Pressflow trims costs at McKechnie

Citation

(1999), "Pressflow trims costs at McKechnie", Industrial Robot, Vol. 26 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.1999.04926cab.007

Pressflow trims costs at McKechnie

Pressflow trims costs at McKechnie

Keywords Handling, Plastics, Robots

Pressflow Robots, the gantry robot division of flexible handling specialist Modular Handling, has trimmed overall production costs at Yorkshire-based McKechnie Vehicle Components with a "full-house" total assembly solution (Plate 2).

Plate 2 Pressflow Robots, the gantry robot division of flexible handling specialist Modular Handling, has trimmed overall production costs at Yorkshire-based McKechnie Vehicle Components with a "full-house" total assembly solution

The seamlessly integrated system, featuring conveyor-based handling systems and sixteen 8-axis Pressflow robots has helped to reduce year-on year production costs for the first tier wheel trim manufacturer, whose customers include Toyota, Ford and General Motors.

McKechnie's (MVC)investment in a totally automated assembly solution has already proved to be a tangible competitive advantage according to Pressflow's Birmingham based Sales Director Roger Austin who said:

The automotive industry demands defect free production and a continuous supply chain and MVC has invested in a total manufacturing solution that has had a positive effect on quafity, productivity, cycle-times and importantly, variable costs.

MVC's family of 16 Pressflow Pacer 2000 CNC controlled servo-driven robots have ensured rapid wheel trims cycle times per pair. During the cycle, injection moulded wheel trims are unloaded, trimmed and finished before being transferred to a palletising conveyor system for the ring assembly process. The trims are placed with the rings and are then transported to the final manufacturing process.

David Rhodes, MVC's Engineering Manager, has overseen the implementation of Pressflow's "total assembly system" and commented:

The nature of the market dictates that we need to stay ahead of competition by developing increasingly innovative and effective manufacturing processes. Pressflow has equipped our entire factory with a handling and assembly solution featuring robots and pallet-based conveyors, resulting in impressive cost savings, a reduced cycle time and defect-free production.

For further information please contact: Roger Austin, Sales Director, Modular Handling on Tel: +44 (0) 121 250 2500.