References

- Lear Madisonville, Kentucky, USA

Lear Corporation’s Madisonville, Kentucky plant manufactures automotive headliners, blow-molded plastic automotive seatbacks, load floors and storage bins. In 2005 employees were preparing for a new product launch with a much higher production volume when they discovered that their existing Motoman-based system could not handle the increased volume, productivity levels and quality targets. Lear needed a new system that would reduce cycle time, meet the production and quality demands, and be installed and running within 10 weeks.

The KMT JetTool system reduced cycle time by 75%, enabling the waterjet cutting process to stay inline with the molding process. The system eliminates work in process so Lear doesn’t have as many deformations from storing and stacking the headliners. Lear Madisonville has better process flow now that the product moves from trimming to final assembly and then to the racks for shipment. On just one product the cycle time went from 89 seconds to 23 seconds. With this reduction in cycle time, Lear can take on larger volume customers and customers who require more stringent part quality.

- VW 465 (EOS) waterjet cutting - High-Tech Trio Optimizes Manufacturing of Volkswagen Folding Roof

Inapal Plastios, a Portugese supplier, produces top quality folding roofs for the Volkswagen Cabriolet EOS using eight ABB robots, two Dieffenbacher presses and a flexible waterjet cutting system from KMT Robotic Solutions. Success speaks for itself; Volkswagen has designated Inapal a Tier-1-supplier.

"In the last years, the trend within the automotive industry has changed from mass production to vehicle individualization,“ said KMT Robotic Solutions Sales engineer Henning Wolf. KMT Robotic Solutions is the largest supplier of robotic waterjet cutting systems in the world. “This development will not only continue, but be intensified by over-capacities in the global market, rising inventories and increasing price pressure,” Wolf said. “Nowadays, profitability doesn’t lie in mass production or individual part manufacturing,” Wolf said, “but in flexible processes that can be used when production volume and part type vary.” In Wolf’s opinion, the Cabriolet’s fully folding SMC roof is the best example of vehicle individualization.

In addition to Inapal’s experience in processing duroplastic composites, the positive relationships they’ve developed with their key suppliers and industrial partners (like Dieffenbacher and KMT) was key to winning the Volkswagen order. Like many manufacturing companies, Volkswagen wanted a fully automated system. Six ABB IRB 6600 industrial robots were installed to accomplish fast and flexible material handling and a KMT Cutting Box Original IV system with two ABB IRB 2400 robots was installed to waterjet trim the folding roof components. Custom software was developed to support ease of changeover.