All Maintenance articles – Page 14
-
ArticleCompressed air gets connected
iConn is a cloud-based, air management platform from Gardner Denver’s CompAir brand. The company says the system can provide historic, real-time, predictive and cognitive analytics, enabling users to rectify potential issues before they happen.It’s claimed this cloud platform allows users to monitor compressor performance from a single location using a ...
-
ArticleThe upward curve of servo
The recent installation of what is claimed to be the biggest ever servopress machine anywhere in global automotive metalforming sector demonstrates the key advances made in pressing technologyServo press technology has been making increasing inroads into automotive metalforming applications for some time now. The reasons are not particular to the ...
-
ArticlePutting the Kia into Slovakia
With its production numbers continuing to increase, the Kia Motors Slovakia facility in Žilina is flying the flag for smaller car-producing nationsA picturesque setting is not a metric that OEMs necessarily value when selecting production sites, but it is one in which Kia Motors Slovakia (KMS) scores highly. The facility ...
-
ArticleCapital gains
Having made more than 1m Mercedes-Benz cars at its Beijing factory, BBAC is proud of its place in the Daimler portfolio. AMS travelled to China in order to tour the largest Mercedes-Benz car factory in the worldMade in China, for China: that has been the Mercedes-Benz strategy for more than ...
-
ArticleGoing with the flow
AMS takes a look at Honda's innovative ARC production system, recently installed at Prachinburi in ThailandDescribed by Honda as a unique assembly line that differs from conventional systems by incorporating flowing cell production units into the main line, the newly developed Assembly Revolution Cell (ARC) line became operational at Prachinburi, ...
-
ArticleHyundai’s power share
Its plant at Cangzhou is the latest example of how Hyundai sees clear advantages in implementing Inductive Power Transfer technologyInductively powered conveyors have been successfully implemented across automotive manufacturing facilities for many years. Among the users and supporters of this technology, the Hyundai Motor Group is probably the largest user ...
-
ArticleDigital documentation
Dürr claims its EcoDocu smart documentation system simplifies commissioning, operation, and maintenance in a paint shop. The company says that until recently the technical documentation for a paint shop took up around 150 ring binders, but now EcoDocu stores this information digitally on a data carrier so that it is ...
-
ArticleNew booster lubrication treatment
Prime Lubrication Treatment (PLT) a booster lubricant, has been launched by Tata Steel. Developed in conjunction with the Netherlands-based Coil Coating Technologies (CCT) the company says PLT offers improved press performance of GI steels when compared to those treated with standard conventional oil, and enables manufacturers to move away from ...
-
ArticleA digital value chain
For OEMs and suppliers, the transformation into a digital enterprise is crucial for achieving optimum plant availability, production flexibility, and competitivenessIn order to optimise the commissioning costs and ensure the necessary level of quality, starting with the first vehicle produced, each start-up process must be perfectly planned. The digitalisation of ...
-
ArticlePaint smart
Geico COO Daryush Arabnia talks about how humans and machines use I4.0 concepts in the paintshopWe have discussed in the past the way in which Geico has embraced Industry 4.0 concepts in its paintshop developments. How are these concepts taking shape?Daryush Arabnia: Industry 4.0 has had a big impact and ...
-
ArticleCapturing detail
New interfaces for simple and robust communication between production plant and measuring system are the key to the advance of Industry 4.0The most important measure for optimising manufacturing processes is quality control involving measurement, analysis, and correction processes. In recent years, the three-dimensional digitising of the actual states of finished ...
-
ArticleSmall steps – big gains
Mike Farish looks at how a leading tier supplier has implemented an IoT strategy to its manufacturing operationsWhat is the best way to implement an Industry 4.0 or Internet of Things (IoT) strategy – a single, intense company-wide campaign or a gradualist approach in which a series of small projects ...
-
ArticleBehaviour study
Big data technology has enabled Gestamp to tackle energy consumption at several of its plants and, crucially, closely observe just how equipment behaves in operationBack in 2014, Gestamp resolved to address a noted upturn in its energy consumption. The Spain-based company specialises in designing, developing, and manufacturing metallic assemblies and ...
-
ArticleZero Downtime
GM has ambitious plans to implement a zero down time approach using cloud based computing to connect all of its production robots worldwideRobots are now not just commonplace items of equipment on automotive factory floors they are absolutely vital to the implementation of automated manufacturing strategies that successfully combine the ...
-
ArticlePlug and produce
Dennis Kolberg, head of research at the department of innovative factory systems at the German Research Centre for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), discusses developing and creating the Smart Factory and how Industry 4.0 will result in a paradigm shift in production operations How will I4.0 change the automotive manufacturing industry?Dennis Kolberg ...
-
ArticleReal-time reliability
Mike Farish looks at how the Industry 4.0 concept has become a reality at a leading US transmission manufacturerThe concept of Industry 4.0 (I4.0) does not necessarily lend itself to a precise definition. Indeed the fact that more or less the same set of ideas is also known variously as ...
-
ArticleSmarter and safer
As production facilities grow in complexity through the interconnection of cyber, physical and human capabilities, automotive manufacturers are encountering additional safety risks alongside new possibilitiesAutomotive manufacturing is entering what Christian Dunckern, head of BMW Group Production System, Planning, Toolmaking and Plant Engineering, calls “the time of smart devices and digitalisation”, ...
-
Article
Joining forces
Complex parts, precision fits, no margin for error; it’s no wonder automation is such a vital ingredient of successful powertrain assembly linesModern lines are faster, safer and more reliable than ever before, thanks in large part to automation. While intensive, dedicated lines designed for high-volume throughput were the preserve of ...
-
ArticleCompact tomography technology
TomoScope technology is now available in a new compact format says Werth. The company claims its new TomoScope XS combines many advantages of various machine classes. It features a transmission tube with a monoblock design that produces a small focal spot even at high X-ray power, which it’s claimed allows ...
-
ArticleJoining forces
Complex parts, precision fits, no margin for error; it’s no wonder automation is such a vital ingredient of successful powertrain assembly linesModern lines are faster, safer and more reliable than ever before, thanks in large part to automation. While intensive, dedicated lines designed for high-volume throughput were the preserve of ...