Automation Equipment

About Automation Equipment and Automation Equipment Manufacturers Including: Assembly Equipment, Assembly Lines, Assembly Machinery, Assembly Machines Automation Systems, Custom Machinery, Factory Automation, Machine Automation, Manufacturing Automation, Production Equipment, Robotic Automation & Systems Integration.

Automation equipment is crucial to any manufacturing process. Industries that produce mass quantities of products rely on automation equipment extensively as part of daily operations in their factories and production plants. Assembly systems include conveyors, lifts, pick and place equipment, palletizers, testing equipment, marking equipment, pallet transfer systems, etc. Flexible assembly systems are modular, allowing for expansion and process refinement. These systems can all be manually loaded. Much of the machinery used in assembly is custom-designed for the product to be manufactured.
 
Automation equipment is capable of performing a wide variety of tasks, including welding, eyeleting, metal injecting, riveting, brazing, screw driving, nut driving and soldering. Automated assembly systems may incorporate control, CAD/CAM or turnkey systems. Various movement technologies, such as carousels or other rotary-style systems, continuous motion, inline indexing, walking beam transfer, etc., are also utilized in automation equipment. Conveyer and palletized machine systems are used in production processes that need continuous in-line motion. High-speed assembly systems typically operate at speeds ranging from 200 to 1000 parts per minute and are used for high-volume production. Automated assembly systems can also be designed to apply secondary marking (e.g. bar-codes, labels) or package the product directly from the automation equipment.
 
Robotic technology is now becoming a standard part of most assembly equipment. This emergence is making the human component of assembly less of a requirement, at least at the hands-on assembly level. Humans are still needed to program, create and monitor the productivity of fully automated robotic assembly systems. Robots have low maintenance requirements, as they have few electrical and mechanical components. They provide simple, flexible and extremely reliable results. Robots are capable of handling more than just one type of product, provide rapid or automatic changeover and are programmable. They are also easy to integrate into existing assembly systems.
 
Automation equipment manufacturers primarily custom-design the equipment based on client needs. Their goal is to design cost-effective, labor-saving systems that provide consistent production. Automation equipment manufacturers are often capable of designing semi-automated, as well as fully automated systems. In semi-automation, the operator can intervene during various stages of assembly, depending on the design. Services offered by automation equipment manufacturers may include equipment and control system design, CAD/CAM support, systems integration and on-site support and training. Industries that benefit from these custom-designed assembly systems include the aerospace/aeronautics, agriculture, computer, electrical, medical, semiconductor and food and beverage industries.

Automation Equipment Types

• Assembly equipment is used in the production process.
  
• Assembly lines are manufacturing processes in which parts are added to a product in a sequential manner.
  
• Assembly machines are automated parts of the assembly process.
  
• Automation equipment is the group of computerized machines used in manufacturing and packaging processes.
• Automation systems can include assembly, laser marking, bulk feeder, material handling and injection molding systems, plastics processors, radial and axial inserters, component sequencers, chip component mounters, etc. Automation systems are used in a wide variety of industries, such as the manufacturing, pharmaceutical and consumer products industries.
• Control systems guide or manipulate various elements in order to achieve a prescribed result.
• Factory automation consists of different technologies, philosophies and disciplines, the combination of which varies from process to process and plant to plant. Factory automation systems can include controllers, SCADA software, operator interfaces, I/O, drives and communications networks.
• Fastening systems include blind, threaded, non-threaded, concrete and general construction fastening systems. Fasteners, such as screws, nails, bolts and concrete anchors, connect two pieces together that would otherwise have been separate.
  
• Hydraulic lifts (http://www.hydraulic-lifts.net) are work platforms used to raise and lower material, personnel and work pieces for loading and assembly positioning. Hydraulic lifts are crucial pieces of assembly machinery.
• Machine automation refers to the computer-operated machines used in an assembly line.
• Palletized conveyers are modular systems that use pallets, or trays, to move parts from one station to the next for machining or assembly processes.
• Pneumatic grippers are parts of assembly machinery that are often lightweight and capable of handling and moving pieces along in the assembly process.
• Robotic systems are often used in conjunction with automated assembly machinery. Robotic systems, whose benefits include re-programmability, handle more detailed assembly jobs and are designed to move material, parts, tools or specified devices through variable programmed motions for the performance of a variety of tasks.
• Silk screen machines are a type of assembly machinery that produce a desired image onto various fabrics and textiles.
  
• Synchronous chassis machines are often custom built machines for the assembly of pieces that include three or more parts. A rotating table, which rotates parts into position, is typically a part of the main machine.
  
• Vibratory bowl feeders (http://www.vibratory-feeders.com),the most common type of parts feeder , has a vibrating and turning bowl with a  helical track that climbs the inside wall of the bowl into which parts are dumped. As the parts climb the track, they encounter barriers that adjust the parts in a certain way, making subsequent assembly easier.