough that a new torque can be set internally using a torque analyzer.

Manufacturers are increasingly using EC and ECT-Series smart screwdrivers with the DPC-Touch Posi-Control system,
consisting of a touch-control device and a position-control torque arm. Photo courtesy Mountz Inc.

Adjustable torque screwdrivers offer different setting options for applications that require more than one torque value. They
feature an external adjustment scale, as well as a ring or bezel device. The operator simply presses the device down to adjust
the torque setting and lock it into place to prevent incidental torque adjustment.

All screwdrivers made by Sturtevant Richmont are hand-operated and best suited for low- and mid-volume production.
Reynertson notes, though, that manufacturers and design engineers should always make error-proofing each fastened joint a
priority, regardless of production level or product complexity. Accurate tools are essential to achieve this goal.

In 2019, Sturtevant Richmont introduced the Exacta 1350-TD Torque Driver series of digital torque and angle screwdrivers. For
error-proof screwdriving, these hand-operated tools must be used with the company’s Global 400 and Global 400mp process
monitors. The tools wirelessly connect to either monitor, which then disables the tool keypad to prevent inadvertent operator
changes to torque parameters.

Tool operation is simple. The assembler simply applies the tool (having a 1/4 inch male square or female hex drive) to the screw
head and follows step-by-step assembly directions shown on the monitor display. There are no buttons to push on the tool.

When the fastener approaches minimum torque, the light band on the monitor turns yellow. A green light and a short beep
indicate an error-proof installation. Exceeding maximum torque causes the light to turn red and the audible beep to change to
one long tone.

Detailed torque results for each fastening cycle can be immediately called up on the monitor display. These are torque to angle,
torque with angle monitoring, peak torque and residual torque. An AA battery powers the tool keypad display, light band and
radio for data reception.

While manual tools have their niche, power tools are a better option for error-proof assembly of higher volume operations.

“Error-proof screwdriving is much harder to achieve with a manual screwdriver than with a power one,” notes Boris Baeumler,
vice president of technology at DEPRAG Inc. “There are several reasons for this. First of all, each tool operator brings with him
variables like fatigue, inattentiveness and carelessness. Sometimes, parts aren’t fixture properly or at all, when they should be.

“Finally, it’s very expensive to fully error-proof a manual screwdriving process. As a result, some companies can only afford to do
it partially, by, say, focusing just on torque and angle. Others take additional steps and invest in technology that ensures clamp
force control, proper part placement and screw depth verification. It’s a costly progression.”

Power screwdrivers are less likely to commit mistakes, statistically speaking, and better suited for medium and high production.
However, a manufacturer may choose to use a pneumatic or electric tool for other reasons.

If the company is a supplier to an OEM, its customer may specify the product be assembled with semiautomatic or fully
automatic equipment. Automatic screwdrivers might also be necessary because the fasteners are too small to be manipulated
by hand, such as tiny screws for cell phones and hearing aids. Tool selection may also be influenced by labor costs or design
issues, such as product complexity or limited joint space.

Many pneumatic and electric screwdrivers have built-in “intelligence” to measure various aspects of fastening and enhance
error-proofing. Pressure sensors, transducers and encoders are quite commonplace and designed to verify fastener presence,
torque, angle, clamping force, run time window and batch count per product. Cordless electric tools often have an on-board
controller that determines fastening acceptance.

Some manufacturers place a greater emphasis on repeatability than accuracy during tool selection for error proofing. When
that’s the case, suppliers say a good rule of thumb is to assume a parameter of ±5 percent for air tools, ±2 percent for electric
tools and ±0.1 percent for DC tools, specifically.

The Minimat-EC-Servo screwdriver and AST40 screwdriving sequence controller from DEPRAG provide torque precision with less
than 1 percent standard deviation, which is maintained over millions of cycles. It has a torque range of 0.01 to 500 newton-
meters and features a brushless motor that ensures maintenance-free operation, and integrated torque and angle measurement
sensors. Drivers can be used as a hand-guided or stationary unit.

The PKS stand consistently monitors a

screwdriver’s X-Y position in relation to the
part during use. Photo courtesy DEPRAG Inc.

The DEPRAG Plus (DP) screwdriver and controller can be operated as a separate unit, or integrated with either the company’s
PKS stand or Tool Box. The stand consistently monitors the screwdriver’s X-Y position in relation to the part during use. It has a
built-in controller and an external LED panel on its footplate that indicates operating status.

Handheld and spindle screwdrivers can be used with the DP system. It comes with numerous function apps, and allows for a
wireless connection between the tools and a PC or PLC via the Cockpit Basic software interface.

Recently, a manufacturer of EV battery controllers implemented a DEPRAG manual workstation to simplify controller assembly.
The prior approach required multiple part stacks and the installation of screws, bolts and nuts from various sides at different
torque levels.

“The workstation includes a flexible fixture that holds the part in multiple orientations and provides continuous part presence
verification,” notes Baeumler. “A Minimat-EC is also included, along with a tool box that holds various bits and sockets, a PKS
stand and Cockpit software to collect all torque data.”

After an operator loads the part in the fixture, a part sensor sends a signal to the PKS, which then asks the operator to scan the
part’s bar code. A picture of the controller is displayed with a blue circle that indicates where the operator is to drive a screw and
which bit to use for the task.

When the operator does this correctly, the screwdriver is activated and ready to drive the screw. After the fastener is properly
driven, the circle on the display turns green.

The operator repeats the process, including rotating the part to access all screwdriving locations as needed, until all fasteners
are driven, and the PKS recognizes the part to be completely and properly assembled.

“DC screwdrivers allow end-users to completely monitor every step of the fastening process; from the moment the operator pulls
the trigger, until the screw is fully installed,” says Cash. “These advanced tools enable easy and exact setting of torque
parameters, they alert workers when the parameters aren’t met, and they provide more data and details about what happens
during fastener installation than ever. In addition, DC tools can be set up to fully communicate with a factory’s manufacturing
execution system (MES) so operators and managers can quickly check and track torque data.”

The Fastener Factor

Within the PKS stand is a built-in

controller, and in its footplate is an
LED panel indicating operating
status. Photo courtesy DEPRAG Inc.

Manufacturers often assume that any fastening-process error is related to the tool. But, sometimes, the error is more related to
the fastener or the material. For example, wood joints rarely require error-proofing, says Cash, because the assemblers tend to
use pneumatic tools with a quick shutoff once the joint is secure. The exception would be high-end wood furniture.

A common fastener-related error during assembly is cam out, which is when the driver bit is forced back out of the screw recess
under torsional load. Most of the time, this event reduces the amount of torque used to tighten a screw.

Using too many and too many types of screws is also problematic. Minimizing both amounts is always best, even though,
sometimes, more or larger screws must be used to obtain the required clamping force. Assemblers also need to make sure that
the tool reaches torque in a time frame proportional to fastener length.

Another way manufacturers can prevent fastener-installation errors is to only purchase fasteners that fully conform to all design
specifications. Companies need to tell their tool suppliers whenever there is a change in fastener vendor, or part material or
tolerance. Cash advises manufacturers to ask their tool supplier to perform a torque study of the revised joint to prevent errors
during fastening.

Overtightening and undertightening the screw are two such errors, and both can lead to problems during and after installation.
Unneeded or excessive lubricant, such as a bit of oil from the assembler’s hands, can cause overtightening and lead to broken
fasteners and thread stripping.

Undertightening results from embedment relaxation, which happens when a screw embeds in a soft material and can’t
completely compress the joint. The result, unfortunately, is the fastener undergoes more external loading than normal.

Galling occurs when pressure and friction cause the contact surfaces on the fastener and assembled components to seize,
preventing proper tightening of the fastener. Reynertson says this problem tends to happen in lightweight joint materials, but can
be offset with the proper use of a washer.

Cross-threading is a common error that happens when screw threads do not properly align with those in the threaded hole of the
mating material. Sometimes the problem is remedied by re-engaging the parts at a different angle. But, if left unfixed, the
fastener may not properly seat and its threads will be unable to sustain the clamp load.

Three common fastener-related errors during screwdriving are cross-threading (left), cam out
(center) and stripped hole threads. Graphic courtesy Mountz Inc.

Pistol-grip, right-angle and inline EC and ECT-Series smart screwdrivers from Mountz feature a built-in sensor that continually
measures torque in real-time and provides data feedback. Both series are corded tools, but the latter are also transducerized.
They work with ECD and ECD-T controllers, respectively, which expedite all aspects of the automation process, and can be used
with up to 15 fastening profile presets.

Cash says manufacturers increasingly use these screwdrivers with the company’s DPC-Touch Posi-Control system, consisting of
a touch-control device and a position-control torque arm. Built-in encoders in the arm send positioning data to the device, where
it is saved along with the time it took to complete the screw rundown. During subsequent fastening operations, the device only
clears a sequence when it has been completed within the preset parameters.

“With these smart screwdrivers and controllers, an operator can quickly determine if a cross-threading or stripped-thread
problem has occurred during fastening,” concludes Cash. “Reaching the proper preset torque value requires a screw to rotate a
specific number of degrees, say 4,000 [i.e., 360 degrees by 11 rotations]. A too-low number usually indicates cross-threading,
whereas a too-high-number indicates stripped hole threads that prevent interlocking with fastener threads.”

Ergonomic Arm Lessens Fastening Errors in Auto Underbodies

Workers on automotive assembly lines regularly install screws into the underside of vehicles. Performing these tasks manually
requires the worker to hold a heavy tool at or above shoulder level repeatedly for long periods of time. In addition, the
employee must absorb tool torque in his hands and contort his body to install fasteners in hard-to-reach places.

An alternative approach is to use one or more assistance arms below the vehicle. The arms can be installed along the
assembly line or mounted on a cart that moves between assemblers so it doesn’t take up much room on the factory floor.

“A lift assist arm holds the tool, instead of the employee,” explains Rob Johnson, president of 3arm America. “It holds the tool
weightlessly and absorbs rotational torque.”

On the assembly line, the tool is controlled by a DC controller, which is also connected to the arm. Each tool also has a brake
that firmly locks the tool in place to ensure worker safety. This brake is pneumatically or manually activated.

In the former case, a signal from the controller pneumatically opens and closes the brake via a toggle switch when the tool
trigger is pressed. The other setup involves the use of a manual turn-level brake that is completely operator dependent. But,
regardless of activation method, the tool remains locked into the arm, even when the power goes out.

Johnson says this setup enables assemblers to perform repetitive fastening more consistently and reliably, with efficient
movement and timing. Fastener overtorquing is eliminated, resulting in higher-quality joints. Engineers, in turn, can reduce takt
time and more easily build poka-yoke into a company’s lean manufacturing practices to further reduce production errors.

