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ABB Robotics/AFC Stamping and Production, Inc.
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AFC Stamping and Production, Inc. (www.afcstamping.com) produces finished components used in power sports and automotive applications, and automotive stampings that have welded components. The Dayton, Ohio, company was established in 1989, and employs 100 people. It is a subsidiary of FC Industries, whose family of companies includes Barsplice Products Inc., AFC Tool Inc., Dayton Precision Punch and FC International. AFC Stamping and Production is housed in an 115,000-square-foot facility that accommodates nine production lines, including a CNC bender, end finish equipment, resistance welding, and fully equipped press and manual welding departments. Jon Lambert, engineering manager for AFC Stamping and Production, Inc., is responsible for capital expenditure, continuous improvement, plant layout and process and tooling concepts, and supports the company’s lean manufacturing initiatives and internal and external customer requirements. Before adding a robot to the workforce, the product mix was produced by an outside contractor. Prior to outsourcing, the assemblies were welded manually, creating several disadvantages, including cost, lack of manpower, operator control of quality and poor product flows. These disadvantages and several additional criteria led to the company’s decision to consider a robotic solution to improve its product mix. The criteria included repeatability, flexibility, the availability of personnel, which means that the robot eliminated the need for skilled welders, ability to eliminate load time from the time needed to manufacture one unit, improved internal and external quality, and increased throughput. After two months of research on robots, AFC Stamping and Production determined the U2 cell from ABB Robotics (www.abb.com) would fit its needs. ABB Robotics was selected based on past history with AFC Stamping and Production, pricing, quick changeover time, and the cell’s compact design. AFC Stamping and Production has worked with ABB Robotics for six years. However, AFC Stamping and Production also picked ABB Robotics because of the company’s competitive pricing. “The U2 cell configuration allowed us to achieve quick change tooling and handling, so multiple part numbers can be run through the cell in any given shift. In addition, changeover time is less than 10 minutes – from the last good piece to the first good piece,” Lambert said. The U2 cell also fit AFC Stamping and Production’s lean cell configuration well due to the compact design of the enclosure. The parts produced on the ABB U2 cell are either a left and right pair or require two fixtures for completion, making the U2 cell configuration with one and two sides ideal. “In general terms, while the one side is welding, the two side is loading. The goal is to match the welding and loading times so by the time the one side is welded and in start position, the two side is loaded and ready to weld. If the cycles are balanced, we have eliminated the cost of loading and unloading the fixtures,” Lambert said. Since adding the ABB U2 cell in May 2006, AFC Stamping and Production has eliminated customer rejections for missing, incomplete or non-compliant welds, and cut labor costs by $64,000 in its first year of operation. That savings is expected to be maintained over the next two and a half years, Lambert said. The U2 cell is a FlexArc robotic welding cell – a complete robot system available in several flexible and versatile, standing modular packages. FlexArc production cells can be used independently or in combination to form mini-assembly zones, an assembly line or a complete workshop. The main application for the U2 cell is arc welding. The U2 cell features one IRB 1600 robot equipped with an IRC 5 controller, dual door operation, perimeter guarding that complies with ANSI/RIA 15.06/1999, man/ machine (HMI) interface, welding power supply, robotic welding torch that can be air or water cooled, robotic torch cleaner dresser, a metal mounting base that is transportable with fork lift pockets, cables that are completely integrated into the base of the cell, and a cell door interlock device. The IRB 1600 is a high-performance robot with a combination of proven technology and welltested innovations, resulting in high MTBF, low maintenance requirements and short repair times. The IRB 1600 features short cycle times, good path accuracy, position repeatability of 0.05 mm, and payload in 5 kg or 7 kg options. http://www.weldingmag.com/323/Issue/Article/False/77394/Issue |
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