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Article: Assembly: how much automation do you need? (Cover Story) (Cover Story)
- Article from:
- Tooling & Production
- Article date:
- December 1, 1993
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1993 Nelson Publishing. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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How much automation do you need? The answer may not be as obvious as it first appears even in automotive applications.
When one robot won't do, try two. That might be the thrust of discussion of a new concept called the Assembly Cell System (ACS) introduced by Hirata Corp of America, Indianapolis, IN, one robotic module of which is pictured here and on the cover.
ACS, according to J Stephen Race, Hirata America president, is intended to automate automotive assembly operations that are primarily manually performed. Included are engine assembly, engine dressing, transmission assembly, and front and rear axle assembly.
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