More Advantages through Injection Moulding
“Our special challenge was to accommodate the same technology from our large tractors in a much smaller roof. We also wanted to achieve a fresh and modern Fendt design with the new roof modules”, explains Andreas Stieglitz, Head of the Cabins and Hoods Department at Fendt. “The structural foam injection moulding technology offers the best overall result in terms of design implementation, high quality and a modern Fendt design.”
Due to the design freedom offered by the injection moulding process, the complex assemblies could be replaced by two large roof outer and inner shells. The new construction resulted in a modern design and more space in the roof interior for the installation of important modules and components. Especially in the last point, many electronic components, such as the GPS receiver, the air conditioning or certain control elements, could be taken into account directly in the roof construction. The quality of the components could be further improved by the injection moulding, because it is no longer necessary to bond or glue separate parts together. In addition, Fried integrated additional quality gates into manufacturing of the parts to keep production quality consistently high.
Faultless Assembly with a camera-supported Fixture
To ensure high-strength, wear-resistant and vibration-proof screw connections in the roof, threaded inserts are installed for the assembly of the components. The placement of the threaded inserts and blind rivets is predefined by the construction of the roof shells and the spaces provided for them. The assembly of the thread inserts is controlled by an automated camera system at Fried. With 18 threaded inserts and blind rivets in the roof outer shell and 27 threaded inserts in the roof inner shell, each module will be checked using the camera-supported facility. After the threads and blind rivets have been inserted manually, the camera system controls the presence of them. Thanks to the perfectly timed process, the entire assembly action including quality control can be carried out within the injection moulding cycle. The camera tool captures each individual thread insert and saves the relevant documentation. The conversion of the assembly fixture between the different roof variants is carried out using a quick-change system. This multifunctional workstation was designed and built exclusively for the Fendt project within six months at Fried. After assembly and the automatic check, every single Fendt tractor roof is provided with a label, which serves as proof of quality and enables subsequent sequencing.
Just in Sequence Supply
The individual roofs will be prepared in the correct order using EDI (Electronic Data Interchange). The roof variants are sorted according to plan, so that the sequence planned in the system can be mounted directly on the assembly line at Fendt. This allows maximum production flexibility without sorting and stocking. “The cooperation with Fried was solution-oriented, time-efficient and professional. That´s a good way to work together”, summarizes Andreas Stieglitz.
Related Links:
Injection Moulding, Coating and Assembly for the Mobility Industry
Fried Services
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