Mahle Powertrain has completed two new facilities in Northampton, the result of a £15m investment over the past five years (including £3.6m of Government funding), which will deliver much-needed testing capability as the automotive industry accelerates its transition towards decarbonised propulsion. The purpose-built facilities allow Mahle Powertrain to support customers with every aspect of development for the future of mobility, permitting the safe testing of vehicles, batteries and hydrogen technologies, under even the most extreme simulated environmental conditions.
For further information www.mahle-powertrain.com

Some of the biggest private-sector investments into UK advanced manufacturing over the past 15 years “would not have happened without the AMRC”, according to a new report confirming it as a “signature asset” having brought more than £260m and 600 jobs to South Yorkshire. The Economic Impact Analysis report by Lichfields sets out how the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre is a magnet for capital investment, acts as a lever for improved social mobility through its training centre, and supports a 520-strong high-value workforce that contributes more than £55m to the economy.
For further information www.bit.ly/3AGfZMB

When CME Ltd received a request to develop a fully automated solution for a pneumatic valve assembly, a six-axis robot was at the heart of its innovative system. The robot performs a series of different pick and place, orientation, transfer and assembly operations in combination with several dedicated workstations and peripheral technologies, increasing output and productivity.

In simple terms, the application requires the assembly of a pneumatic valve body that comprises of several individual parts, including a coil, circlip, label and adhesive. The robot collects parts from a series of magazine drawer systems that both present the individual components and store the fully assembled items. The system can automatically assemble 600 parts in an eight-hour shift.

Historically, the assembly of these valve bodies took place manually, with an operator requiring 90 seconds to complete the various tasks for a single valve assembly. There were several objectives targeted as part of the transition from manual to fully automated assembly, such as eliminating repetitive manual tasks, reducing the time needed for assembly and subsequently increasing productivity while reducing manufacturing costs. The automation of the different assembly operations also makes it possible to introduce additional quality checks that improve quality and yield.

Cell capacity is 300 assemblies before the system requires re-priming with fresh components. The total run-time to empty, without stoppages, is approximately 4 hours with an average cycle time of 48 seconds. This represents a saving of over 45% on the original manual cycle time of 90 seconds. The system achieves all of the initial objectives, while a further benefit is its potential for re-tooling to produce other part variants in future.
For further information www.cme-ltd.com