Case Study - American engine convertor

Case Study

15 variants Differerent operations Engine assembly

How we helped an American Engine Convertor Company with a flexible solution that can balance workload between operators and processes.

©EWAB University

EWAB ENGINEERING has been around since 1970. It saw the light of day in a garage in a small town in Sweden and is today an international company with offices and employees in 11 countries around the world. Over the years we´ve created and developed our own workpiece flow system solutions. Today they can be found across the globe on hundreds of factory floors, making sure our customers have the best conditions available for an Overall Equipment Efficiency above 90 %. And to you who are not yet a customer of ours, remember, the highest OEE figure is the one you haven´t yet reached.

CASE

AMERICAN ENGINE CONVERTOR COMPANY

15 different variants Cycle time 7 minutes

Full speed engine run test 3 parallel assembly zones Balance workload between operators & processes EWAB Large size solution

Picture from the build at EWAB US workshop

CUSTOMER CHALLENGES

Some years ago we were contacted by a Medium-size American company that converts truck engines to propane fuel for use in fork-lifts. They were about to invest in a new assembly line and wanted our experience and knowledge to be used in a new automated solution. This project was much more complicated than their previous projects and it had multiple models to handle, different operations and a faster cycle time. After some meetings we found an agreement and they decided to partner with us at EWAB Engineering. The goal was to reduce physical activity and load on the operators. Previously they moved engines hand by hand, but that created issues with ergonomics for the operators and was also ineffective for the production output. The main task now was to increase the number of operations and lower the cycle time compare to their traditional way to work with the engines. This had to be done whilst maintaining a controlled pace between the operators, reducing the manual handling and tracking the parts in the system.

Pictures from the installation

©EWAB University

Customer Products Engines to forklift trucks

OUR SOLUTION - A big step into Automation for the customer

We customize our solution after the customers unique needs and pains are identified with our own modular and standardized EWAB components. For this customer we engineered a solution where the workpiece carrier system took the engines from one of the two manual loads, to one of three parallel assembly zones. The engine was then transported by the system to one of two parallel hot tests cells. If parts fail the 20 minutes full speed hot test, it will head for a reject loop, be reworked and then sent back to the hot test cell.

With this new automated line the customer can handle multiple models in different operations, maintain a good pace between operators and collect data for part tracking.

The solution reduced the manual handling for the operators and they were thrilled by the ergonomic benefits. Our design team came up with a solution where the engine could be released and rotated in 90 degree intervals and be able to travel in any position.

This was a big step into automation for the customer and after the installation they increased the throughput by over 100% - compared to their traditional way of handling the engine assembly.

©EWAB University

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EWAB 50 years of experience and knowledge

THE LAYOUT

THE CARRIER DESIGN The carrier needed to carry the weight of a large engine and be able to rotate the part, so operators could access all sides. Our design team came up with a great solution where the engine could be released and rotated in 90 degree intervals and be able to travel in any position.

STATEMENTS

“We were very happy with the project, it ended up being a demo showpiece of our facility even adding a demo mode to run empty, to show for perspective clients! ”

/ The Plant Manager

“When you have large parts and run many variants and want a high throughput together with good ergonomics. EWAB will always deliever!”

/ Chris Bates, Managing director EWAB US

THE RESULT

Improved flow with higher throughput

Higher margin per workpiece

Increased production

Money

Better environment and ergonomics for the operators

Data for part tracking

Possible to handle multiple variants

Quality

Shorter cycle time with an automated solution

The EWAB Solution and the flow configuraiton created a controlled pace between the operators

Time

©EWAB University