Assembly Automation
Assembly Automation For Manufacturers
Implementing automation into your assembly process is a complex task, but it’s essential to keep up with the current manufacturing industry’s labor shortage and increasing labor costs. In order to ensure your business reaps the benefits of automation, it’s important to partner with a company with expertise in every step of the assembly automation process, down to the smallest detail.
Whether the discrete components of your assembly line are small precision pieces or larger parts, Isthmus can assess the fundamental aspects of your overall process – production throughput, component part handling, assembly sequence, and in-line inspection – and develop industrial automation system integrators that improve your business and ensure a rewarding return on investment.
Assembly Manufacturing for Manufacturers
Production Throughput
An automated assembly line can operate continuously without interruption from breaks, shift changes, or human error.
Component Part Handling
Robotics systems can repeatedly position components and parts to highly specific parameters – in ways that are incredibly difficult to perform manually.
Assembly Sequence
By performing the same steps in the assembly process in the same order every time, an automated assembly sequence removes human variability and increases precision and production speed.
In-Line Quality Inspection
Advanced vision systems and sensors can inspect 100% of your product for defects in milliseconds.
Flexible Assembly Systems
Easily adapt to new products or design changes with reprogrammable, modular automation that minimizes downtime and maximizes ROI.
Robotics & Systems Integration
Seamlessly integrate robotics systems to enhance precision, speed, and consistency across every stage of your assembly process.
Advantages of Automating Assembly Production
Lower Production Costs
Automation technology creates less waste, performs less errors, and lowers labor expenses. This increase in efficiency lowers production costs and contributes to a healthy ROI.
Increased Quality & Consistency:
Removing human variability from repetitive assembly tasks and replacing it with precision assembly automation technologies greatly improves product consistency and quality. It also greatly reduces product defects and any resulting quality control issues.
Increased Manufacturing Capacity:
Assembly automation technology can work much faster – and at a consistently faster rate – than a human worker. This opens the door for your business to ramp up capacity and take on larger contracts.
Common Assembly Automation Questions
Is my business a good candidate for assembly automation?
Do you have a high-speed or high-volume production line? Do your products have limited or similar variants? Is inline quality control and traceability necessary? Are your products complex to manufacture or require extreme precision? Do your products pose ergonomic or safety risks to operators? If any of this rings true to you, assembly automation will greatly benefit your business. Assembly automation increases throughput and consistency, especially for complex and high-precision products.
Does assembly automation adhere to lean manufacturing principles?
Yes. At Isthmus, we design custom systems that deliver exactly what you need without unnecessary additional hardware. The desired result is a simple and streamlined assembly process that creates the least possible amount of waste and improves yield.
Which parts of my assembly line can be automated?
Isthmus can develop equipment to automate virtually every part of your assembly line, from initial part feed all the way through to packaging.
What assembly automation equipment do you offer?
Our experienced engineers can design anything from highly specialized fixed machines to flexible, multi-purpose robots. In order to meet the needs of your unique assembly line, we will draw on our decades of automation engineering experience to develop a custom plan which carefully integrates the assembly automation equipment that best suits your facility. This could include pick-and-place robots, continuous assembly machines, and flexible assembly systems (FAS) – just to name a few.
How much does assembly automation cost? When will I see the ROI?
ssembly automation is a major up-front investment. We can’t predict a specific cost, since that depends on the amount of automation equipment we implement and the level of specialization. Our team will work with you to scope the project and optimize the ROI for your application.
Does Isthmus outsource any part of the assembly automation designing and building process?
Isthmus does not outsource. We have all of the required engineering and assembly resources we need at our Madison, Wisconsin facility.
How long does the assembly automation process take?
The timeline varies depending on the complexity of the project (more complex projects will take more time). At Isthmus, we handle every aspect of the automation process, from concept development all the way through to installation and ongoing support. Relying on a single source for your automation needs facilitates an efficient and convenient process.
Pest Control Device
Assembly of multiple discrete components, with required production rates of 60 ppm. Rotary index assembly chassis.
Oral Cleaning Adapter
In-line indexing assembly at a rate of 40 ppm.
Diagnostic Device Assembly
Precision component assembly with multiple processing steps. 25 ppm, multiple rotary index chassis.