MICRO-GAS GENERATOR (MGG) LINE
THE CHALLENGE
Setpoint’s customer needed to produce a product line in a U.S. facility that had previously been produced in a French facility. One of the significant problems was that the machine in the French facility occupied 1390 square feet and would not fit into the existing U.S. facility. The customer needed to reduce the size of the machine required to produce the product as well as increase throughput and reduce unit costs.
PRODUCTIVITY DELIVERED
Setpoint’s automation expertise coupled with robust planning, definition, and execution produced a machine that achieved the customer’s objectives. Setpoint’s custom machine delivered the following results:
- Increased throughput by 67%
- Decreased labor minutes per unit by 60%
- Reduced occupied floor space by 84%
Mike Fielding of Rockwell Automation said, "it is the most I/O intensive machine in North America."
SUMMARY
Setpoint’s definition phase included a visit to the French facility to study the existing process. Setpoint then created a simulation model of the production line to better define the new system, identify potential constraints and interactions to understand potential problem areas before a detailed design effort was undertaken. This approach enabled the timing and process flow of each station to be better understood and conceived of early in the process of working toward a successful solution.
Setpoint’s solution included leading edge technologies applied in innovative ways. A vision-guided Epson SCARA robot was integrated for product placement based on a multitude of criteria. This system enabled the identification and segregation of faulty components. Seven DVT vision systems were used for part compliance and process validation, two FillPro Pyrotechnic Weigh & Fill systems and three precision scales that verified the pyrotechnic loading was accurate were all stations that had the capability of identifying faulty parts.
Overall there were 39 simultaneous operations occurring during each 3 second cycle. In order to reduce the amount of wiring, Setpoint used Ethernet IP requiring far fewer control, diagnostic and communication lines than other protocols. This meant that less of everything was required to bring a sophisticated line to fruition.