For many industries, building a product is only the beginning. In order to compete with other manufacturers creating similar products, it’s essential to be as efficient as possible with your assembly operations. At the same time, many industries require extensive production oversight to comply with regulatory bodies and quality assurance necessities. To meet the demands of these competing pressures, it’s often necessary to implement in-line operational monitoring systems. In the world of robotic and semi-robotic assembly, this usually means investing in an automatic screw counter.
Automatic screw counting systems connect to and track multiple screwdrivers in real-time, enabling continuous monitoring. Screw counters not only count the number of screws delivered, but they also detect and display fastening errors such as cross-threading, omissions, and unfinished rundowns. Any errors detected are immediately displayed on a digital screen to catch the attention of the operator. Total tallies can also be uploaded to a central data system, where they can be viewed, aggregated, reported, and studied.
In essence, the two primary uses of a screw counting system are:
- To improve an assembly’s production efficiency
- To document the assembly process
Whether employed for either function or both, an automatic screw counting system can enhance a company’s existing manufacturing process, and, ultimately, its profitability.
Automatic Screw Counters Improve Production Efficiency
Automatic screw counters improve production efficiency by minimizing system downtime and preventing rework or costly product error. The efficiency gains and risk reduction they provide can justify the investment, especially in high-volume or critical operations.
Screw counters minimize system downtime by noticing errors in real-time, allowing unfinished rundowns or cross threads to be corrected before the product moves on. Also, by tracking each screw, technicians can detect and respond to system errors with timely, precise information. In addition, screw counters can have a positive influence on preventative maintenance. Providing technicians with a continuous view of each screwdriver’s performance record enables technicians to notice symptoms of malfunction, such as increased cross-threads or omissions, before a greater failure occurs.
Automatic screw counters can effectively prevent rework and product error as well. By detecting and correcting errors in real-time, they stop products with errors from moving to the next production phase. This reduces the load on the system’s quality control processes and decreases the chance that a product failure will escape the factory. As such, when weighing the cost of investing in an automatic screw counting system, it’s wise to consider the price of a screw counter against the cost of a potential product recall.
Creating Documentary Chains With Automatic Screw Counters
Every manufacturing industry in the United States is subject to regulation, but some regulatory regimes are more onerous than others. For instance, manufacturers in the aerospace industry must comply with the stringent rules of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Makers of medical devices must account for their products to the Food & Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health. Even automotive manufacturers must document their processes for provision to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
While particular requirements differ between governing agencies, the broad doctrine is the same; a manufacturer must comply with certain rules when making their product, and they must prove compliance by documenting their process. Documenting an assembly process can be greatly aided by the use of automatic screw counters. The precise data compiled from each screwdriver can be aggregated in a central computing system and displayed for review. This ensures that regulatory officers and inspectors are able to easily view an assembly’s fastening history.
The same information that automatic screw counters provide to regulators can also be given to internal employees, such as technicians and systems design engineers. These technicians and engineers can use the information to correct current problems, prevent future issues, and design more efficient systems. So, while complying with government regulations by installing a screw counting system may initially seem to chafe, the screw counting system nevertheless pulls its own weight for your company by providing you with a closer vision of your production process.
For manufacturers with high throughputs, critical applications, or strict compliance guidelines, automatic screw counters generate value in many ways. Particularly for robotic and semi-robotic manufacturers, screw counters are essential process oversight tools. For high-risk product applications, screw counters provide needed process transparency. In any assembly application, though, if you want or need a closer look at your production process, a screw counting system will take you far.