“Assistance arms also enable workers to simultaneously install multiple fasteners, which speeds up the process, increases
productivity and brings about cost savings,” notes Johnson. “Such benefits show that these arms can quickly produce far more
value than their initial cost.”

Improved worker ergonomics is another key benefit of using the arms. Because they handle the tool, its weight and torque
stress impact on the worker is reduced. The result of this is fewer repetitive injuries and accidents due to fatigue.

Multiple mounting options and accessories further expand the arm’s reach and mobility, meaning worker ergonomics can be
optimized in even the most challenging assembly environments—be it fastening screws in a deep bay or in tight, awkward
places.

ASSEMBLY ONLINE
For more information on error-proof screwdriving, visit www.assemblymag.com to read these articles:

What’s New With Manual Torque Tools.

Error-Proofing With Power Tools.

Why Threaded Fasteners Fail.

November 2021
 VISION SYSTEMS

Understanding
Line-Scan Cameras

Line-scan cameras excel

at producing images of
objects in continuous
motion past a fixed point.
Color line-scan cameras are commonly used to inspect food
products passing by on a conveyor.
Klaus Riemer, Ph.D. // Product Manager
Chromasens GmbH // Konstanz, Germany Photo courtesy Chromasens

C ompared to manual inspection, vision systems deploying area-scan cameras offer improved accuracy and far higher
consistency. Plus, they work nonstop without suffering fatigue or requiring a paycheck. For all their advantages, however,
there are limitations to area-scan cameras in more challenging machine vision tasks. For example, if the object under inspection
is large, if it is continuously moving, or if the task requires high resolution without blurring, a line-scan camera is a far better
choice.

Area-scan cameras have a square or rectangular sensor that captures an image all in one go. The resulting image has a width
and height corresponding to the number of pixels on the sensor. Because of this, area-scan cameras are ideal for many machine
vision tasks, where the objects are small and having almost the same size in both dimensions. However, the size of PCBs, LCD
panels and wafers has increased beyond the speed, accuracy, and resolution capabilities of area-scan cameras, making line-
scan cameras a better choice for inspecting these objects.

There are key differences between area-scan and line-scan cameras. The most important is how an image is acquired. Unlike an
area-scan camera that captures the entire object in one 4:3 frame, a line-scan camera uses a single row of light-sensitive pixels
that image across the object, line-by-line, accompanied by high-intensity lighting. A completed image is built by stitching together
the lines, much like a fax machine.

The Chromasens 3DPIXA dual 30µm combines line-scan camera technology with fast 3D stereo computation on graphics cards. The stereo
line-scan camera delivers 3D data and color images at the same time. Photo courtesy Chromasens

Here is how it works: Each pixel accumulates photoelectric charges relative to the light from the object imaged onto that pixel.
Next, a readout register amplifies, adjusts and digitizes the charges, all while the next row of pixels is being exposed. The time
between exposure and readout is the “line rate,” calculated in kilohertz (kHz). To avoid under- or over-sampling an object, a
programmable encoder connected to, say, a conveyor or web, measures speed and precisely synchronizes the camera in pulses.
Each line of the image is then stitched together in a predetermined number to form a frame for analyzing with software. Any
defects found are recorded on roll maps.

Because of this design, line-scan cameras excel at producing a flat image of cylindrical objects, imaging large objects with high
resolution, or producing images of objects in continuous movement past a fixed point, such as parts on an assembly line or web
applications. Line-scan inspection applications are wide and varied including paper, rolls of metal, fiber, railway inspection, solar
cells, textiles, pharmaceuticals, semiconductors and postal sorting. Plus, the cameras can fit into tight spaces, for example when
it must see through rollers on a conveyor to acquire images of the bottom of a part.

Like most advanced technology, line-scan cameras are constantly improving in performance while becoming more affordable.
Manufacturers are producing cameras with increasingly smaller pixels and higher line rates to detect increasingly smaller
surface error sizes of PCBs and liquid-crystal displays, among others.

Color Inspection

The allPIXA evo 8K offers CMOS performance with CCD image quality. The novel multiline CMOS
sensor features TDI options for color and monochrome images at high speed. Line rates up to 90
kHz in full color are possible with the fast and cost-efficient Dual 10 GigE interface. Photo courtesy
Chromasens

For many years line-scan cameras have been deployed in color inspection, a trend mainly driven by the needs of the printing
industry. There are three types of line-scan cameras for color imaging applications: bilinear, trilinear and three-chip. The trilinear
approach, which uses three linear arrays—red, green and blue (RGB) channels—fabricated on a silicon die, has gained support
from imaging professionals because it captures details with outstanding color fidelity. Trilinear cameras also have a smaller
footprint than bilinear cameras, and they reduce system-level costs because they use standard lenses. In contrast, bilinear
cameras have less resolution, despite having the same number of pixels. Also, bilinear color information must be interpolated,
since not every pixel is imaged in all three colors.

The trilinear approach calls for each of the three arrays to capture one primary color (RGB) simultaneously, but at somewhat
different locations on a moving object. To form a full color image the three color channels are combined. To compensate for the
separation, referred to as spatial correction, the first and second arrays are buffered to match with the third. The downside of
using only three channels is relatively low spectral resolution. Manufacturers have improved performance with image-based
color measuring approaches that enable color to be measured on the whole surface of the object and not only on one spot—as it
is with traditional spectrophotometers.

For truly accurate color inspection, this approach is needed, and for that, line-scan cameras with more than three color channels
are required. In general, increasing color channels reduces the resolution of area-scan cameras. However, line-scan cameras still
provide high spatial resolution despite adding high spectral resolution by use of more color channels. Modern multispectral line-
scan cameras feature six to 12 spectral channels and stay in the 360 to 960 nanometer wavelength range for these applications.
The innovative multichannel imaging technology provides accurate spectral and color output on varying substrates such as
paper, plastics films and foils.

Precise color information based on images requires not only more color channels, but also homogeneous illumination and
special software for color calibration and color calculation.

It should be noted that in certain applications, color imaging is no longer enough, such as in currency inspection, electronics
manufacturing and food sorting, where specific wavelengths are required that are either outside the visible spectrum or in
between the RGB color bands. Multispectral imaging can be used to inspect in the near infrared range, as well, up to 960
nanometers.

3D Line-Scan Inspection

Line-scan cameras are ideal for inspecting objects moving at high speed, such as rail cars. Illustration courtesy Chromasens

Over the past few years, vision system manufacturers have introduced a variety of 3D imaging methodologies, ranging from
time-of-flight analysis and projected pattern correlation to laser triangulation measurements and stereoscopic technologies. Of
these, stereoscopic, or just “stereo,” systems have gained the most traction, particularly in the semiconductor industry.
Components, such as solder balls or pins used to connect wafers and dies, must be inspected with 3D methods to precisely
measure the height of the conducting elements. The typical dimensions of such components are around 50 microns, which
means the inspection system must have optical resolution of at least 5 microns.

The basic concept behind stereo 3D vision systems resembles that of human vision. Two image sensors in a stereo
configuration are combined into one camera, resulting in two images being acquired of the same object from slightly different
perspectives. This serves as the basis for triangulation, which involves an object point projected in both stereo images, and two
image points that are the positions of the right and left cameras.

Vision system suppliers are now combining the best of both worlds: line-scan with stereo. These cameras have linear sensors up
to 8,000 pixels in RGB to provide both high resolution and a large field of view. Fine structures on the surface of the object under
inspection are resolved using high-resolution images, which is an advantage for the passive stereo approach. Because of this
improved accuracy, they open up new 3D applications that are not possible with other approaches to detect the most minute of
defects. Another advantage is speed. Linear sensors have line rates of up to 50 kHz even at extremely high resolutions. Finally,
this approach results in less occlusions: The stereo line-scan cameras are oriented perpendicular to the object surface, and there
are no occlusions in transport direction.

Components, such as solder balls or pins used to connect wafers and dies, must be inspected with 3D
methods to precisely measure the height of the conducting elements. Photo courtesy Chromasens

Light is important to all line-scan operations, but it is crucial with 3D. For high speed, the camera’s line rate must increase,
resulting in the available exposure time being decreased, and requiring system developers to increase illumination intensity.
When selecting the correct lighting for line-scan camera applications, the following factors should be considered:

The lens aperture and the light amount significantly influence the signal noise ratio. Higher light intensities reduce noise
level.

LED systems offer definite advantages compared with traditional lighting technologies, such as halogen or fluorescent
lamp.

Good cooling ensures long durability, consistent spectral behavior and a high level of brightness homogeneity and intensity
over the whole field of view.

Color, ultraviolet and infrared LEDs are versatile, providing for more flexibility in system design.

The use of polarizing filters prevents unwanted light reflection on shiny surfaces.

New reflector technology is now available that assures optimal homogeneity and intensity for lighting even from different
distances. Elliptical reflectors, instead of lenses, focus the LEDs so that color aberration is eliminated, greater efficiency is
achieved and high power can be delivered at longer working distances. Light characteristics influence how the image looks like: a
dark field illumination results in a complete different image compared with a dome like illumination. This is important for the
passive stereo approach.

For more information on line-scan cameras, visit www.chromasens.com.

ASSEMBLY ONLINE
For more information on machine vision, visit www.assemblymag.com to read these articles:

Vision Cameras Inspect Disk Drive Assemblies

Vision System is Right Inspection Tool for Leatherman

Brake Manufacturer Uses Vision System to Inspect Parts

November 2021
 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Optimizing VMI
and Kitting Processes

The success of vendor-

managed inventory
programs hinges on
better collaboration.

Vendor-managed inventory is a program in which the

supplier of goods assumes responsibility for optimizing
inventory on behalf of a manufacturer.
Todd Grzych // Director of Engagement
All-Pro Fasteners Inc. // Arlington, TX Photo courtesy All-Pro Fasteners Inc.

V endor-managed inventory (VMI) programs have been around for decades. But, not all programs are created equal. The
difference between good and great programs involves a host of variables. However, when it comes to making good vendor
programs great, collaboration is the secret ingredient that makes everything work more proficiently. A way to simplify the supply
chain process, VMI helps monitor inventory accuracy while maintaining optimal stock levels and reorder points.

VMI is an inventory management program in which the supplier of goods assumes the responsibility of optimizing the inventory
on behalf of a manufacturer. The supplier has continuous access to the manufacturer’s inventory data and is the decision-maker
with regards to the size and timing of reorders. This policy allows suppliers to determine the most efficient production schedules
and production volumes, leading to cost reductions, and can also prevent the stocking of unnecessary inventories.

