Square D Company, of Lincoln Nebraska, came to us with a problem. How to
teach automated machine operators basic troubleshooting skills, in order
to reduce downtime and minimize the need for calling on the maintenance
department for minor machine problems.
The Lincoln Square D facility is the largest manufacturing plant producing
circuit breakers in the US. While several product lines are highly automated,
many others are made up of a series of dedicated, task or multi-task automated
machines devoted to a particular stage of the process. These machines, often
run by PLCs, assemble, weld, cut, and test subassemblies and total assemblies.
Often run by a single operator, and including pneumatics, hydraulics, cams,
sensors and task-specific tooling, these machines have a tendency to drift
"out of wack" creating out-of-spec parts. Often, the fault is
something simple; a loose fixture element, a bad sensor, a poorly adjusted
pneumatic control valve, a re-positioned limit switch or a multitude of
other small problems. |
