Product category:
Machinery and Production Equipment
News Release from: Mikron | Subject: GO5 linear assembly system
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 13 August 2002
Assembly system aids design re-use
Mikron reckons its GO5 linear assembly system heralds a new dimension in high-performance assembly technology.
With product life spans becoming ever shorter, a manufacturer's ability to respond quickly to a changing market is vital Mikron's latest generation high-speed assembly system, the GO5, delivers an unrivalled standard of flexibility and performance to give volume manufacturers the winning edge
Mikron's new GO5 assembly system marks a sea change in the design of the company's linear high-speed assembly equipment.
The challenge facing the Mikron engineers was to develop a system that would allow manufactures to quickly bring a new product to market, achieve volume production in the shortest possible time, and then to control production volumes in response to the changes in market demand.
By using standardised modules and easily configured software, together with expert project management, Mikron has succeeded in reducing delivery times by up to 50% with a typical installation taking only three to five months to complete.
This dramatic reduction in lead-time will give manufacturers a valuable advantage when the need to be first-to-market is key to a products success.
The ability to increase or scale down output in response to changing market forces, without wasting valuable resources, is an important factor in the success of a high volume manufacturing plant.
The modular configuration of the GO5 enables the manufacturer to begin production at an expedient level and expand the system progressively in line with the demands of the market.
At the end of a product's commercial life cycle up to 60% of the assembly equipment can be re-used to produce the next generation of products.
By re-using the equipment in this way the working life of the machinery is considerably extended and the return on initial capital maximised.
Cycle speeds of up to 100cycle/min are now possible compared with 60cycle/min for Mikron's other Flexcell models.
The introduction of fully stand-alone process modules has also dramatically reduced product changeover times.
This innovative concept allows the re-configuration, testing and de-bugging of a new product to take place offline before its introduction to the production process.
This has resulted in changeover downtime being reduced to only 15min.
The GO5 is fully compatible with the requirements for clean room operation as standard.
Extensive use of stainless steel to withstand frequent cleaning and the incorporation of permanently lubricated moving elements within the cells ensures conformity with class 10,000 clean room standards.
For even more demanding applications requiring clean room conditions exceeding class 10,000 Mikron have developed a laminar flow option which introduces super-filtered clean air directly above the fixture pallets.
Mikron is sure that the GO5 high-speed assembly system offers a unique investment opportunity in the rapidly changing and sometimes volatile arena of volume production engineering.
By vastly improving the reusability of the equipment and simplifying its construction and maintenance, the initial capital investment can be amortised more quickly and the system's service life extended.
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