VMI is a symbiotic relationship that requires a close working relationship between the supplier and manufacturer. Often,
electronic data interchange (EDI) software is employed to forecast, produce and maintain correct inventory levels in the supply
chain.

Suppliers benefit from having more control of inventory and more foresight into when restocking of parts or components will be
needed. Manufacturers benefit from lower inventory administration and management costs and a reduced risk of supply chain
interruption.

Collaboration Basics
Collaboration is a work practice in which individuals work together to pursue a common purpose or business benefit. In vendor-
managed supply programs, collaboration requires that people, processes and information systems work together towards the
goal of continuous improvement.

At the outset, collaboration involves the OEM and supplier working together to understand the manufacturer’s requirements and
processes, as well as the supplier’s capabilities, to design programs that achieve optimal efficiency.

On an ongoing basis, collaboration involves a clear commitment by both parties—at all levels of their organizations—to provide
data, feedback, insights, and adjustments in the continuous pursuit of program optimization.

Creating Pathways for Success

When structuring VMI, parts kitting and related vendor-managed programs that provide for collaboration over the long haul, four
key components are integration, information, incentivizing and improvement. The integration of information technology (IT)
resources between the supplier and manufacturer (primarily through the use of EDI or other VMI software) will ensure the flow of
real-time information. Incentives can be structured that will encourage work teams to act in ways that lead to improvement.
Examples may include financial incentives for meeting production goals, on-time deliveries, cost savings on parts and shipping,
and other metrics agreed upon by the customer and supplier.

Communication is the key at every point in the process. The more information that can be shared between the OEM and supplier,
the better. Given a deeper understanding of the “big picture” of manufacturing operations, the more profound is the supplier’s
ability to offer programs that drive optimization. The more completely the manufacturer understands the supplier’s capabilities,
the more leverage can be applied to achieve efficiencies in design, procurement and manufacturing.

Management Strategies
To ensure that a VMI program (or any other vendor-managed
program) operates to its potential, the supplier must be willing to
develop a thorough understanding of the manufacturer’s current
business processes and strategic goals. For their part,
management of both OEM and supplier companies can foster
engagement at all appropriate levels of their organizations.

Providing avenues for consistent review and evaluation by OEM

and supplier teams is another critical role that management can
foster. Through consistent review and team collaboration, vendor-
managed programs can be optimized at every level, from the shop
floor and points-of-use locations, to inventory and accounting
departments.

I recall one time when an annual team review at a customer

To ensure that a vendor-managed inventory program
operates to its potential, the supplier must be willing to
develop a thorough understanding of the manufacturer’s
business processes and strategic goals.
Photo courtesy All-Pro Fasteners Inc.
facility led to a breakthrough that solved an ongoing operational
challenge for the customer, a manufacturer of trailer equipment. It
was a simple matter that involved the wrong type of bolt being
used on a subcomponent of the trailer, leading to a complicated
installation process, premature weathering and a high level of
customer complaints. Meeting with the design team, installation
and management team to address the issue on the spot, we were
able to diagnose and resolve the installation and weathering
issues, saving the customer tens of thousands of dollars in
nonproductive downtime and preserving its reputation for quality.

Thoughts on Suppliers
Working with suppliers who have already have experience in the manufacturer’s industry—and a working knowledge of their
markets—can increase the quality of supplier-manufacturer collaboration. These suppliers can bring a prior understanding of
best practices and competitive considerations to the effort from the start.

Choosing suppliers with the human and technological resources, and bandwidth, to match the manufacturer’s organizational
structure is key to building any successful vendor-managed program and supporting ongoing pathways for collaboration.
Through the use of ERP software and related management information systems, vendors can add immediate and ongoing value
to supply chain operations.

Providing suppliers with higher levels of visibility—insight into the status of the supply chain at any given time—can allow
workflow and logistics planning efforts to be continually optimized on a collaborative basis. With visibility, near real-time data is
available to all supply chain participants, enabling decisions that lead to improved performance.

Selecting suppliers with the right manufacturing, sourcing, testing and value-added management capabilities will round out the
ability to collaboratively evolve programs that lead to continuous supply chain optimization.

Metrics of Collaboration
Many metrics are used to evaluate supply chain performance and collaborating around these metrics is at the heart of
continuous improvement. By analyzing metrics, partners can identify areas of potential operational improvements, such as cost
or time savings. With open feedback loops between management groups and work teams, metrics can yield easily implemented,
actionable insights.

The types of metrics used to evaluate vendor-managed inventory programs will include statistics and measurements relating to
time, cost and quality. In some cases, customer satisfaction metrics are also applicable measures to be monitored. Deciding
which metrics to prioritize depends on each program. Having partners with deep industry knowledge who are committed to
collaboration—looking for optimal solutions rather than just supplying parts—helps ensure the right metrics will be developed to
support management goals.

One simple metric relating to vendor-managed inventory involves the geographic footprint or the storage utilization in the
warehouse—for example, the number of square feet occupied with inventory compared to the total area of storage capacity.
Another example could be measuring the number of days of inventory on hand to ensure optimal levels of inventory are
maintained at the lowest carrying costs. Designing a visually auditable inventory for accounting teams to easily track levels, and
measuring inventory turnover, can reveal how many times inventory is refreshed on an annual basis, providing insight into the
efficiency of the VMI effort. All of these are examples of metrics that can help optimize VMI.

Thinking Beyond Efficiency

Fastener suppliers have a wealth of

knowledge that can be tapped by OEMs.

Photo courtesy All-Pro Fasteners Inc.

Building better vendor-managed programs is about more than selecting vendors or evaluating performance based on lowest
cost. It is about building around partners who offer the people, products, resources, programs, technology, manufacturing
capacity and business infrastructure to ensure reliable performance now and in the future. It is not enough to achieve the lowest
possible cost, if the economics of a partnership are not sustainable.

By incorporating vendor-managed programs wherever possible into the supply chain, and continually optimizing programs
through organizational collaboration, OEMs can think beyond efficiency to build supply chains that are agile, adaptable and
sustainable. Often these winning supply chains are built on concepts that encourage collaboration, such as sharing of cost
savings, whereby all supply chain partners have an interest in continuous improvement. Win-win formulas often win the day.

Benefits to Build On
The benefits to be gained through the implementation of a VMI or parts kitting program relate to time savings, cost savings,
quality enhancements and process improvements. With collaboration, programs can evolve to become optimized over time.

For example, by directly managing inventory levels and reorder points to ensure timely restocking levels, suppliers can better
control their own costs, make the best use of materials, and set manufacturing schedules according to their own lead times (in
turn leading to reduced delivery costs). The benefits of cost savings and manufacturing efficiencies are shared by both partners.

In another example, by implementing parts kitting programs—identifying exactly the parts needed for efficient assembly and
packaging them in kits for speed and convenience—assembly teams can save time, stock-outs can be eliminated, process
reliability can be enhanced, item leakage and customer satisfaction can be continuously improved.

Items for Collaboration

All-Pro Fasteners supplies fastener

products and a wide range supplies for
almost any commercial requirement.

Photo courtesy All-Pro Fasteners Inc.

At the beginning of any vendor-managed program, collaboration helps establish clear objectives for the program. Metrics can be
prioritized that will help evaluate the performance of the program in meeting its objectives. With both partners sharing insights
into their operations, programs can be better aligned with current and future manufacturing processes. Initiatives like parts
consolidation—undertaken with collaboration between design, production, and management teams—can lead to cost savings
and process improvements.

Through the collaborative effort of VMI, a parts kitting program or other vendor-managed program, both parties can work for
continuous improvement, leading to sustainable, long-term cost savings and operational improvements, with the latitude for
continually modifying programs to better match company processes, market forces and competitive factors.

ASSEMBLY ONLINE
For more information on vendor-managed inventory programs, visit www.assemblymag.com to read these articles:

2005 Assembly Plant of the Year: Supply Chain Efficiency Is Key to Success

Imbera Puts Big Chill on Fastener Supply Problems

2010 Assembly Plant of the Year: Assembly Excellence

November 2021
 MANUFACTURING
Manufacturing History Comes
Alive in Pullman

Pullman perfected rail car

production processes and
pioneered the use of new
materials.
The newly opened Pullman National Monument celebrates
Austin Weber // Senior Editor // the unique history of a famous company that mass-produced
webera@bnpmedia.com freight and passenger rail cars. Photo by Austin Weber

A merica’s newest national park recently opened on the South Side of Chicago. The Pullman National Monument celebrates
the unique history of a company that mass-produced freight and passenger rail cars at the site from 1881 to 1981.

In addition to playing an important role in manufacturing, Pullman had a leading hand in both the organized labor and the civil
rights movements. All three achievements are celebrated at the visitor’s center, which is housed in a red brick Romanesque-style
building that formerly served managers and engineers at the vertically integrated production complex.

The Administration Clock Tower Building forms the centerpiece of the 12-acre national monument grounds, which features
several historic Pullman buildings. Unfortunately, much of the manufacturing complex, located near the intersection of 111th
Street and South Cottage Grove Avenue, was destroyed by a fire several decades ago.

However, numerous brick duplexes and row houses remain standing a few blocks away, and most are still inhabited in one of
Chicago’s most unique neighborhoods. They were once part of a controversial “model town” that was built to house rail car
workers and their families. The utopian community, which contained homes, churches, parks, shopping areas, a hotel and a
library, plus an innovative sewage system, was once hailed as the “world’s most perfect town.”

One-Man Brand

Pullman developed innovative

production processes and adopted
new technology to remain
competitive. Photo by Austin
Weber

The town and factory complex were the brainchild of George Pullman, an entrepreneur who transformed the railroad industry by
providing a method of long-distance, overnight travel that was clean, comfortable, reliable and safe.

Pullman was synonymous with the sleeping car. Although he didn’t invent the concept, Pullman perfected it in the 1860s. Among
other innovations, Pullman engineers invented the enclosed vestibule in 1887, which made it much safer for train passengers to
move between cars.

During a time when long-distance train travel was dangerous and dirty, Pullman became famous for his luxurious Palace Cars.
They featured ornate interiors comprised of brass ornamentations, etched and beveled glass, finely upholstered furniture, hand-
painted mural ceilings, inlaid and polished decorative wood marquetry, marble-topped washbasins, plush carpeting, velour
draperies and silk fringes, and carved wood paneling.

Pullman employed teams of skilled artisans who

exceled at Victorian-era elegance. In addition to
incredible interiors, they produced car exteriors that
often featured elaborate scrolling, lettering and
striping. The look and feel of the cars provided a
unique experience for travelers—the exact opposite
of what most rail passengers encounter today.

To keep up with growing demand, in 1880 George

Pullman purchased 4,000 acres of land 14 miles
south of downtown Chicago. It was located near
Lake Calumet, near the tracks of the Illinois Central,
Michigan Central and Rock Island railroads.

