Automated Concepts, Inc. (ACI) recently introduced the LEAN-Machine Unload/Load Cells which provides automation users with an economical and lowrisk means for bringing automation into a facility.

Ideally suited for handling small parts in any small or mediumsized job shop or plant, ACI’s LEAN System is equally at home in any size company looking to have a portable automation system.

Significantly less expensive than custom systems, LEANMachine Cells are ready to pull from stock and ship with no engineering required for the base system.

In designing the LEAN-Machine Unload/Load system, ACI combined three standard solutions into one platform of products consisting of three standard styles and 3 FANUC robot models for a total of 9 automated solutions. The three standard styles are:
1) The Drawer Style LEAN System for applications using precut parts or blanks that need to be machined. This style can handle parts up to 12 pounds and its configuration allows the operator manual access while the robot works from another drawer.

2) The Rotary Stack Style LEAN System for round parts that can be stacked in both the raw or machined version is ideal for those applications using a gantry to bring parts to the machine tool.

3) The Bowl-Feeder Style LEAN System is ideally suited for applications with a high volume of small parts or slugs that can’t be bar fed, this style accommodates parts up to 1pound with bowl feeder part size up to 2 inches in diameter (with some customization).

Proficy(TM) Change Management v5.50 protects software and engineering assets and aids with meeting government regulatory requirements. Along with electronic signature capability, software delivers security, version control, audit trails, central storage, and automated backup and recovery features. It also includes email configuration tool with events trigger, HTML-based change history report, and compare utility that permits specification of data filter for each project.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - OCTOBER 11, 2005 - GE Fanuc Automation Americas, Inc., a unit of GE Industrial, today announced the availability of Proficy(TM) Change Management Version 5.50, a powerful tool to manage automation systems and protect software and engineering assets. This release provides significant enhancements with a focus on delivering better integration with GE Fanuc products, support for new programs, devices and functionality.

“For companies to stay competitive they must keep their automation systems running securely and efficiently,” said Gimmi Filice, Proficy Change Management Product Manager. “Proficy Change Management assists in monitoring software and data assets, protecting against device failure or operator error and meeting government regulatory requirements.”

Olsson (industrial electrical engineering and automation, Lund University, Sweden) summarizes the state of the art of instrumentation, control, and automation (ICA) and its application in wastewater treatment systems. The economic benefits of different control and operation possibilities are quantified, and qualitative benefits, such as more challenging work for operators, are also described. Several full-scale examples of how ICA has improved economic efficiency, the ease of operation, and plant robustness are presented. The book emphasizes both unit process control and plant- wide operation. Readership for the book includes process engineers and designers, researchers, and students.

Waveguide manufacturer Link Microtek has expanded its range of rotary waveguide joints with the addition of a series of L-style models that are particularly suitable for outdoor applications such as satcom or military-radar systems. As well as offering IP65 environmental protection, the new AM-RJL series rotary joints feature a rugged, lightweight aluminium construction, finished in Alochrom satin black epoxy paint. Covering the frequency range 5.8 to 15.0GHz, the L-style joints are available in five different waveguide sizes from WR137 to WR62 and can be specified with or without mounting flanges.

The AM-RJL series is precision engineered for high performance, achieving a typical insertion loss of better than 0.2dB, a typical VSWR of 1.1:1 and an average power rating in excess of 200W.

These rotary joints incorporate quarter-wavelength non-contacting chokes, and hence the lifetime is solely governed by that of the bearings (typically in excess of 50 million revolutions) and is not dependent on any RF interfaces.

In addition to the standard range of L-style rotary joints, Link Microtek can also produce custom designs to meet specific requirements.

All waveguide products are manufactured to the highest standards under the company’s BS EN ISO9001:2000 quality management system.

Huber+Suhner, supplier of components and systems for electrical and optical connectivity, announces that Guy Petignat will join the company as COO Fibreoptic + Cable Technology and member of the Executive Group Management as of 1st January 2006. Petignat, 47, is currently COO for Kaba Key + Ident Systems Europe and AsiaPacific. He is a Swiss and Australian citizen with a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

Petignat has a genuine industrial background and a proven track record with several years of experience from the Kaba group, as well as among others, more than 10 years from Ascom.

Through his activities in Europe, Asia and Australia, he also has an impressive international and multicultural background.

As the successor of Ingo Kubler, who left the company in July, Petignat will join Huber+Suhner as head of the Fibreoptic + Cable Technology Sector, reporting to CEO Urs Kaufmann.

Petignat said: ‘I am greatly looking forward to taking up the new challenges at Huber+Suhner, a global group with an attractive technology portfolio and genuine opportunities for growth’.

Kaufmann said: ‘We are happy to have enlisted Mr Petignat for our organisation’.

