01/13/06
Turnkey washing machine panel assembly and test system supplied
A turnkey solution for the assembly, programming and testing of user panels was recently supplied to a major household appliance manufacturer.
The complete system, built modularly by the test system and TaMas product units, enables flexible production and testing of various kinds and sizes of washing machine components.
The user panel electronics, electronic housing, cable harness and all plastic parts are mounted on three assembly points which are integrated into the automatic conveyor belt according to the 'bus-stop' principle.
The supply of materials to the assembly points takes place via supply shelves with integrated roller tracks, grab containers and storage boards. Mounting devices support manual assembly. In the final assembly step the pre-fabricated electronic module is installed directly on the pallet in the plastic user panel body before connecting all of the cables using special test adapters. After recycling in the main conveyor belt the pallets are transported to one of the two testing cells.
In the testing cells the panels are identified using an integrated video system which reads the device type from the interface and simultaneously checks the print. Subsequent to this is the programming and verification of the entire electronic firmware. After the force-distance measurement of the rotary selector and the user keys, the display elements are checked by another video system.
Faulty products can be repaired at a repair point and manually rechecked. After this has been done, the repaired parts can be reintroduced into one of the test systems. Successfully checked components are automatically forwarded to an automatic labelling system. Four subsequent extraction points enable the panels to be removed according to their type.
As it was produced as a turnkey system, customers no longer face costly interface definition to other system suppliers.
Source: Elabo GmbH
Author: Christian H. Bunke, Thomas Seeger