In addition to a planned community, he built a state-

of-the-art factory to mass-produce rail cars. The
Calumet Shops was a vertically integrated complex
that produced nearly everything used in a rail car,
from its wheels to interior furnishings.

Pullman’s factory and town were showcased at the

1893 World’s Columbian Exposition, where the
complex was hailed as a modern marvel. But, that
same year, an economic depression caused a
dramatic decline in orders for rail cars.

Pullman cut wages in his factory, but not rents to

workers who lived in the nearby homes. Workers
and management eventually began to clash, which
led to a bitter boycott and strike in 1894, including a
bloody standoff involving federal troops. Although
Displays at the Pullman National Monument visitor’s center educate the
public on manufacturing processes that were once used to assemble rail cars.
Photo by Austin Weber

the conflict was resolved in favor of management, it

directly led to the creation of Labor Day.

At the time of George Pullman’s death in 1897, his company operated the largest rail car factory in the world and accounted for
90 percent of the North American sleeping car business.

Pullman was succeeded by Robert Todd Lincoln (eldest son of the 16th president), who changed the company from a one-man
autocracy to a more modern bureaucratic management system. Shortly after, the 17-year social experiment of running both a
town and a company ended when the Illinois Supreme Court forced the Pullman Co. to sell everything except its factory.

In 1925, Pullman porters organized the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first important black labor union. After suing in
federal court, the porters won their first contract with Pullman in the late 1930s. Several union members later played key roles in
the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s.

Manufacturing Monopoly
George Pullman was a ruthless entrepreneur who
acquired a series of competitors until he eventually
dominated the rail car market. His empire included a
division that built the cars in-house and another that
leased them to railroads.

Pullman Inc. served as the holding company for

Pullman Co. (the operations branch that leased and
serviced passenger cars) and Pullman Car &
Manufacturing Co. (the rail car assembly and
maintenance division).

To staff its hotels on wheels, Pullman employed

thousands of attendants, maids and porters. Many
of those hard-working individuals were African-
Americans who migrated from the South.

By 1910, Pullman’s fleet comprised 4,300 sleeping

cars and 600 parlor cars, and the company was
world-famous for cleanliness, reliability and friendly
first-class service. Railroad traffic soared in the
1920s and by the end of the decade, Pullman
operated a fleet of more than 9,800 rail cars in the
United States.

At its peak in the mid-1920s, Pullman served

100,000 guests every night, or as many as 39 million
people in a single year. The company’s famous
motto was “travel and sleep in safety and comfort.”
Up until the early 1900s, Pullman passenger cars were made out of large
quantities of wood. Photo courtesy Pullman Palace Car Co. Photographs,
Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian
Institution

In addition to sleeping cars, Pullman supplied many other types of passenger cars, such as dining cars, parlor cars and
observation cars, that could be found on trains operating from coast to coast. Pullman also mass-produced cabooses, box cars,
hoppers, reefers and other types of rolling stock used to haul freight.

Although Pullman is often associated with rail cars, the company produced many other products over the years. For instance, in
the early 20th century, it diversified and began to manufacture buses, subway cars and street cars (between 1908 and 1910, the
company produced more than 900 for use in Chicago alone).

One branch of the company, the Pullman Couch Co., mass-produced convertible sleeper sofas for use in houses and apartments.
To capitalize on its woodworking expertise and cutting-edge equipment, Pullman tried to diversify into other products. For
instance, in 1919, the company made 50,000 phonograph cabinets for the Edison Co.

At one time, Pullman even produced bodies for automobile manufacturers such as Peerless and Willys-Overland. In fact, in the
early 1920s, it produced 13,000 bodies for the Packard Motor Car Co.

The company also built one of the most unusual products ever produced in Chicago: the Snow Cruiser. The 55-foot-long vehicle
was 19 feet wide, 16 feet tall, and weighed 36 tons. It was used by Admiral Richard Byrd on one of his Antarctic expeditions.

A merger in 1930 changed the company’s name to Pullman-Standard and production activity expanded to a more modern
factory in nearby Hammond, IN. After barely surviving the Great Depression (only six passenger cars and 252 freight cars were
built in 1932), the company thrived during World War II. It mass-produced troop transport and hospital rail cars, in addition to
aircraft wings, artillery shells, cannons, tanks, ships and other items.

Pullman-Standard Co. operated a shipyard on Lake Calumet that built patrol craft and medium landing ships. Modular boat
sections were fabricated at the company’s 111th Street shops and then moved by rail to the shipyard, where they were welded
together.

In the late 1940s and early 1950s, production activity picked up again, due to war-weary railroads ordering new fleets of
lightweight, streamlined passenger cars. However, as many Americans migrated to airplanes and automobiles in the 1960s and
1970s, demand for rail travel dwindled.

The last rail car rolled out of Pullman’s Chicago factory in May 1981, destined for service on Amtrak (fittingly, it was named the
“George M. Pullman”).

Vertical Integration
Pullman’s early factories were located in Detroit and
Wilmington, DE. However, in the late 1870s, the
company consolidated operations in Chicago.

Pullman was attracted to the Windy City because it

was the center of America’s railroad industry.
Chicago also boasted a booming wholesale lumber
market that supplied vast amounts of wood needed
to build early rail cars.

In addition, the city housed a large population of

European immigrants who were skilled at working
with wood. Many of them were employed at local
factories that mass-produced agricultural
equipment, carriages, furniture, musical instruments
and wagons.

Pullman was not the first rail car manufacturer in the

Windy City. Earlier in the 19th century, Chicago had
become home to leading producers such as the
American Car Co. and Wells, French & Co. The city
also boasted a network of suppliers that specialized
in car heaters, hardware, lighting, seats and other
items.

By the early 1890s, Pullman employed more than

5,000 people, who produced an average of 1,800
passenger cars and 12,500 freight cars a year. The
multi-building complex stretched for several blocks The design and construction of wood railroad cars peaked in the mid-1890s,
when skilled craftsmen perfected the art of building a system of spidery
on the South Side of Chicago and featured a trussing. Photo courtesy Pullman Palace Car Co. Photographs, Archives
foundry, a rolling mill, machine shops and an Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
“erecting shop” equipped with numerous car
assembly bays.

The shift from wood to steel

radically changed the process of
building passenger rail cars in the
early 1900s. Photo by Austin Weber

The Calumet Shops was famous for its economies of scale, standardization of materials and manufacturing methods.

“To engineers, standardization involved the conscious, rational selection of materials, sizes, products, means and processes,”
says Betsy Hunter Bradley, the author of The Works: The Industrial Architecture of the United States (Oxford University Press).
“Standardization represented fitness to industry conditions and accomplishing tasks in the easiest, quickest and most successful
way.”

According to Bradley, “an efficient industrial plant [in the 19th century, like Pullman] was one in which materials and finished
products would be transported over the shortest distance horizontally, picked up and set down as infrequently as possible.”

Pullman pioneered the concept of vertical integration, which was later perfected by firms such as Ford Motor Co. and
International Harvester Co. From the beginning, the facility functioned as a self-sufficient industrial complex, with little
dependency on outside suppliers, except for basic raw materials.

In fact, the only materials used in car construction not actually produced in-house were carpets, fabric and glass. Even curtains,
furniture and upholstery were made by Pullman employees. Pullman also operated facilities that produced bronze castings used
for doorknobs, hinges, locks and other hardware.

Displays at the Pullman National

Monument visitor’s center explain
how steel rail cars were assembled.
Photo by Austin Weber

In addition, the company produced its own iron, steel, paint and screws. Other facilities included lumber kilns and a marble works.
All buildings within the industrial complex were connected by a private railroad that had more than 25 miles of track.

After touring the factory and interviewing George Pullman in 1890, French economist Paul De Rousiers later extolled: “The
planning of these workshops is remarkable, and every detail seems to have been considered….Tiny little locomotives are running
along the lines which are built in the spaces between the various workshops....Everything is done in order and with precision; one
feels that each effort is calculated to yield its maximum effect...

“Besides the fitting shops that deliver the finished car, there are many preparatory shops. The most important are the timber
shops, for wood is the raw material most used in the making of every kind of car.

“It is easy to understand the wonderful material complexity of such an enterprise,” added De Rousiers. “It needs a number of
different kinds of factories which must be run for the common end. From the purely industrial point of view, it is an interesting
sample of the great American manufactories.”

One of the highlights of the Pullman complex that most visitors were enamored with was a giant stationary steam engine that
powered equipment through a network of line shafts and belts. The 1,400-horsepower Corliss machine was 45 feet tall and
weighed 56 tons. It was the star attraction of the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia.

After the world’s fair ended, the steam engine was purchased by Pullman, dismantled and moved to Chicago in 35 freight cars. It
was in operation for 30 years until the company switched to electricity in 1910.

The backbone of the huge manufacturing complex was 3,268 feet of main power shafting that ran in tunnels approximately four
to five feet underground. The mechanical network consisted of 13,000 feet of overhead shafting, 3,000 pulleys and more than
89,000 feet of leather belting that ran 900 machines in the factory.

In addition to the Corliss engine, a variety of smaller machines provided supplemental power to various parts of the facility. For
instance, machinery in the freight car shops, which produced more than 40 boxcars and other pieces of rolling stock a day, was
powered by a 900-hp engine.

Metal used in Pullman cars was machined in a three-story facility that contained boring machines, drills, grinders, lathes, planes,
punches and other state-of-the-art devices. Hydraulic presses were used to attach 350 wheels a day to axles.

Assembly Process
The switch to steel car construction in the early 1900s
required Pullman workers to adopt new production tools
and techniques This photo shows the steel frame of a
passenger car sitting on one of the factory’s transfer tables.
Photo courtesy of the Pullman State Historic Site

A key feature of the Pullman factory were several transfer tables that enabled workers to laterally move cars from one bay to
another to complete the assembly process. In 1882, a mechanical engineer named Norman Robinson invented a device that
used a small steam locomotive to roll a table between shop stalls.

Each transfer table locomotive was operated by an engineer and two helpers, who worked a clutch, cables, pulleys and a hook
that pulled each car off the movable table into a stall for further assembly. One machine and three men could perform a task that
formerly required 40 men. The steam-powered transfer tables kept operating until about 1918, when they were replaced by
electric power.

Contemporary accounts of Pullman manufacturing processes, such as an article in the April 30, 1892, edition of the Railroad Car
Journal, indicate that the progressive assembly of railroad cars typically involved four to five movements on the transfer table.