‘With his vast wealth of experience, he will strengthen our management team in an ideal manner’.

‘And this in a time in which we continue to forge ahead with the forward strategy we have launched’.

AlternativeSMT, the leading supplier of second-user surface-mount assembly machines for electronics manufacturing, has expanded into the area of automated optical inspection.
AlternativeSMT, the leading supplier of second-user surface-mount assembly machines for electronics manufacturing, has expanded into the area of automated optical inspection. The company is now able to supply pre-owned machines such as the Teradyne 5539C, a 5-camera system designed to inspect boards measuring up to 457 x 508 mm for defects such as missing or misoriented components, lifted leads and solder problems. As with alternativeSMT’s surface-mount machinery division, all systems are refurbished and overhauled to the most exacting standards by the company’s highly experienced team of engineers.

At alternativeSMT’s London headquarters, potential customers can see live demonstrations of the refurbished equipment, and the company also offers comprehensive training, installation, maintenance and full field support, with extended warranties that are the equivalent of the original manufacturer’s guarantees. vvvvv

A refurbishment service for feeders for Fuji surface-mount assembly machines is now being offered to end users by alternativeSMT.
A refurbishment service for feeders for Fuji surface-mount assembly machines is now being offered to end users by alternativeSMT. The company previously only carried out refurbishment as part of its pre-owned equipment sales activities. alternativeSMT has invested heavily in the latest jigs and tools, as well as Fuji-trained engineering staff, to offer comprehensive refurbishment to standards as good as, and in some cases better than, the manufacturer’s own specifications.

The refurbished feeders have been tested and proved using a system which cycles as quickly as 0.09 sec per shot (equivalent to 11 components per second).

A high degree of customisation is offered to users, who can select any relevant tape leaf and tail size to suit their particular feeder requirements.

Among a number of enhancements to the original manufacturer’s designs, the company has developed its own tape-feeder detection system as well as incorporating a number of upgrade features designed to make the feeders more user-friendly, reduce attrition at the nozzles, and protect high-value items such as chucks and shafts.

At Productronica (Munich, Germany, 6-9 November), alternativeSMT is featuring its comprehensive second-user service for the pan-European surface-mount assembly industry.
Second-user sales boosted by new capabilities At Productronica (Munich, Germany, 6-9 November), alternativeSMT is featuring its comprehensive second-user service for the pan-European surface-mount assembly industry, with its sales operation for pre-owned pick-and-place equipment boosted by a number of new developments. In addition to its established business of supplying and refurbishing second-user equipment - with particular emphasis on Fuji’s CP and QP Series and Mydata machines - alternativeSMT has recently introduced a feeder refurbishment capability as a service to end-users. The company has also developed its own feeder test jig for Fuji CP4, CP6 and cP7 feeders.

The new jig allows the alignment of feeders to be checked for a predetermined number of indexes and speeds while the machines are actually running.

alternativeSMT has also moved into the area of automated optical inspection, and can now supply pre-owned machines such as the Teradyne 5539C, a 5-camera system designed to inspect boards measuring up to 457 x 508 mm for defects such as missing or misoriented components, lifted leads and solder problems.

alternativeSMT’s knowledge of the pan-European electronics manufacturing sector, coupled with their team of highly skilled engineers - including representatives in France and Italy - results in an unrivalled capability for meeting the most stringent demands of end-users.

The company rebuilds and overhauls all machines to the most exacting standards.

In addition to cosmetic rebuilding and repainting, each machine goes through a 39-point checking and calibration service, which includes parameters over and above those in the original manufacturer’s specification.

At alternativeSMT’s facilities, potential customers can see live demonstrations of the refurbished equipment, with simulated production of their own PCBs.

The company also offers comprehensive training, installation, maintenance and full field support, with extended warranties that are the equivalent of the original manufacturer’s guarantees.

Innovations in automatic assembly systems can bring to the production line significant automated quality control benefits, particularly where the components have a high aesthetic value.
Innovations in automatic assembly systems can bring to the production line significant automated quality control benefits, particularly where the components for finished products have a high aesthetic value that must be maintained for product image integrity. Such systems have been installed and are now being proven by Scottish automatic assembly system manufacturer Parobautek in the factories of mobile handset manufacturers. In many cases, components, which have a high value in aesthetic or cosmetic terms, cannot be presented to an automatic assembly system in a random or bulk fashion because of the likelihood of abrasion during the feeding and orientation process.

Also of great importance is the fact that such components that have been subjected to additional value added processes could not be exposed to potential damage, creating an increase in product rejections.

Such valued added process would include printing, polishing and the introduction of sub-assemblies, for instance.

Therefore, Parobautek has developed a system of automatic assembly whereby such occurrences are eradicated through controlled automatic handling throughout the assembly process.

