The Assembling of complex assembly groups (electromechanical or purely mechanical is a demanding task, due to the ever-increasing cost pressure in the automotive industry, shorter lifecycles of the products as well as the enormous variety of variants. On the one hand, the production steps are too complex to be automated.
On the other hand, due to legal and compliance requirements, traceability and a general assurance about the production steps must be ensured. These two really contradictory requirements - no automation possible versus seamless traceability - can be effectively combined with Ziemann & Urban`s system of „guided assembly".
The turnkey system is characterized by its flexibility and scalability so that it can be adapted to new requirements whenever needed. The results demonstrate a clear and quantifiable increase in product quality and a noticeable higher efficiency in production
Previous situation/problem
In many companies, complex assembly groups are manually manufactured at different individual stations, since products or partial products / components can not be produced fully automatically. This has the following consequences:
- if Work instructions exist then only in written form
- They often are not noticed Validation of the production steps is not possible
- No documentation about which step was taken at which time
- No comprehensible assembly history of the part produced
- Quality inspection can only be performed on final component
- High Error cost. Defects, such as defective parts, can only be detected in the installed state. The consequences are repair/ rework or even scrapping
- In fact, batch production has turned into single parts manufacturing as a consequence!
Conceptual Formulation
The following points must be carried out by the system:
- safeguarding of assembly process
- Complete test cycle/ end-of-line tester
- Final inspection or final measurement
- Documentation
Solution
Ziemann & Urban`s "guided assembly" system fulfills all these tasks and realizes with single stations or a complete assembly line:
- visualization
- user guidance
- documentation
- inspection tasks
It consists of different, perfectly coordinated components - from own development and for decades approved at customers worldwide:
- ZU Vision:
The proprietary image processing system is today one of the leading Vision systems and fulfills all requirements of industrial image processing
- ZU Control:
Software for creating test and machine sequences with graphical user interface with touch screen
- ZU Com:
Powerful interface software for the integration of the required hardware and measurement technology
Features
- Industrial vision system
- automatic sequence control
- user guidance
- Hardware connection, e.g. external sensors and measurement technology
- Measurement of current, voltage and torque
- Controlling various bus systems (e.g. LIN, CAN)
- Graphical visualization via CAD 3D model
- Multi-level user management
- Control Panels or Touch Screens
- Import of product info via barcode or matrix code scanner
Optional Features
- Database connection via CSV Direct connection to SAP Connection to CAQ systems
Special Characteristics
Flexibility and the combination of the individual steps to a high-performance assembly cell characterise the Ziemann & Urban system. The systems are proven in numerous installations. The turn-key system is easily scalable and functionally expandable (e.g. Flasher station for installing software). Vision Systems can be integrated as an option. The result is a customized solution tailored to user requirements.
Benefits at a glance
- Merging of splitted production steps
- Work Instructions / User Guideance
- Full Control in each single step
- End of line test specified by the customer (e.g. software update)
- Documentation
Summary
With the system "Guided assembly“, Ziemann & Urban makes a further step towards greater efficiency in production and product quality.
