One of our local clients was experiencing an excessive amount of variation in their carrier system, which was responsible for moving components throughout their plant to specific pick up and drop off points. Components were getting damaged, and at $ 200 a piece, this was becoming rather costly.

Each carrier was designed with an identical set of net blocks, responsible for locating the component.  Once it was determined that the carrier shot pinning process was solid, Avid was able to determine the current location of each net block and provide the required adjustments for every carrier.

Adjustments were made and the results were in. They realized an unprecedented 9% reduction in their scrap rate. The results were so good that the company decided to do it again, this time applying tighter tolerances on their adjustments. The second wave of measurement and adjustments delivered an additional 5% return. Stunning results!

Are you experiencing variation in your process? How much do you have? How much is too much? Where is it coming from?

Our leveling, alignment and 3-dimensional measurement capabilities can provide answers to these questions … where it is, how much it is and what moves you need to make to tighten it up.

Once we acquire this data, we work with your toolmakers or maintenance team and guide them to make the right adjustments in the right directions. Your variation will be reduced, your process certified, and your margins significantly improved.

Have you ever found yourself in this situation? Your fixture is due for re-certification, but you need it to continue producing your high-volume part. This fixture ensures that your parts conform and that your process is stable. Running without it is not an option. Building a parts bank is costly.

What if you could keep your fixture in-house and have it certified right on your shop floor? Two to four hours of downtime instead of two to four days? Could you plan for that?

The cost to build a bank for one of our client’s high-volume automotive floor carpets, as reported by their Operations Manager, was $ 150 000. By utilizing our on-site service, they were able to reduce their downtime from 1 week to 4 hours. In this short timeframe, Avid installed multiple engineering changes and certified the fixture, just in time for their audit!

No unnecessary overtime, no undue stress on production, no requirement to order additional materials or components, and no need to free up floor space to warehouse the build. Yup, business as usual.

Avid is ISO/IEC 17025:2017 accredited, experienced and a certified diverse supplier. Our on-site service allows you to keep your gages and your personnel in house. No shipping, no handling, no need to climatize, no queues, no problem!

Are you in a 3-way? Your client is pressuring you for information, but your supplier is not being entirely forthcoming. Maybe the measurements you are getting at your end are differing from those of your supplier. Or perhaps your Engineers are at odds with different hypothesis about your process variability.

Regardless of the particulars of your situation, one thing holds true …  you need accurate data, and you need it now. The project needs to keep moving.

Sounds like you need a third party!

Over the years we have acted as an unbiased party to help our clients navigate through sensitive situations like those above to get the information they need.

Whether we are using our high-precision measurement devices to acquire accurate data, our expertise to review the current measurement methodology, or providing a fresh, unbiased look to help trouble-shoot your process, Avid’s goal is always clear – get the answers you need with the least disruption possible.

Do you need to certify new automation? End of arm tooling?

Are you looking to increase the efficiency of your process and improve your bottom line?

Perhaps you have existing automation. Does each station produce reliable parts?

It’s changeover … can you place your pallets in any position and still have the confidence that your process will produce good components?

Whether it’s 2-station or 4-pallet turntables, or A-Side/B-Side fixtures, they all wear over time. This carries the potential for steadily increasing scrap rates.

There are a lot of moving parts involved in automation and Avid addresses them all. Your table and its pins or bushings need to repeat, as do the ISO pins and nets on each pallet, slide or fixture. Through dimensional analysis, we can facilitate the adjustment of these features. Completing this alignment certifies your components.

Once your components are set, Avid can provide added benefit by conducting a tooling repeatability study to verify the loading and clamping process of your automation. This study can reveal air-line leaks, uneven air pressures and any unstable or ill-fitting components. Completing this study will certify your process.

A local fuel tank manufacturer reached out to us to help them address some of these issues. By completing both certifications, we were able to reduce their production of scrap on one of their lines from a whopping 28% down to 10%!