This is achieved by using vacuum-formed plastic trays in which to house and transport such valuable components, thereby reducing additional handling and orientation costs from operation to operation while simultaneously providing protection for the components, which are held in individual nests on each tray.

Intelligent tray design can also be developed to use the tray as an infeed to the assembly system workstation and to carry finished assemblies from the line when complete.

This also creates an ideal flow-line where the infeed trays present components to the assembly process and the freshly emptied nest locations on each tray are refilled with the complete assembly for maximum efficiency.

The entire assembly system, including infeeds and output lines, are contained within the protection of a cell constructed around the main assembly machine and, dependent on user specifications, access to the cell can be controlled to authorised personnel only and protection within health and safety guidelines is provided by automatic safety cut- outs which stop the process immediately entry is attempted.

A further advantage to such automatic assembly systems is that such valuable components that are sensitive to handling could also be fed into the system on a strip in the form of a ‘gutted’ strip from a press tool.

Components carried on this substrate can be offered to the assembly machine on a reel and the final component produced by completing the form and cropping out the individual part through an inverted die.

The strip could also take the form of a carrier tape, also held on a reel and indexed on each cycle so that individual components are peeled from the carrier.

This is particularly useful for presenting delicate components to the assembly system.

For instance, flimsy gaskets and thin self-adhesive parts can be handled with great efficiency through this method, whether for single-sided or double-sided adhesive parts.

Normally flimsy gaskets and thin self-adhesive components can be handled in the fashion.

The system works on both single and double sided adhesive parts.

The example shown is a simple assembly of two delicate parts where care has to be paramount during the handling operations to ensure the aesthetic value is not compromised.

The fine moulded components are loaded to the tray carriers directly from the moulding machine.

The trays are accumulated in stacks and issued to the assembly line in controlled batches.

The trays are separated into single units for processing and indexed through the workstation.

In the work station the gripper picks up the virgin mouldings and rotates to place the finished assembly into the vacant nest.

The programmable axis unit then traverses to the fixture.

The empty gripper collects the finished assemblies from the fixture nest, prior to rotating and loading the virgin mouldings.

The programmable axis returns to the tray position to repeat the cycle.

The system produces four assemblies every seven seconds.

The trays are indexed through the station and are re-stacked prior to the exit on the cell.

This ensures that there is no ingress of dust or other contamination when outside the controlled environment of the cell.

The cell structure also serves the purpose of keeping the mechanisms within the station safely guarded.

The system is controlled by a PLC complete with diagnostic and management information display screens.

A menu can be selected for any station or function on the assembly system and monitoring of individual sections can be carried out over a predetermined period.

The assembly system is supported, after commissioning, via a remote service facility where the system builder/programmer can link directly to the system via the inbuilt modem, if a problem/query arises.

Comprehensive system manuals and operator training is completed after commissioning.

The client’s technical support staff is trained in the period immediately after commissioning.

The system is designed for flexibility and can be easily changed to suit the new generation of product, or for a completely new product.

The only cost involved is the fixture change (which retains the same dowel location) and the tray form to suit the new product.

New gripper inserts can be manufactured to handle the new product; or if a vacuum gripper is used it can be repositioned.

The reel-fed components on the assembly stations are programmed/set for the product specification; the X-Y axis are then programmed to cater for the pitch/grid reference of the new trays and the machine set in production.

Parobautek, of Kirkcaldy, Fife, Scotland, is an independent company whose core expertise is in the design and manufacture of bespoke automatic assembly and quality control systems across a diverse range of specialist engineering markets.

Specifying vacuum pumps to lift a particular component in an assembly operation is something of a black art. This variable vacuum pump affords a practical solution to this problem.
Specifying vacuum pumps to lift a particular component in an assembly operation is something of a black art. This variable vacuum pump affords a practical solution to this problem. Specifying air-driven vacuum pumps can give design engineers a few sleepless nights.

Although theoretical vacuum calculations are relatively simple, in practice, correctly specified products can refuse to perform - leaving the designer somewhat perplexed.

The reasons for performance deviations lie in variations in the application dynamics; relative porosity of the material being transported may vary.

air pressure may alter within specific windows of the machine cycle, etc.

These factors make accurate pump selection somewhat difficult.

But now, KV has come up with a practical solution.

Their new Variable Vacuum Pump - designated KVDF- provides a functional solution to vacuum application problems.

With the new unit, vacuum flow can be infinitely varied (between 115 and 3400 normal litres/min) by simple rotation of the two-piece body.

Once the desired set position is reached, the unit is locked by an annular locking-ring.

At this point, the unit can be permanently mounted to the machine or (providing vacuum flow levels have been recorded) replaced by a unit of fixed performance.