Weidplas, a supplier of sub-assemblies to the automotive industry, uses the maXYmos system to ensure that components supplied to its customers are always within specification. When the company won a contract to build and supply a complete air damper control unit which involved assembling one component in which an electric motor actuates several dampers via a mechanism, a specialist was commissioned to design and build an ergonomic workstation for the assembly of the control unit.
Quality assurance capability was an essential part of the workstation, using force-displacement monitoring to ensure that every mechanism was fully compliant with the specification demanded by the end user. The workstation designer had worked with Kistler on a number of projects and the QA requirement was met by using the company’s maXYmos BL force-displacement measuring system to monitor, evaluate and document the quality of each production step and the final assembly based on a force-displacement curve progression.
In the production of the damper control mechanism, a total of eight individual components had to be installed sequentially including a coupling rod with a related splint that had to be pressed into place. With these press fit operations in particular, the joint can only be checked by a destructive testing of each completed mechanism, which obviously was not a valid solution.
With the Kistler maXYmos system monitoring each step of the assembly process, any out of specification force-displacement characteristics are identified in real time and the defective mechanism rejected before further processing. If a process value is within the target limits, it is displayed to the operator in green, or otherwise in red. This means that any process deviations are recorded and signalled immediately and potential faulty parts can be filtered out at an early stage. Quality Assurance of all manufactured parts is not only maintained but is provable as each step in the assembly process is documented.
Force-displacement monitoring by the Kistler maXYmos system provides the basis for reliable, cost effective, zero-defect production. Independent of the operating personnel, the measuring system ensures that all processes are executed to a consistent level of quality. Based on the force-displacement curve produced by the maXYmos BL, faulty parts are detected at the earliest stage possible and removed from the production line. This contributes significantly to the lean production approach by saving on resources and maximizing production efficiency.
