Transportation Case Study
ATC Automation provides custom assembly and test systems for a variety of industries including the Transportation Business Sector. As the transportation industry continues its move to electrification, the demand for motor/stator assemblies has increased. Many traditional ICE tier suppliers are innovating with new electrification technologies. ATC automation has provided custom automated solutions for assembling and testing these electric vehicle systems for several customers. ATC’s experience with a long-time customer incorporates a non-synchronous assembly system with on-line manual assembly stations, semi-automated stations, and on-line automated stations. The project also included several off-line mini cells that feed the main assembly line.
The shaft and rotor assembly cell includes a close tolerance shaft press before moving the assembly to a magnetizer. A series of impulses at various heights and skew angles are used to magnetize the rotor. Flux density is then checked to ensure the proper level of magnetization has been achieved. Lastly, the magnetized rotor assembly is pressed into the housing on the non-synchronous main line.
The reject strategy for the cell is to route a reject to a repair cell. After determining the reject status, the assembly can be re-routed back through the assembly line to produce a finished quality assembly. To assure quality, the system utilizes a full traceability system to provide the finished product with a complete birth history.