Essential Automation Engineered to be Made Simply

Application Spotlight

Basic fully automated robot screwdriving assembly machine drives quality control and boosts labor utilization.

An automotive steering wheel manufacturer was looking for labor savings to boost their competitive advantage for a switch assembly process.  The end customer increased quality assurance requirements without providing capital equipment funding.  Visumatic teamed up with the factory process engineers to create a cost-effective solution.

The straight-forward design of this machine allowed space savings and component simplification.  A painted tubular steel frame provided support and the automatic screwfeeding system was located on a movable stand allowing maximum placement flexibility.  PLC controls were implemented and coupled with a touch screen HMI for on-the-fly process feedback.

The machine also includes an X-Y linear coordinate robot system.  A Visumatic Power Driver, which incorporates a transducerized driver motor with programmable torque/angle control, is mounted on the X-axis.  The fixture is mounted on the Y-axis.  Both the drive spindle and fixture movements are coordinated by the on-board robot controller.

The robot moves to positions, feeding and driving six M3 screws to 0.8 Nm torque.  HMI graphical display indicates screw drive pass/fail for torque, angle, and depth per location.  Fault notification is via audible alarm and visual light tower status indicator.

This X-Y configuration minimized the moment impact enhancing robot longevity while increasing operational speed.  The compact design simplified cable management and reduced operator steps between workstations.  Extending the fixture towards the operator improved ergonomics by reducing the reach required to load/unload.

Principle functionality elements were included without the added cost of bells and whistles.  A single worker can now perform two processes cutting labor in half.  The Visumatic assembly machine provides hard SPC data and the resultant quality assurance measures for them to earn repeat business.

Check out other configuration packages on our linear coordinate robot screwdriving page.

Assembly Machine – Front View

Model 94 Screw Feeder independently mounted on a rolling caster stand