Inspection & Marking Solution for the Automotive Industry
Used to perform multiple tests on newly manufactured automotive components, this automated inspection and marking system was designed and built by TCA from the ground up: it went from concept to completion in only 18 weeks.
Measuring 10 ft x 30 ft with a powder coated structural steel support frame, this complex inspection system features SCARA robotics and Allen Bradley operator interface, PLC, and safety controller. With a cycle time of only 9 seconds, manually loaded fixtures containing numerous parts are fed through safety-interlocked access doors to the part loader, where they are robotically transferred for leak and flow testing.
Parts that pass inspection are marked with an inkjet dot, while failed ones are stacked in a separate nest. A TCA-designed and manufactured hot laminating system applies a PET film to each part prior to hipot testing, after which the pass-fail process is repeated. Accepted parts are then discharged through a flatbed conveyor.
TCA designed this turn-key system using SolidWorks and manufactured it completely in-house in our modern machining and assembly facility. We also developed the HMI and programmed the PLC. The system was run at full production rate prior to installation, and we provided full commissioning, operator training, and documentation, including manuals, AutoCad assembly drawings, and schematics.