Figure 1. Defining initial requirements and looking at product designs and overall manufacturing processes helps implement fastener and more seamless automation. Source: Adobe Stock/Akarawut

Since the days of Henry Ford — and even before — factory automation has allowed a wide variety of things to be efficiently made and sold at reasonable prices. From an outsider’s perspective, one might assume that factories run perfectly, filled with robots that never make a mistake, and engineers who graduate from prestigious universities fully trained to do their specific jobs without error.

Ask any manufacturing engineer (off the record) what really goes on in a factory, and the answer may involve intermittent stoppages and breakdowns, heat-of-battle changes and possibly even electrical cabinets that look like (but are hopefully not literally) rat’s nests. Engineers may graduate with a deep knowledge of theoretical concepts, but they must then be trained on the job to perform relatively simple tasks, such as how to properly spec and verify new equipment.

Approval processes allow the world’s factories to work together

Complicating matters further, a single factory — or even a single company — doesn’t typically control how its “thing” is built in its entirety. A final product’s form and quality therefore depends on disparate manufacturing processes performed at a number of factories, each with its own idiosyncrasies. One might argue that the fasteners that hold everything together are approval processes known by acronyms such as factory acceptance testing (FAT), site acceptance testing (SAT) and production part approval process (PPAP). While some may see these approvals as cumbersome, they could be thought of as the natural evolution of our shared unit systems (i.e., metric or imperial) that we rely on to pass technical information between people and entities.

The approval process begins with initial machinery requirements

In the context of procuring new factory automation equipment, the primary focus of an approval process is to ensure that the customer defines its requirements, and that the vendor delivers equipment that meets them. While the specifics of each situation will vary, expectations must be considered early in the quotation process, with significant collaboration between vendor and customer. Requirements should be explicitly defined and recorded in an official machine specification (spec) before work commences. This facilitates an accurate project budget and delivery timeline and avoids second-guessing what was said at a later date.

A proper initial spec will include inspection and performance criteria, such as processed parts per minute under production conditions. The overall spec may also include an acceptable stoppage rate and the required level of operator involvement to run the machine, statistical process control (SPC) data collection and communication standards, and any number of other individual build requirements. A properly written initial spec protects both the vendor and customer, helping to eliminate last-minute changes.

Testing and approval of new machinery

With specs agreed upon, the vendor will then get to work building device “X.” If the initial spec is defined correctly, any customer input and inspections during the build will be largely perfunctory, and any needed changes should be minor. Once X is nominally finished, the first official approval stage begins: FAT. During FAT, the new device is tested at the vendor facility (i.e., the factory) in conditions set up to simulate the site where it will be installed as closely as possible. SAT takes place at the customer site, facilitated by testing and corrections performed during the FAT process.

FAT

From a vendor’s point of view, the FAT serves as an official confirmation to the customer that the machine functions as promised in the spec. Ideally, this process will be a formality, as the explicit spec, and the vendor’s hard work to meet that spec, means the machine is ready to go. Ideally and reality, however, are often two different things — and running machine X with the customer present may reveal details “Y” and “Z” that were previously overlooked. The good news is that during the FAT, machinery is still at the vendor’s facility, and corrections there with all the vendor’s resources present are much easier than at the customer facility.

One potential mistake during the FAT process is that the customer may not sufficiently run equipment to really prove it out. From the vendor’s perspective, this may seem like a good thing — a shortcut even. This stage can be easily passed, and everyone can take a long lunch. While this seems fine at the time, if potential problems aren’t caught and corrected at the vendor’s facility, they will instead need to be corrected at the customer facility.

According to fastener automation manufacturer Visumatic: “We have had to strongly encourage a few customers to run more parts and stay longer than they thought they needed to so that we could achieve a minimum threshold of reliability testing. It is in all of our interests to put the extra effort into the FAT and leave zero equipment work for later.”

Customers should make key plant personnel available — engineer, manager, technician, operator — to ensure all roles are satisfied. Performing a proper and thorough FAT procedure ensures a working product when it arrives at its final location and an easier commissioning process.

SAT

With the FAT properly executed and passed, the new equipment is then packed, transported and installed at the customer facility for SAT and final handover to the customer. SAT will mirror the FAT process, instead observing the new machinery installed in its intended environment.

