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Case Studies

CASE STUDY: Screen Printing for Circuit Boards

Case StudiesOverviewIn order to improve the accuracy and speed of screen printing circuit boards, a client came to us with the following issue: The Problem To print a circuit board accurately every time, a squeegee has to press the ink through the screen evenly and...

CASE STUDY: Microscope Slide Assembly

Case StudiesOverviewThe Problem The automation of microscope slide assembly is challenging. Glass microscope slides are fragile, and cover glasses are thinner and even more delicate. Often, assembly is in a clean-room environment to avoid cross-contamination of slides...

CASE STUDY: Medical Assembly

Case StudiesOverviewThe Problem The modern manufacture of medical equipment such as surgical needles, medical catheters and other disposable parts have high manufacturing standards. Rigorous production and test procedures are a necessity to maintain high quality...

CASE STUDY: Chip Mounting

Case StudiesOverviewThe Problem Most production line chip mounting processes have restrictions because of the speed of their pick and place system. Using traditional pneumatic actuators results in a short life-span, a high failure rate and the system can therefore...

ORLIN Case Studies

ORLIN provides a personal, reliable, professional service to our customers and has been in business for over a decade. Some case studies of our applications in use demonstrate our fantastic track record of satisfied customers. The versatility and success of ORLIN’s...

CASE STUDY: Screw Thread Check

Overview

The Problem

A manufacturer in the automotive industry produces a high-value component for high-end car engines. In the past, they have checked the threads in this part by hand; having workers on the production line who would manually insert a screw plug gauge. The manual checking was costly, slowed the production line, was subject to human error, was reliant on a skilled workforce and could lead to injuries because of repetitive strain injury.

Screw Thread CheckerThe manufacturer’s requirement was to integrate an automatic solution into a modern production environment and include automatic checking for:

– Thread depth
– Number of threads
– Faults, such as crossed thread/no thread
– Oversize/undersized thread indicating worn or damaged tap

Other requirements were:

– High throughput
– Objective measurement data output for each part for quality control
– Reliability – 24/7 operation
– Cost effective solution

The ORLIN Solution

A conventional thread gauge is mounted on a linear/rotary actuator (in this case an LAR55-100-75FS). All of SMAC’s LAR series actuators have high resolution linear and rotary encoders which precisely measure position, angle and distance. This data is monitored by the controller and compared to pass/fail parameters to identify and reject faulty parts. It can also be interpreted and fed back to a database for a complete Quality Control history.

To carry out the checking procedure, SMAC’s unique softland routine is employed to find the part and land with a controlled, low force so as not to damage the gauge. While maintaining a low contact force, the actuator then rotates anticlockwise until the thread gauge drops into the thread. This is indicated by a sharp change in linear position. It then rotates clockwise at a pre-determined torque, therefore driving the gauge into the thread. An over-torque situation indicates a fault such as crossed thread, insufficient thread depth or excessive debris.

Other checks that can be carried out include measuring linear motion during one rotation of the rotary axis confirming the pitch of the thread and a push-pull test with the rotary axis held stationery, giving the play in the thread.

When combined with SMAC’s controllers, the actuator is fully programmable in position, velocity, acceleration and force, and therefore can carry out a comprehensive, qualitative check of a screw thread in just a few seconds. Part changeover is achieved simply and easily by selecting a different program (either memory-resident or downloaded via RS232) and if necessary, changing the thread gauge.

OTHER CASE STUDIES

Other Case Studies
CASE STUDY: Chip Mounting

CASE STUDY: Chip Mounting

Case StudiesOverviewThe Problem Most production line chip mounting processes have restrictions because of the speed of...