Each car was built in a stationary position, with “gangs of builders” moving from car to car to perform their specialized functions,
such as “roofers” who applied roof boards and moldings, “tinners” who put on tin roof covers, and “trimmers” who installed
bronze or plated trimmings on blinds, doors, sash and walls.

Pullman pioneered railroad car construction techniques, such as riveting. Photo courtesy of the Pullman State Historic Site

“The work is so systemized that as soon as one gang finished its work, another comess along,” explained the article. “In that way,
the tinsmiths, steam-pipe fitters, carpenters and painters all work speedily without being in each other’s way. When a car has
been completed, it is drawn out, and the trucks for a new one are placed on the erection tracks.”

According to a report prepared for the National Park Service by the Department of Social Sciences at Michigan Technological
University, “each car was assembled from the ground up in one place until it was structurally and mechanically complete, then it
was shifted to the paint shop for overall painting, and then to one more bays where it was put on its road trucks, fitted out with
furniture, cabinetwork, carpeting and final detailing….

“Evidence from surviving fire insurance maps rather suggests that all the steps for the construction of a car likely happened in
whichever bay the frame started in until the car had to be moved for a process that could not take place there.”

To keep up with increased demand for lightweight products,

Pullman adopted new types of assembly processes and more
efficient production tools, such as automatic welding
equipment. Photo courtesy Pullman Palace Car Co.
Photographs, Archives Center, National Museum of American
History, Smithsonian Institution

The Michigan Tech report claims the erecting shop was set up to accommodate 80 cars on parallel tracks at a time, “so that
while 40 are building today on part of the tracks, laborers are distributing lumber and iron for 40 more along the vacant tracks;
this material to be built into cars on the following day.”

Pullman engineers perfected the art of high-mix, high-volume production several decades before the advent of the moving
assembly line in the auto industry. They also experimented with lightweight materials and new production processes.

Early assembly operations at the Calumet Shops relied on a custom manufacturing process that was carried out at individual
stations where each car sat for a number of days. According to the Michigan Tech report, “materials were brought to [the car]
and it was in no way an assembly line process.

“The car assembly process was a combination of batch production and station work. Each order —whether it be for one car or
two dozen—was its own unique thing. The car length, compartmentalization, layout, amenities and virtually every detail could be
specified by the ordering railroad.”

Production Pioneer
This is what the heart of the
Pullman manufacturing complex
looked like in the 1890s. The
residential area started in the
upper right corner and extended
south for several square blocks.
Illustration courtesy Pullman
National Monument/National Park
Service

In the early 1900s, new technology dramatically changed the way Pullman designed and built passenger cars. Railroads began
demanding larger, safer and sturdier cars. In response, Pullman produced its first steel car in 1907.

Engineers developed a steel frame that made cars stronger and lighter. Products evolved from 60-foot-long wood-trussed,
varnished cars to 80-foot-long steel cars. By 1915, one-third of all Pullman cars in use were all-steel.

To meet increased demand, Pullman invested more than $5 million to rebuild and remodel its factory to accommodate the
heavier materials and larger cars. Around the same time, the Calumet Shops transitioned from steam power to electric power.

Fabricated wood and iron trucks evolved into massive steel castings, while gas lighting changed to 32-volt DC electricity. The
assembly process became more complex, because electric lighting required the addition of wiring harnesses, batteries,
generators and switches.

In the early 1960s, Pullman

engineers experimented with new
ways to mix lightweight materials,
such as aluminum and fiberglass.
This car is being built for use on
the Chicago Transit Authority’s “L”
system. Photo courtesy of
Krambles-Peterson Archives

The most noticeable change to passengers was the switch from ornate Victorian interiors to the widespread use of clear wood
and Mission-style molding lightly accented with bronze hardware.

As railroad car construction switched from wood to steel, Pullman engineers developed new production tools and adopted new
assembly processes, such as riveting. That shift caused a major change in the company’s labor force. Skilled craftsmen who
specialized in cabinet making and wood carving claimed they could not “stand the racket” of riveting and were replaced by a new
group of workers who required less training.

“At one fell stroke the old order changed to the new,” says Joseph Husband, author of The Story of the Pullman Car (A.C. McClurg
& Co.). “An army of steel workers, Titans of the past reborn to fulfill a modern destiny, fanned the flames in their furnaces and
released the leash of sand blast, air hose and gas flame.”

Many wood-era Pullman workers were immigrants from Germany, Holland and Sweden. Their replacements were primarily new
arrivals from Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Italy and Poland.

Pullman rail cars were once

assembled within these factory
walls. However, this derelict building
is still awaiting renovation. Photo
by Austin Weber

However, despite new production tools and equipment, passenger car manufacturing remained relatively complex, because
each railroad wanted its rolling stock to have a different look and feel than competitors. While cars often looked the same on the
outside, each interior often had different amenities and layouts.

At the 1933 Century of Progress world’s fair in Chicago, Pullman showcased a new-fangled material called aluminum. Its
lightweight Railplane featured a welded tubular frame covered with a riveted aluminum skin.

In addition, Pullman and the Union Pacific railroad displayed an all-aluminum streamliner dubbed the M-10000. The cars were
constructed using a tubular aluminum space frame with Duralumin skin. They weighed 78,000 pounds vs. 135,000 pounds for a
traditional steel car.

Outdoor signs on Pullman’s former

factory grounds explain the
company’s rich manufacturing
history. Photo by Austin Weber

The introduction of lighter, streamlined cars also sparked new assembly processes, such as welding. Arc welding was used on
the underframe and side frames of cars, with electric spot welding used to join side panels and roofs. Engineers discovered that
the skin of a car could serve as an integral part of the structure, resulting in greater strength with less material and less weight.

Each side of a car was formed of 15 separate pieces with hundreds of corrugated stiffeners welded to them. Pullman engineers
developed a 45-ton spot welder operated by a “magic eye” that could make 1,400 welds per minute. A total of 28 stainless steel
sheets were formed over a frame as the traveling bridge made 8,000 spot welds while simultaneously seaming sheets together
to form a continuous 85-foot roof for each car.

Once these and the ends of the car had been prefabricated, a team of assemblers would “lay down the car,” installing
components such as interior trimmings, plumbing and wiring. Inside each car, Pullman used aluminum walls, window frames and
vestibule doors.

Pullman engineers also pioneered multimaterial designs and lightweight materials such as fiberglass, plymetal (metal-faced
plywood) and prestwood (a forerunner of particle board).

ASSEMBLY ONLINE
For more information on manufacturing history, visit www.assemblymag.com to read these articles:

Then & Now: The Mechanical Marvel

The Hawthorne Works

The 1936 GM Sit-Down Strike Changed Labor History

November 2021
 Listen Today At

Dr. David Leigh, PhD The Assembly Show

How 3D Additive Manufacturing And The Assembly Show is coming up
3D Printing Technology Is Building A soon, we check in with a “Sneak
Better Future Peek” for what to expect!
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How the Hartford Risk Engineering The Future Is Now - Hitachi
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improve worker safety and Smart Factories

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Click Here for all the episodes of Assembly Audible.

November 2021
 PRODUCT SPOTLIGHT
This special advertising section is your opportunity to quickly review
assembly equipment, tools, components and services that you can use to
make your product assembly operations more productive and profitable.

LM Series Actuator Turnkey Factory Automation & Assembly

The RACO LM Series is a lightweight positioning actuator, which can

be easily configured into a wide variety of multiple axis motion
systems. The LM is engineered for a load capacity of 800 lbs., speeds Fusion Systems Group designs and builds turnkey factory automation,
up to 200 inches per second, and a stroke range of 20 feet with a providing years of cost-effective production, including material
single extrusion. handling, sorting, dispensing, assembly, packaging, and many others.
Let us solve your factory automation challenges. Visit our website,
RACO International, LP learn more about our automation capabilities, and then contact us to
(412) 835-5744 quote your next project.
(412) 835-0338
Toll Free: (888) 289-7226
raco@racointernational.com Fusion Systems Group
www.racointernational.com (440) 946-3300
info@fusionsystemsgroup.com
www.fusionsystemsgroup.com

November 2021
 PRODUCTS

ASSEMBLY Products
MAGID GLOVE & SAFETY
BECKHOFF AUTOMATION LLC MANUFACTURING CO. LLC
Machine-Component Monitoring Made Simple Comfortable Impact and Oil-Resistant Gloves

STEIN AUTOMATION GMBH & CO. KG DISPENSE WORKS INC.

Fully Electric Conveyor Robot Performs Liquid Filling and Capping
Operations

CINCINNATI TEST SYSTEMS INC. GRAPHIC PRODUCTS INC.

Leak Tester Has Expanded Tooling Control Industrial Label Printer

HYPERTHERM INC.
Software Optimizes Robotic Tasks

November 2021
 CASE
HISTORIES

Click on Company Logo above to go to specific case history or see all on the next page

November 2021
 CASE
HISTORIES
Creform anti-static mobile flow rack 

Creform Corporation has designed and built a mobile gravity-fed,

anti-static flow rack. The flow rack features three levels for product
presentation and each level features five lanes.  This guarantees
first in-first out (FIFO) inventory management. Each of the five lanes
features a separator so that the boxes are contained within the
lane. Further, each lane features three Creform’s electrostatic-
discharge (ESD) high-quality skatewheel conveyor rollers. These
provide for a smooth flow of product. 

The flow rack’s dimensions are 140” W x 43” D x 54” T and is

designed to hold up to 750 lb. It is built with ESD plastic-coated
“black” pipe and nickel-plated metal joints. It features 12 heavy duty
stem casters that aid in moving the structure for housekeeping or
relocating.  Four of the casters feature brake capability.    Creform Corporation
(800) 839-8823
SCsales@creform.com
As with all Creform flow racks, higher capacity, sizes and
www.creform.com
configurations are possible. A wide variety of pipe colors are
available for non ESD applications, and accessories can include
information sheet holders, label holders, tool storage, hooks to hang
tools and other supplies. They are available as a kit or an
assembled structure or in the component form for a complete DIY
solution.

Cut Costs With Automated Crimp Quality

Benchmark Games International is a world leader in the design and

manufacture of redemption games. Beginning in 1993, all wire
applications were outsourced or processed manually. When looking to
automate, the company was drawn to the built-in quality inspection
systems and customizeable automated production features offered
by Schleuniger machines.

After purchasing a Schleuniger CrimpCenter 36 S fully automatic

crimping machine, it increased production, cut its labor hours by half,
and reduced all wire-related quality issues. The machine performs
tasks such as cutting to length, stripping both ends, applying required
pins, and pull-force testing. According to Jeff DeLong, the company’s
Quality Assurance Director, “A single operator can produce thousands
of completed wires each day!”

