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TASK
Large parts that require manual racking have historically been the bottleneck on large press lines. So much so, they can actually dictate the speed by which production is run. The customer had a major problem with material handling congestion and ergonomic issues for the operators as they picked up parts from flat conveyor surfaces. The first goal of this program was to allow parts to be processed at more stations, while allowing fork truck traffic to flow smoothly. This was accomplished by dividing the exiting parts into additional racking stations and fanning out the turn tables to avoid material handling congestion. The second part of this goal was achieved by presenting the parts to the operators ergonomically to reduce the potential for injury.
SOLUTION
Program partner Atlas Technologies provided two (2) part transfer conveyors, each mounted on a two position cross shuttle, which receives panels from the exit conveyor. Each shuttle mounted part transfer conveyor consists of two (2) belt conveyors mounted on a GÜDEL 2-axis floor base track module. Parts are shuttled right, left or exit center on a pass through conveyor and are discharged from the shuttle conveyors and/or the pass through conveyor onto a pack-out tray. The operator side of the trays has air powered height adjustment and is equipped with overhead lights, fans, outlets and cup and tag holders. The operators remove parts from the trays and manually load the racks, which are presented to the operators via 2-position turn tables.
SCOPE OF SUPPLY
Trackmotion module TM-72 with two custom independent carriages to support conveyor sections. Drive package upgraded to AE120 gearbox to sustain high acceleration required for the large moving mass.
RESULT
The customer has the potential to increase their operational press speed from 8 SPM to 13 SPM, giving this Big 3 stamper a 60% increase in production.
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