If FAT was performed correctly, machinery should perform as intended. However, SAT will reveal any issues encountered during transport, and reveal how it interacts with other machinery if installed as part of a larger automated manufacturing line. This process also allows other plant personnel to get to know and comment on the new device, perhaps leading to changes in the machinery or its documentation and training procedure.

PPAP

While FAT and SAT are general terms that are applied to specific installations, consider also the more formalized PPAP. This approval documentation tool follows a manufactured parts process from one stage to the next, from factory to factory as needed, providing a unified picture of parts and assemblies that go into the final “thing.” Manufacturing processes verified by FAT and SAT procedures are an important part of producing overall PPAP documentation.

PPAP documentation is most prominently used in the automotive and aerospace industries, where a disparate array of components and subassemblies come together to be made into a final vehicle. Since vehicles are both expensive and safety critical, and because a single part failure can mean an overall breakdown or worse, tight control of supplier quality is of paramount importance. This same process is also applied in other industries, ensuring excellent quality in the final product.

Challenges of specification and approval

The crux of process approvals is to get the equipment needed to do a job in a factory, at a fair price for both the customer and vendor. These two challenges, often lumped together, are writing a proper spec then passing the approval. If the spec isn’t written properly, approval may become very difficult in one extreme, or largely meaningless in the other.

Equipment example: Screw and fastener automation

Figure 2. Visumatic works exclusively with fastening automation and offers a number of different tailored solutions based on customer needs. Source: Adobe Stock/Viewfinder

While not every industrial process involves fastener automation, many do. Even those processes that don’t will share many similarities when procuring new equipment. Working with a vendor – such as Visumatic – that is an expert in screw feeding operations can help set the expectations for what is generally possible for a project. At the same time, even the most expert automation vendor doesn’t know a specific process. The best automation vendors and integrators will thus work with the customer to develop a realistic spec that meets all parties’ needs and avoids surprises later.

As a supplier to both end users and integrators that exclusively works with fastener automation, Visumatic has the perspective and expertise to guide its customers down the right path. Importantly, Visumatic offers several levels of automation that can be customized to the end user’s needs. If a certain requirement seems impossible, most likely it is not. The following automation levels are available from Visumatic:

Level 1: Handheld system

An operator manually positions the workpiece and automatic screwdriver. While a vast improvement over fully manual (i.e., Level 0) screwdriving, this operation still involves a significant amount of operator intervention.

Level 2: Tabletop machine

Custom tooling holds each workpiece and the driver automatically moves into position for fastening. An operator places each part in the tooling manually and starts the driving process.

Level 3: Cobot workstation

An operator typically places the workpiece in a custom fixture, and a six-axis robot arm then moves to pre-programmed locations for fastener insertion. While similar to a tabletop machine, the robot’s versatility allows fastener automation in physically large or awkward assemblies.

Level 4: Viper fastening robot

Visumatic Viper Fastening Robots integrate a four-axis SCARA robot for fully automated screw assembly. With a stock footprint of 30 square inches, these devices can integrate into an overall assembly line, enabling a “lights out” assembly process with excellent throughput.

Figure 3. Robotic fastening assembly equipment going through FAT on Visumatic's factory floor. Source: Visumatic

To avoid surprises or deficiencies, the overall project and the type of automation should be considered early in the quotation process. Here, level 4 Viper robots work well for fully automated manufacturing, but fastener automation levels 1, 2 and most likely 3, will require active operator participation in the process.

Visumatic can help facilitate FAT and SAT. They can also help define initial requirements, and even look at product designs and overall manufacturing processes to help with the implementation of fastener automation. With Visumatic’s capabilities and automation levels, there is almost always a solution to fastener challenges. However, with careful consideration upfront, the complexity required for assembly can often be reduced.

Approval and specification excellence

A proper specification allows each party involved in a machine build to get exactly what is needed: a profitable build for the vendor, and new productive machinery for the customer. Whether integrating a Visumatic fastener automation system, or any of the other individual operations that make up the worldwide manufacturing economy, understanding and delivering on requirements is critical to the vendor-customer relationship.

Ready to step up to the next level of fastener automation? Visumatic is here to help make that leap. Visumatic has been in business since 1961, and as a result of their excellent products and support, over 80% of their business comes from repeat customers. Visumatic is an independent, family owned and operated business, located in Lexington, Kentucky, with worldwide support that can be on-site within 24 hours. Get in touch with Visumatic today to explore how they can facilitate the next — properly spec’d and approved — fastener automation project.