DeLong estimates that wire-related failures have been reduced by 50 Schleuniger, Inc.
percent and says that “by removing the variability of hand-crimping 603-668-8117
and replacing it with well calibrated output from the CrimpCenter 36 S, Toll Free Technical Support: (877) 902-1470
and adding the automated and controlled quality testing, we are able Sales@schleuniger.com
to nearly eliminate this problem saving us time and money.” schleuniger.com

The company’s continued focus on quality as well as productivity,

ensures its manufacturing process and its products, both meet the
highest standards, allowing Benchmark Games International to
remain the world leader that it is.

Long Life with the MGP800 Series Grippers

at Erwin Quarder Inc.

When selecting a gripper for an application, you should always

consider how long the gripper might be in service and how many
cycles you expect. Erwin Quarder Inc. (EQI) they were looking at 1.5
million cycles per year! The MGP800 series is rated for 10 million
maintenance-free cycles. EQI wouldn’t need to replace their grippers
for at least 7 years. That was a big checkmark for the engineers and
management at EQI. Erwin Quarder Inc. was tasked with picking up
small bushings for their client and they needed reliability and
precision to accomplish the task at hand. From the infeed of the
bushings, they were to take the 16 bushings and install them very
accurately. The MGP800 series has a repeatability of 25 microns;
just the precision EQI was looking for in a robotic gripper.

A quote from Mr. Waldemar Boldt, Automation Department Zimmer Group US, Inc.
Manager, “You [Zimmer Group] are not the least expensive but we 828-855-9722
are saving money and time in the long run.” In today’s Sales.us@zimmer-group.com
manufacturing world, with machines getting more and more www.zimmer-group.com
complex, if you can pick a gripper with a long, proven life, it could
help with downtime and loss of profits down the road.

Advanced Radial Riveting Process Control

For Low Force Applications

Baltec Corporation is pleased to introduce an advancement in radial

riveting process control. With the HPP-25 process control, users can
now control process variables in forming and assembly applications
where the forming force is as low as .05-1.5 KN. 

The HPP-25 process control package allows for the substitution of

wide-tolerance, cold-formed rivets in applications that previously
demanded close-tolerance machined rivets. Potential cost savings
to the user are tremendous.

The HPP-25 package utilizes an Auto Compensation feature that

allows for varying rivet heights of the rivet being formed. Real time
rivet “stick-up” height data is sent to the controller where
compensatory forming stroke, time and force criteria are generated
and fed to your riveting machine to bring the rivet into a specified
tolerance.

Baltec Corporation
Real time recording of stroke, time, force, projection and head radius
724-873-5757 
data ensures production uniformity. 
info.us@baltec.com
www.baltecorporation.com
Auto Compensation ensures higher levels of fastening integrity
resulting in fewer scrapped parts and lower rework costs reducing
the need for manual inspection and mechanical inline quality
control.

Wire Harness Benches Increase Production.

Tolerances have to be consistently tight when you’re assembling

wire harnesses for a jet fighter – 1/8 of an inch over 32 feet to be
exact. Workbenches that can’t accommodate such tolerances
would be, well, intolerable.

That’s the problem that a jet manufacturer faced when they

determined that they needed to upgrade their facility. They were
using pieces of plywood on A-frames for the assembly. This not only
affected tolerance levels but also led to stress, strain and fatigue.

The jet fighter manufacturer found a company that could deliver

what they were looking for in Proline. A leader in ergonomic
workbenches. A company renowned not just for its rugged,
technologically advanced workbenches, but also for its ability to
“think on the fly” and produce, application-specific solutions,  Proline
met all of the jet manufacturer’s specs.
Proline
978-521-2600
Thanks to the range of easy vertical movement provided by the Pro- Toll Free: 800-739-9067
Line benches, along with tilt, all sections of the wire harness are
www.1proline.com
always within easy reach. Since this initial installation, this jet plane
www.industrialworkbenches.com
manufacturer is currently in the process of expanding its operation
with additional Pro-Line workbenches. Clearly they are more than
satisfied that they have harnessed such precise, ergonomically
sound and productivity-enhancing workbench solutions.

EMH Hoists for Patented Track Interlocks

When a large international manufacturer needed a reliable crane

solution for its aircraft repair facility, they selected Crane-Tec,
located in Cincinnati, Ohio, to design, engineer, fabricate and install
a transfer crane system. Crane-Tec specified hoists from
Engineered Material Handling (EMH).

Special considerations included large capacity requirements for the

transfer crane, an independent runway and monorail structure, and
large runway spans and loads. Low headroom lift requirements
necessitated a double-reeved cross-mounted drum for true vertical EMH, Engineered Material Handling
lift. Trolleys were designed with multiple wheel sets to run on 330-220-8600
patented track. Overload limit devices were included as standard. info@emhcranes.com
Crane Tec’s solution– a 22.5-ton top running, double girder crane www.emhcranes.com
system with a single transfer beam with eighteen 15-ton
interlocking transfer monorail beams.

EMH Hoists are available standard for single and double girder
applications and can be custom engineered for special applications.
Standard hoist capacities accommodate 2-ton to 50-ton
requirements. Custom engineered hoists can accommodate 10 to
200 tons. EMH E-Series Hoists are reliable and especially suited for
applications requiring low headroom lift. According to Wally Bolduc,
Crane-Tec Project Manager, “EMH was the only hoist manufacturer
willing to design and build hoists to meet the specifications of a
close headroom cross-mounted hoist to go through transfer
interlocks.”

ASTM F2338 and ASTM F3287-compliant

MicroScale Leak Testing of Medical
Products

Best-in-class biomed product manufacturers (wearables, combined

products, and other medical devices) accelerate their time-to-
market with InterTech turnkey microleak testing solutions --for both
in-line testing and audit testing.   

By using InterTech MicroScale Leak Testers, a leading

manufacturer of COVID-19 rapid testing systems has been able to
triple production to help meet pandemic demands, and do so with a
savings of more than US$1 million. A COVID19 Diagnostic Sample
Transfer Device is both Audit & Production line tested, with built-in
21 CFR 11 compliant data handling.

Parts are audit tested to a 0.008 sccm (8 microliters/min) limit at

682-710 mbar with GR&R < 10%. A dual channel InterTech MED75 InterTech Development Company
micro leak tester controls the test cycle.   (847) 679-3377
sales@intertechdevelopment.com
Parts are production tested to a 0.008 sccm (8 microliters/min) limit www.intertechdevelopment.com
at 682-710 mbar with GR&R < 20%.  A dual channel InterTech
MED75 micro leak tester controls the test cycle.  16 parts are tested
every 2.8 seconds.

InterTech’s unsurpassed patented MicroScale leak test

technologies--- superior mass flow test sensors, test sensor
designs, and unique test fixtures-- adhere to relevant ASTM
standards, including ASTM F2338 and ASTM F3287.  InterTech’s
MicroScale testing eliminates the errors (both false positives and
false negatives) inherent in previously used testing methods.

Highly Accurate Assembly Requirements

Achieved

Recently, a customer in the agriculture industry reached out to

WEISS North America regarding the development of a highly
accurate assembly system with a production rate of 1800 PPH
and a cycle time of two (2) seconds per assembly. This
particular application involved several processes, such as
assembly, filling, dispensing, spinning, laser marking, and
pressing of sprinkler assemblies.

After reviewing the requirements of the application and

considering the various multiple parts and process time
requirements, WEISS North America was able to develop and WEISS North America, Inc.
deliver a custom solution that is built around their proven 888-WEISSNA (888-934-7762)
WEISS LS280 Linear Transfer System. To overcome the info@weissna.com
challenge of the customer’s varied process times, the system https://www.weiss-world.com
was designed with different cam pitches. The 2 second cycle
time was achieved by utilizing highly accurate and fast WEISS
HP pick and place units and HN & HG linear actuators.

WEISS provided the complete solution including a custom

chassis surrounding the LS280 and all electrical enclosures
with cable management for all the direct drive components.
The complete system operates on WEISS Application
Software (WAS-2).

Rexroth Framing Cuts Installation Time

As a supplier of sophisticated solar technology, energy firm LG

Energy Solutions needed a faster, more cost-effective way to
install support framing for residential and commercial solar
panels. The company was introduced to Rexroth aluminum
structural framing through local Bosch Rexroth distributor,
Airline Hydraulics Corporation.  

LG Energy Solutions was intrigued by the potential for using

Rexroth’s lightweight but durable anodized aluminum framing.
The off-the-shelf framing can be configured into any size
needed and assembly requires only simple tools. In addition,
the product’s simple construction allows it to be assembled
with no specialized training or written instructions. Rexroth
aluminum structural framing also provides the weather-
resistance needed for outdoor applications, and it continues to
look neat and clean even without painting or other finishing. Bosch Rexroth
(800) REXROTH
After testing several framing elements, LG Energy Solutions info@boschrexroth-us.com
quickly adopted Rexroth aluminum framing as its standard www.boschrexroth-us.com
solution for solar installations. Since the implementation, the
energy company has saved time and money on installation
costs — and installation times have dropped an estimated
25%.

Rexroth aluminum framing offers LG Energy Solutions another

advantage in the future-oriented solar power industry: the
modular configuration can be quickly and easily adapted as
solar technology evolves.

TNT 5000/40 Station

Fixed Rotary Index Table

This 30 foot structural steel frame on top of our TNT5000/40

forty station Fixed Rotary Index Table was designed and
engineered by MID. Fully loaded, this indexer will hold 40 fixtures
and parts arrayed around the structural steel frame to hold molds
our customer is using to manufacture foam products.

This frame weighs ten tons holding four tons of customer tooling.
This unit requires zero programming, utilizing only single ac Motion index Drives
motor 1.5 horse power. This index drive features 20 cam 877-978-1830
followers that are internal to the indexer that are locked in info@mid.us.com
mechanical dwell and only stops based off of a proximity switch. www.motionindexdrives.com
It rotates each load in about 4 seconds for each index. This runs
on a two horse power VFD running only to control the starting and
stopping.

The customer requested a fixed indexer over a servo style

indexer to reduce cost of the drive packaged that would be
required to run the unit. The customer also wanted the simplicity
of a fixed indexer for maintenance and operating reasons. This
unit could have been equipped with a fully programmable servo
or auxiliary axis robot motor.

Improved Small Plug Fastening Process

Challenge Issued – A large OEM parts manufacturer had previously used a

low-torque clutch type electric screwdriver to install small plastic plugs
resulting in erratic quality, high scrap rates and no process data for birth history.

The previous clutch-type tool had no internal feedback of the torque or angle
that was being applied to the fastener during the fastening process – its torque
was set by ‘adjusting’ an internal spring-type clutch with no ability to monitor
the fastening in-process. Additionally, the customer wanted to improve the
process by adding vacuum to the plug pick-up.

