{"id":13042,"date":"2023-05-11T19:00:30","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T19:00:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ats-automation-develop.go-vip.net\/atsls2\/?post_type=case_study&p=13042"},"modified":"2025-09-23T13:31:45","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T13:31:45","slug":"assembly-case-study","status":"publish","type":"case_study","link":"https:\/\/ats-automation-develop.go-vip.net\/atsls2\/case-studies\/assembly-case-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Assembly case study"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Assembly Case Study<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Same Speed, 90% Less Tooling and TWO Different Autoinjectors on One Machine<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Customer requirements<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Client demo in action<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gentle for critical processes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast for non-critical processes<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The results<\/p>\n\n\n

\n\nTalk To an Expert<\/a>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n
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A common assumption about assembly technology is that for it to go fast, core processes must be altered, sped up, or be rendered with more force. This was exactly what a multinational pharmaceutical firm believed when they were looking for an innovative high-speed assembly solution for their new autoinjector lines.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cSAME SPEED. 90% Less tooling. zero compromise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A client approached ATS to see if there was a better way to assemble autoinjectors faster and more efficiently. They wanted speed, flexibility, and performance all wrapped into one. They wanted their core processes to be respected. An they wanted to run two different autoinjectors on the same machine.<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n

CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our client was a medical device manufacturer that already had high volume assembly lines operating at 320 PPM for their autoinjector products. Their conventional, custom-built machines were very large, with 20 tools. Each assembly line also had pre- and post-quality inspection stations. Each quality station had 10 additional tools per station for a total of 40 tools on 3 stations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The manufacturer was searching for an alternative to their current single purpose engineered-to-order assembly line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their challenge was to reduce machine footprints while keeping the core process running at 320 PPM. Additionally, was there a flexible technology that could produce two different products on the same assembly line?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When we proposed that the digital assembly platform called SymphoniTM could reduce the current assembly machine from 20 to 4 tooling for the insertion process and eliminate two quality control stations by doing the quality inspection using the same 4 assembly tools, the client thought we were missing something. They were concerned that we would apply too much force on the product, or alter the core process, or not be able to monitor every critical stage of the assembly process. Our engineers designed touch tooling and mapped out the sequence of operations on a Symphoni off-line simulation tool called Dynamic\u2122. The tooling and operational sequence were then integrated into a module on a Symphoni demo machine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The client was invited to the ATS Innovation Center to run the proof of principle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With 4-UP tools in one station versus 40-UP tools on three stations on their current assembly line, Symphoni achieved the same insertion rate of 320 PPM while doing the pre- and post-inspection. Not only did Symphoni meet all the client\u2019s objectives, but the client was also pleasantly surprised by the precision and gentleness of the insertion process when they watched the high-speed video. Overall, Symphoni reduced floor space by over 50% and eliminated 90% of tooling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In other words, we demonstrated that our standardized, modular, pre-engineered, pre-verified, digital assembly platform is unmatched in performance, quality, footprint, and flexibility compared to conventional assembly equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, the Symphoni system achieved the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Client Demo In Action<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n\n

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(320 PPM, 1 OF 4 Tooling at 750 ms)<\/p>\n\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n