The Benefits of Moving from Semi-Automated to Fully Automated Fluid Application Implementing a semi-automated fluid application system allows smaller manufacturers, or those whose product mix changes frequently, to realize some of the benefits of automation – such as improved quality and higher throughput...

The first challenges that Designetics’ founders tackled were in the automotive industry – providing a safer, more accurate way to apply chemicals to automotive glass for assembly. And with numerous parts and processes that involve fluid application, the automotive industry still presents us with new challenges on regular basis. But in addition to cars, trucks, and other types of vehicles, many of the products that we encounter in everyday life were manufactured or assembled with fluid applicators and systems from Designetics. Here some examples of how we’re helping manufacturers in a variety of industries achieve the highest levels of precision, quality, and reliability in fluid application.

There’s a difference between a supplier who provides products and one who provides solutions. And while Designetics offers thousands of standard fluid applicators to fit many different fluids and substrates, we have the expertise and resources to design custom applicators for new and unique situations – providing solutions that maximize coverage and flow for all kinds of fluids and substrates.

One of the goals of any manufacturing operation is to use employees’ skills and talents where they add value to the process – like applying fluid to a substrate. And while it’s often necessary to monitor certain aspects of a process, monitoring a parameter such as the fluid level in a bottle is a non-value-added task that pulls people away from their skilled work. This is why manufacturing systems of all types are beginning to integrate monitoring capabilities into their standard operation, and why Designetics developed the Bottle Holder with Level Detection.

The Designetics Bottle Holder with Level Detection provides air-tight delivery of fluids from a manufacturer’s 1 liter or 1 gallon bottle to an e3mini or e3multi precision pump panel. And it can be equipped with either a level sensor or a load cell to automatically monitor the fluid level in the bottle – so the operator doesn’t have to.

Here’s how it works…

Poka-yoke is a technique used in manufacturing to prevent mistakes and defects from occurring. The concept of poka-yoke, as well as the term, come from Japan and translate to “mistake-proofing” or “error-proofing.” Both were developed in the 1960s by Shigeo Shingo, an expert industrial engineer who worked for Toyota.

The objective of poka-yoke is to design processes and systems in such a way that mistakes or defects become nearly impossible to make. This can be accomplished through a variety of methods, such as designing parts or machines that only fit together in one way, adding sensors or alarms to alert operators of potential issues or using visual cues to make it clear how a process should be carried out.

Poka-yoke is often associated with lean manufacturing and Six Sigma methodologies, which aim to reduce waste and improve efficiency in manufacturing processes. By preventing mistakes and defects from occurring, poka-yoke helps to reduce the need for rework, improve product quality and increase customer satisfaction.