Solution Given – FEC supplied an AFC3000 Micro-Nutrunner system with a tool

capable of 2.4Nm of torque that included a built-in torque transducer and angle
feedback. The system provides in-process fastening control/monitoring
allowing for detection of fastening anomalies. Vacuum pick-up tooling was
FEC Automation Systems
supplied on the output of the tool (which included an internal vacuum port) to
586-580-2622
aid in the plug pick-up.
Sales@fec-usa.com
www.fec-usa.com
Resultant fastening data can be sent to the station PLC via an Ethernet I/P
interface. Additionally, a PC (running the “No Cost” AFC3000 software) was
used to save fastening result data and torque/angle curves for birth history,
vastly improving the assembly process.

FEC is a full-service provider of fastening and pressing components as well as

complete turn-key solutions to OEM and Tier 1 & 2 suppliers worldwide.
Challenge Us.

Reduce Scrap by 80% with Cross Thread

Prevention

The customer needed to thread two sub-assemblies together and

torque to a specific value. Using the combined technology of closed-
loop press and torque movements in our REMAP and the flexibility
of our UltraPRO Controller, Promess was able to help this company
retrofit our product into their existing station with little modification. 

First, the press moved the part that was nested in spring-compliant
tooling. Next, we would gently apply pressure to the part in the
range of 100lbs of force with the press axis. We then rotated the
torque axis counterclockwise. During this movement, we collected
the press force-over-rotation data which was essentially measuring
the force on the part while rotating. Using this data, we looked at Promess Inc.
the lowest point of force and saved that position. This position 810-229-9334
indicated where the threads “clicked” together. Rotating to this Promess@promessinc.com
known position, we knew we could begin rotation in the clockwise Promessinc.com
direction and on to torque the unit to its final specification. 

Promess was able to reduce the scrap rate of the part by over 80%,
cut the leak test failures to almost nothing, and the system paid for
itself within the first 9 months of use. Additionally, the overall cycle
time was reduced by about 10 seconds. 

Eliminate Electrical Constraints

with Flexible Power

When the company began its transition into manufacturing in 2006,

Winar Connection discovered its building was not conducive to
production and constructed a brand new, 80,000 sq. ft. facility.

As the company grew, implementing new state-of-the-art

equipment posed many challenges, including having to decide
where to place the equipment, and then contracting an electrician to
hardwire it in place. These changes could take up to eight weeks to
implement.

Winar knew it had to find a solution to avoid the electrical flexibility Starline
constraints it had experienced in its old building. Winar chose the 724-597-7800
100 amp Starline Track Busway product because it needed a info@starlinepower.com    
system that could grow with the company. www.starlinepower.com/applications/industrial

Using Starline, the same workstation rearrangement that used to

take up to eight weeks was reduced to a single day. Where
previously the best way to move hardwired equipment was by using
extension cords - a significant safety hazard – by utilizing Starline,
Winar could simply unplug a plug-in unit, safely move it to its new
location, and have equipment ready within 15 minutes.

Ultimately, Winar can configure its production layout for operational

efficiency and can rest assured that access to power will not
bottleneck future changes.

Nut Driving with Robot Manipulation

Doubles Production

The engineering group at a tier one automotive seating supplier was

charged with close to doubling production at an existing facility.
They were also looking at ways to keep floor space requirements
minimal and reduce operator handling of the chair components.
They chose Visumatic’s VNPD Nut Power Driver to automatically
feed and install the flange nuts.

The operators load the chair slide rails and related rack components
into a fixture.  A six axis robot then presents side A to the weldment
mounted Visumatic spindle.  Each M8 nut is driven to 32 Nm torque
per location.  The robot flips the fixture presenting side B studs.  All
12 nuts are driven in less than one minute.

Ergonomics were improved by transferring part handling to the

robot.  Throughput was increased by incorporating the Visumatic
auto nut feed & drive system.  By using robot part presentation, floor
space was saved making it available for additional assembly
operations.

Installation is currently being completed at this facility which is the

third plant to date.

Both the customer and Visumatic look forward to delivering more

engineered equipment to meet their process improvement
Visumatic Industrial Products
challenges.
Lexington, KY 40508 USA
859-255-7907
Stop by our plant or visit our  web site  to see more Visumatic www.visumatic.com
solutions in action.

The ASG Auto Feed System is an automatic screw feeding system

designed to increase production while decreasing cycle time and
labor costs. The ASG X-PAQ SD2500 DC transducerized screwdriver
system is a precision torque control and data management system.
Paired together, these two products fill the needs of manufacturers
requiring tight tolerances, high levels of error proofing, and
traceability.

An example of this is with a Tier One supplier making automotive

lighting. This customer has a lot of auto feed systems in house
already from other manufacturers, needed a solution for a fastener
that has a rubber washer encapsulated under the head of the
fastener. This fastener was a high volume fastener that was being
used on multiple new assemblies.

The issue was that the rubber washer created extra drag on the
fastener as it travelled along the metal rail to the screw
escapement in standard automatic screw feeders. The end user
needed a solution quickly as the new model was nearing its time for
production launch. They received a few “no solution” quotes, which ASG, Division of Jergens, Inc.
discouraged them from finding a way to meet their required 15700 S. Waterloo Road
monthly production quota. This then gave ASG the chance to put Cleveland, Ohio 44110
our design team hard to work to provide a reliable solution that will 216-486-6163
solve the end user’s needs.   asginfo@asg-jergens.com
www.asg-jergens.com

After a week of brainstorming and problem solving, ASG was able to

provide a solution that would assist the fasteners ability to move
smoothly down the rail to the escapement, which sends the
fastener to the end of the driver. Implementing this solution has
been a crucial step for the end user to be able to achieve its monthly
production quota without adding additional manpower.

DEPRAG Compact Assembly Module for

Your Automated Screwdriving and
Assembly Tasks

The DEPRAG Compact Assembly Module (DCAM) is a robust work

platform, combining efficiency with the best possible processing
reliability. The customer benefits from our established technology
with well-proven standard components. The modular platform
concept means that it is particularly well suited to the most varied
of assembly and production tasks.

In addition, sensors allow the possibility of monitoring multiple

parameters, including part presence, load, temperature, and even
part functionality.

DEPRAG
ADVANTAGES 640 Hembry St.
Lewisville, TX 75057
short cycle times 800-433-7724
972-221-8731
compact design
sales@depragusa.com
high uptime https://depragusa.com
fast development and delivery times
integrated controller
availability – “one-stop-shop” – direct from DEPRAG!

Please call today to speak with an applications engineer.  We look

forward to exploring how a DCAM could improve production
efficiency in your facility!

Cobots Deliver Zero Defects; Double Output

Arizona-based Zippertubing Company was facing a significant

demand increase for its thermal wraps used by automotive and
aerospace industries. Workers had a hard time keeping up with the
fast-paced, highly-precise and repetitive task of correctly inserting
the cable jacketing into snap machines. That’s when the company
started to look into collaborative robots, or “cobots.”

“We chose Universal Robots’ for a few reasons,” says Zippertubing

engineering manager Matt Hesselbacher. “After a quick demo we
realized this was a collaborative robot we could integrate on our After the male and female snaps have been inserted, the
own. We were also looking at the versatility.” UR5 cobot places the fabric under a vision camera lens
for quality inspection and sorts it either in a “good” or
“reject” pile.
“Our product quality really has improved; the robot has been running
for eight months now and we have gone from having some product
Universal Robots USA, Inc.
returns to now zero defects on parts produced,” says Operations
5430 Data Court, Suite 300
Manager Tim Mead. “With the robot itself, we can specify 300
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108
percent more tolerance on our parts than with manual operation.”
United States
844-462-6268
“We can have the robot run all night and double our production US.marketing@universal-robots.com
output. We can also have it handle two or three additional parts and www.universal-robots.com
cover even more of our production,” explains Mead. “We can now
take that freed up labor and move them to other more customized
high-skilled, sections of our production line, where operators can
use their skills in a more beneficial way.”

A Solution to Challenging Assembly Tasks 

Manufacturers are always looking to increase productivity and

reduce costs. Automating assembly tasks that are performed
manually can offer great potential for increasing efficiency, but pose
several challenges. Traditionally, robots are controlled by
programming them to follow a desired trajectory. Even the smallest
variation in the part’s geometry can yield unsatisfactory results and
cause part and tooling damage. Some complex assembly tasks,
such as inserting camshafts into engine blocks, require the
assembler to “feel” their way to the correct assembly position.
Robots alone cannot accurately measure and compensate for the
contact forces experienced during these assembly tasks. 

ATI Industrial Automation’s Six-Axis Force/Torque (F/T) Sensors

and Universal Robots can now accomplish a variety of difficult
assembly tasks using Force Control. ATI F/T Sensors offer a high
level of sensitivity, sending extremely accurate information about
the force or torque being applied against it to the robot, allowing it to
react appropriately. This Force Control feedback enables the robot
ATI Industrial Automation
to “feel” the part, minimizing the risk of damage. Precision assembly
919-772-0115
tasks that are performed manually or proved too difficult to
info@ati-ia.com
automate can now be performed using Force Control to greatly
www.ati-ia.com
increase production quality and throughput, while creating a safer
work environment by eliminating the ergonomic issues associated
with difficult manual assembly tasks. Gear assembly, camshaft or
piston insertion, electronic assembly, life cycle testing, weight
verification, and haptics are just some of the applications that can
be accomplished using Universal Robots equipped with ATI Six-Axis
Force/Torque Sensors.

When Lanco Integrated needs an

accurate gripper with repeatability
and a compact size, they turn to
SCHUNK!

Lanco Integrated is updating their highly successful suture

barbing machines; the original machines were developed
over 10 years ago and are still performing well but latest
revisions allow for product to be loaded and unloaded in
parallel with the barbing process and provide for automatic
changeover to support different suture lengths and gages.

The Lanco team faced several challenges dealing with one

of the more complex and compact systems they had
manufactured; the system has significant wiring needs, so
cable management and routing had to be carefully
considered while also allowing for safety measures that SCHUNK
permitted operators to access areas of the machine while (919) 572-2705 
running. info@us.schunk.com 
www.schunk.com 
The team at Lanco Integrated did not have to worry about
Lanco Integrated
which gripper supplier to choose. They have been working
(207) 773-2060
with SCHUNK, who makes the largest range of standard
sales@lanco.net
gripping components on the market, for several years, and
www.lancointegrated.com
knew that the compact and reliably repeatable KGG

grippers were the right choice for this machine design.

According to one Lanco representative, “Lanco has used

SCHUNK grippers for many years, because they just work!
This system required highly accurate repeatability, and
SCHUNK’s KGG is a small compact gripper that works very
well for handling various suture thread sizes.”

