ATI Industrial Automation End-Effector eNews

ATI UTILITY COUPLERS ELIMINATE EQUIPMENT FAILURE AT KTH PARTS INDUSTRIES

There is no better way to resolve a problem than eliminating it entirely. At KTH Parts Industries Inc., automating a manual equipment changeover process using ATI’s Utility Couplers accomplished that very feat. More specifically, the new process eliminates roughly 65 hours per year of downtime per line, reduces the total cost of operations, and increases equipment utilization and productivity. One of KTH’s core competencies is the design and implementation of flexible welding lines for automotive underbody components. Their welding lines use complex fixtures called “jigs” to hold the components in place while a robot welds them together.
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GENESIS SYSTEMS GROUP INNOVATES NDI SYSTEMS WITH ATI END-EFFECTORS

The NSpect family of Non-Destructive Inspection (NDI) Systems from Genesis Systems Group is making quite an impression. By combining ATI End-Effectors, KUKA Robots, and vast engineering expertise, Genesis creates more efficient methods of NDI that encourage safety and increase quality. Genesis’ customers have confidence in NSpect products as well–the company has integrated more than 30 NSpect Systems in the last five years. The purpose of NDI is to evaluate components and finished goods for structural integrity and fitness of use while keeping them intact.
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ATI TOOL CHANGERS TRANSFORM SCHMALZ'S DESIGN-TEST CENTER

Schmalz recently deployed ATI’s Robotic Tool Changers in a new, sustainable, automated design-testing application. The results bring more comprehensive concept proofing and decreased project turnaround time for customers. It is widely known that ATI products can increase the productivity of automated systems, but at Schmalz, this reaches a whole new level. Each project at Schmalz is unique and begins with a full-scale evaluation of the customer’s existing application. Historically, this is one of the most time-consuming tasks in the project timeline due to its heavy reliance on manual labor.
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FINE-TUNED FEEDBACK FROM FORCE/TORQUE SENSORS

As robots and robotic technology become more affordable, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of repetitive processes being outsourced to machines. Automating these grueling jobs helps move people out of harm’s way and into roles involving judgment and reasoning, which no machine or program can replicate. Products like ATI’s Force/Torque (F/T) Sensors bring a sense of touch or “haptics” to automated systems by allowing the robot arm to actually feel what is happening in the process. Flexible Automation, Inc. (FAI) has developed a system that utilizes ATI’s F/T Sensors to provide haptic feedback in quality testing of vehicle climate control modules.
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EDGEWATER STREAMLINES ASSEMBLY CHALLENGES WITH ATI TOOL CHANGERS

For a major automotive client, Edgewater Automation recently developed an assembly system utilizing ATI’s Tool Changers to increase the productivity of their existing production line. When coupled with increased throughput and reduced labor requirements, the application upgrade afforded the customer tremendous savings of time and money, as well as numerous safety benefits and improved equipment utilization. The customer’s initial problem was a good one to have; due to increased demand, they had more orders than they had the capacity to produce. Having more work than you know what to do with is usually a sign that your customers are happy and your reputation is good.
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