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In a typical ROE air conveyor job, several hundred to several thousand drawings
need to be produced. EDA developed an interlocking series of automation
software applications to reduce design time, errors, and engineering costs.
Components of the automated system
The EDA system includes an AutoCAD-based layout program,
an Excel interface for detailed configuration and calculation, a Synthesis
program that creates production drawings and CNC control programs for an Amada
punch machine, and finally an Access database to store data, generate required
shop reports and create files for the Visual Manufacturing MRP program. The
Visual Manufacturing program then keeps track of the material requirements for
each job and scheduling the company's projects.
Time savings
The system recently proved both its speed and its
flexibility. Primary operator Barry Milliron used the system to create a set of
70 drawings and Amada G-code files for a conveyor with three lanes--even though
the system was originally designed to produce designs for single or double lane
conveyors. In this project alone, ROE cut their engineering hours by over 60%
and their CNC programming hours by 50% compared to hours spent without the
automated system. They estimate that for a more complex project with a larger
number of layouts their engineering hours savings would be much greater,
especially when considering the elimination of design errors guaranteed by the
automated system. Overall, the system has drastically reduced product
turnaround and delivery time and has cut engineering costs in half.
Elimination of design errors
Since the automated system was developed using design
logic and calculations provided by the most knowledgeable members of ROE's
engineering staff, the system ultimately produced consistent and correctly
designed conveyor systems. However, during the development of the automated
conveyor design system, flawed or inaccurate design logic was spotted when the
system applied incorrect formulas and produced erroneous drawings.
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