PALLET TRASH, REPURPOSED FOR PROFIT

In 2017 Boulware Equipment commissioned the 1st of 2 Shredding

systems at an assembly plant (pictured) in Eastern North Carolina.
When the plant increased its capacity in 2018, they returned to
Boulware Equipment for a 2nd Wood Grinding System. Now in 2021
both systems run simultaneously & Boulware Equipment is
responsible for over 100 + Tons of Wood Scrap a week from this
single location. This customer and many others choose Boulware
Equipment for their wood scrap recycling solution because of how
the scrap is handled & repurposed once it leaves your plant.
Boulware Equipment provides turn-key equipment design,
installation & startup. Our network of 100s of wood fiber buyers
across the USA allow us proudly to say we NEVER take wood scrap
to the landfill.

Our company supplies woodchip trailers and logistics for the wood Boulware Equipment, LLC
fiber recycling at no charge to our customer. We reduce costs, lower 3134 Pinkie ln
your carbon footprint, and repurpose your wood trash in a Newton, NC 28658
responsible way, and guarantee no landfill. Repurposing wood trash 704-651-6061
is our mission. BRAD BOULWARE
BRAD@BOULWARELLC.COM
http://boulwarellc.com/

ATC Provides Custom Assembly

ATC Automation provides custom assembly and test systems for

the Transportation Business Sector.  As the transportation industry
continues its move to electrification, the demand for motor/stator
assemblies has increased. Many traditional ICE tier suppliers are
innovating with new electrification technologies. ATC automation has
provided custom automated solutions for assembling and testing
these electric vehicle systems for several customers.  ATC’s
experience with a long-time customer incorporates a non-synchronous
assembly system with on-line manual assembly stations, semi-
automated stations, and on-line automated stations. The project also
included several off-line mini cells that feed the main assembly line. 

The shaft and rotor assembly cell includes a close tolerance shaft
press before moving the assembly to a magnetizer. A series of
impulses at various heights and skew angles are used to magnetize ATC Automation
the rotor.  Flux density is then checked to ensure the proper level of 931-528-5417
magnetization has been achieved.  Lastly, the magnetized rotor query@atcautomation.com
assembly is pressed into the housing on the non-synchronous main www.atcautomation.com
line.

The reject strategy for the cell is to route a reject to a repair cell. After
determining the reject status, the assembly can be re-routed back
through the assembly line to produce a finished quality assembly. To
assure quality, the system utilizes a full traceability system to provide
the finished product with a complete birth history. 

November 2021
ON CAMPUS
Penn State R&D Effort
Leads to New Class of High-
CONTACT
Author
Flying Batteries
BY AUSTIN WEBER // SENIOR EDITOR

M ost of the recent buzz surrounding electric vehicles has focused on cars, trucks and other land-based products. But, there’s
also a revolution occurring in the air with a new class of all-electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. They’re
the focus of urban air mobility efforts—a cross between flying cars and personal helicopters.

Companies around the world are scrambling to develop two- and four-seat battery-powered aircraft that are quiet and safe to
operate in cities. Some of the leading contenders are U.S. companies such as Archer Aviation Inc. and Joby Aero Inc., which both
plan to be operating fleets of eVTOLs in Miami by the end of 2024. Meanwhile, German startups Lilium and Volocopter are hot on
their heels.

Joby recently became the first company to successfully fly an eVTOL aircraft as part of NASA’s Advanced Air Mobility National
Campaign. The initiative is designed to promote public confidence in emerging aviation markets, such as passenger air taxis,
through flight testing in realistic scenarios. In addition, data analysis of acoustic signatures will assist in the development of
regulatory standards for these emerging aviation platforms.

With a maximum range of 150 miles and a top speed of 200 mph, Joby’s S4 aircraft, which it plans to assemble at a new factory
in Monterey, CA, is designed to carry four passengers and a pilot with zero operating emissions. It’s powered by six propellers
that tilt to enable vertical takeoff and efficient cruise flight.

Companies around the world are scrambling to

develop two- and four-seat battery-powered
aircraft that are quiet and safe to operate in urban
settings. Photo courtesy Joby Aero Inc.

The number of blades, blade radius, tip speeds and disk loading of the aircraft were all selected to minimize the acoustic
footprint and improve the character of the noise produced. The propellers can also individually adjust their tilt, rotational speed
and blade pitch, helping to avoid the blade vortex interactions that cause the “wop wop” sound typically associated with
traditional helicopters.

“Flying cars have the potential to eliminate a lot of time and increase productivity and open the sky corridors to transportation,”
claims Chao-Yang Wang, Ph.D., a mechanical engineering professor and director of the Electrochemical Engine Center at
Pennsylvania State University. “But, eVTOL vehicles are very challenging technology for batteries.”

“The automotive electric vehicle revolution is paving the way for urban air mobility, but people must not be naive in thinking that
EV batteries will suffice for electric flight,” warns Wang, who also serves as co-director of the Battery and Energy Storage
Technology Center at Penn State. “The fast-charging requirements, 30x increase in energy throughput and 3x power
requirements demand a new generation of battery.

“One entirely unique aspect of eVTOLs is that their batteries must always retain some charge,” says Wang. “Unlike cellphone
batteries, for example, that work best if fully discharged and recharged, a flying car battery can never be allowed to completely
discharge, because power is needed to stay in the air and to land. There always needs to be a margin of safety.

“Batteries for eVTOLs need very high energy density so that you can stay in the air,” explains Wang. “And, they also need very
high power during take-off and landing. It requires a lot of power to go vertically up and down.”

Thermally modulated batteries are heated to 140 F to boost power density and recharging
speed. Illustration courtesy EC Power LLC

According to Wang, eVTOL batteries also need to be rapidly recharged to capitalize on high demand during rush hours. He sees
these vehicles having frequent take-offs and landings, which would require recharging quickly and often.

“Commercially, I would expect eVTOLs to make 15 trips, twice a day during rush hour to justify the cost of the vehicles,” says
Wang. “The first use will probably be from a city to an airport carrying three to four people about 50 miles. On short trips, the
average speed would be 100 mph and long trips would average 200 mph.”

Weight and performance are critical for making eVTOLs economically viable transportation alternatives. They need ultra-high-
energy density, because they carry battery packs into the air; very high power during takeoff and landing; and fast-charging
capability (less than 15 minutes) between flights.

Wang says eVTOLs require different technology than batteries developed for use in electric cars. “They need higher energy
density and higher discharge rates (three times typical highway driving),” he points out. “eVTOL batteries also need much longer
cycle life, because they do six cycles per day, whereas some electric cars are only completing 45 to 50 cycles per year.”

Wang believes that thermally modulated lithium-ion battery technology may help address the challenge.

“Thermally modulated batteries are much more powerful, due to short excursion of thermal stimulation to boost the power and
10-minute healthy charging for 200 watt-hours per kilogram,” explains Wang. “Both features are unprecedented in lithium-ion
batteries and are particularly desired by eVTOLs.”

All-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft

are a cross between flying cars and personal
helicopters. Photo courtesy Archer Aviation Inc.

Wang and his colleagues recently tested thermally modulated batteries in their laboratory and discovered they can recharge with
enough energy for a 50-mile eVTOL trip in less than 15 minutes. The batteries could also sustain more than 2,000 fast-charges
over their lifetime.

The key is to heat the battery to allow rapid charging without the formation of lithium spikes that cause damage and are
potentially dangerous. Heating the battery also allows rapid discharge of the energy held in the battery to allow for take offs and
landings.

The Penn State engineers heated the batteries by incorporating a nickel foil that rapidly elevates the temperature to 140 F. “It
stimulates chemical kinetics and ion transport speed within the lithium-ion battery, and hence boosts discharge power during
takeoff and landing, as well as fast charging capability,” says Wang.

“Under normal circumstances, the three attributes necessary for an eVTOL battery work against each other,” notes Wang. “High
energy density reduces fast charging and fast charging usually reduces the number of possible recharge cycles. But, we are able
to do all three in a single battery.

“When a battery is empty, internal resistance to charging is low,” says Wang, who has created a company called EC Power LLC to
commercialize the technology. “But, the higher the remaining charge, the more difficult it is to push more energy into the battery.
Typically, recharging slows as the battery fills. However, by heating the battery, recharging can remain in the five- to 10-minute
range.”

Wang claims that thermally modulated batteries can be easily mass-produced. “There only needs to be slight modifications to
existing manufacturing lines,” he points out.

About the Author

Austin has been senior editor for ASSEMBLY Magazine since September 1999. He has more than 21 years of b-to-b publishing
experience and has written about a wide variety of manufacturing and engineering topics. Austin is a graduate of the University
of Michigan.

November 2021
 ADVERTISER INDEX
Click "See Our Ad" below to go directly to their ad in this month's issue

See Our Ad See Our Ad See Our Ad

ASG Divison of Jergens Inc. Ellsworth Adhesives ProLine
www.asg-jergens.com www.ellsworth.com www.1proline.com
888-486-6163 800-888-0698 800-739-9067

See Our Ad See Our Ad See Our Ad

Engineered Material Handling Promess
The ASSEMBLY Show
www.emhcranes.com www.promessinc.com
www.theassemblyshow.com
330-220-8600 810-229-9334

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ATC Automation FEC Automation Systems Schleuniger Inc.
www.automationtool.com www.fec-usa.com www.schleuniger-na.com
931-528-5417 586-580-2622 603-668-8117

See Our Ad See Our Ad See Our Ad

ATI Industrial Automation Fisnar Inc. Schunk Inc.
www.ati-ia.com www.fisnar.com www.schunk.com
919-772-0115 866-6-FISNAR 800-772-4865

See Our Ad See Our Ad See Our Ad

BalTec Corp. Fluid Research Corp. Starline
www.balteccorporation.com www.fluidresearch.com www.starlineindustrial.com/AM
724-873-5757 714-258-2350

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Boulware Equipment Intertech Development Universal Robots
www.boulwarellc.com www.intertechdevelopment.com www.universal-robots.com
704-651-6061 847-679-3377

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Creform Corp. KitPackers Visumatic Industrial Products Inc.
www.creform.com www.kitpackers.com www.visumatic.com
800-839-8823 866-322-8322 859-255-7907

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DEPRAG Inc. Motion Index Drives Weiss North America
www.depragusa.com www.mid.us.com www.weissna.com
800-4-DEPRAG 248-743-9999 888-WEISSNA

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Nitto Seiko America Zimmer Group
www.nittoseikoamerica.com www.zimmer-group.com
248-588-0133 828-855-9722

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November 2021
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November 2021
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