Good automation projects need youth and experience 11 June 2013

Schaeffler UK is advocating a blend of engineering youth and experience for good automation projects, having recently implemented several successful systems across its manufacturing plant in Llanelli, South Wales.

According to automation technician and team leader Darran Williams, Schaeffler's projects have concerned improving the efficiency of everything from single machines to full production lines, as well as reducing manual handling, removing bottlenecks and reducing throughput times.

And the team behind its improvements: three engineers with a range of specialisations, all of whom started at Llanelli on Schaeffler's apprenticeship scheme. Apart from Darran Williams, they are CNC machining specialist Mark Williams and Grant Nicholas, a fabrication specialist, and final year tooling apprentice Daniel Summers.

Neil Walters, production support manager at Llanelli, explains that the automation schemes have varied in size and duration, from small, one-week projects to others lasting several months. Examples, he says, include new conveyor systems, parts transfer and feed-in systems for various types of machinery, including CNC machines, heat treatment furnaces, presses and washing stations.

Around 90% of components used in these projects – such as linear guides and shafts, fasteners, bearings, fixing and mounting systems, and machine support frameworks – were designed and manufactured in-house at Llanelli.

The rest are bought in and the team has worked to improve standardisation, not least to help support new machine optimisation projects, where groups of CNC machines have been linked via a single feed-in conveyor system.

Darran Williams says this has helped to synchronise production and improve plant throughput.

"In terms of solutions, everything used to be bespoke," he says. "For example, we used many different sizes of conveyors. We now choose from just five sizes, which minimises stock and simplifies maintenance and repair. Our three grinding machines, for example, now all use the same drives, motors and gearboxes, as well as similar feed-in systems."

And he adds: "The automation projects team requires many different skills: electrical, mechanical, hydraulics and pneumatics, fabrication, machining, welding and tool-making.

"We also need people who can work in a team and who can look at a problem and then find the most appropriate solution. For current apprentices such as Daniel Summers, this kind of project experience is invaluable and has helped to develop his tool-making and problem-solving skills."

Brian Tinham

Related Companies
Schaeffler (UK) Ltd

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