A Novel Fully Automatic Concept to Produce First Subset of Bowden Cables, Improving Productivity, Flexibility, and Safety
With a view to maintaining the competitiveness required by the market, the automotive industry strongly encourages its suppliers to develop new production methods and technologies capable of reducing the costs of produced products, ensuring the necessary quality, and increasing flexibility, with a v...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Machines |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/11/11/992 |
| _version_ | 1797458610815500288 |
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| author | Eduardo Eiras Francisco J. G. Silva Raul D. S. G. Campilho Rita C. M. Sales-Contini André F. V. Pedroso Naiara P. V. Sebbe |
| author_facet | Eduardo Eiras Francisco J. G. Silva Raul D. S. G. Campilho Rita C. M. Sales-Contini André F. V. Pedroso Naiara P. V. Sebbe |
| author_sort | Eduardo Eiras |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With a view to maintaining the competitiveness required by the market, the automotive industry strongly encourages its suppliers to develop new production methods and technologies capable of reducing the costs of produced products, ensuring the necessary quality, and increasing flexibility, with a view to responding more easily to the customization of the products that the market increasingly demands. The main goal of this work was to increase the flexibility and productivity of equipment capable of producing the first subset that constitutes the product commonly known as the Bowden cable. To this end, the design science research methodology was used, which was understood as the most effective in describing scientific work related to the improvement of existing systems. Bowden cables are cables that activate various devices in the car, such as opening doors, moving window glasses, and adjusting some car seats, among others. The work consisted of integrating several operations usually carried out for the manufacture of the referred subset, reducing logistics operations and manual work, increasing operator safety, and increasing the production rate and flexibility of the equipment, by reducing the setup time. For this purpose, new mechanical concepts were developed, and automation was applied, which resulted in a completely new concept, able to fulfill all the objectives initially set. It should be noted here that the new equipment allowed a production rate of 1140 p/h, when the initial objective was 1100 p/h; it requires an investment of only around EUR 55,000 (easy return on investment), occupies only 11.6 m<sup>2</sup>, and has reinforced safety systems to avoid workers’ injuries, an aspect that is very important in this type of equipment, where operators deal with cutting systems and high temperatures. The dissemination of this concept could help other researchers to easily find solutions to certain problems that they face in the development of modern equipment. The main contributions of this paper are the novel concepts created to overcome some process difficulties, which can be used for a wide range of other processing situations with similar difficulties. The solutions proposed allow a decrease in the cycle time, present high flexibility, save workshop space, and are affordable in terms of global cost. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:40:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e78a13208aa646e3abbfefbbe7a91019 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-1702 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T16:40:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Machines |
| spelling | doaj.art-e78a13208aa646e3abbfefbbe7a910192023-11-24T14:52:54ZengMDPI AGMachines2075-17022023-10-01111199210.3390/machines11110992A Novel Fully Automatic Concept to Produce First Subset of Bowden Cables, Improving Productivity, Flexibility, and SafetyEduardo Eiras0Francisco J. G. Silva1Raul D. S. G. Campilho2Rita C. M. Sales-Contini3André F. V. Pedroso4Naiara P. V. Sebbe5ISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4200-072 Porto, PortugalISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4200-072 Porto, PortugalISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4200-072 Porto, PortugalISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4200-072 Porto, PortugalISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4200-072 Porto, PortugalISEP, Polytechnic of Porto, R. Dr. António Bernardino de Almeida, 431, 4200-072 Porto, PortugalWith a view to maintaining the competitiveness required by the market, the automotive industry strongly encourages its suppliers to develop new production methods and technologies capable of reducing the costs of produced products, ensuring the necessary quality, and increasing flexibility, with a view to responding more easily to the customization of the products that the market increasingly demands. The main goal of this work was to increase the flexibility and productivity of equipment capable of producing the first subset that constitutes the product commonly known as the Bowden cable. To this end, the design science research methodology was used, which was understood as the most effective in describing scientific work related to the improvement of existing systems. Bowden cables are cables that activate various devices in the car, such as opening doors, moving window glasses, and adjusting some car seats, among others. The work consisted of integrating several operations usually carried out for the manufacture of the referred subset, reducing logistics operations and manual work, increasing operator safety, and increasing the production rate and flexibility of the equipment, by reducing the setup time. For this purpose, new mechanical concepts were developed, and automation was applied, which resulted in a completely new concept, able to fulfill all the objectives initially set. It should be noted here that the new equipment allowed a production rate of 1140 p/h, when the initial objective was 1100 p/h; it requires an investment of only around EUR 55,000 (easy return on investment), occupies only 11.6 m<sup>2</sup>, and has reinforced safety systems to avoid workers’ injuries, an aspect that is very important in this type of equipment, where operators deal with cutting systems and high temperatures. The dissemination of this concept could help other researchers to easily find solutions to certain problems that they face in the development of modern equipment. The main contributions of this paper are the novel concepts created to overcome some process difficulties, which can be used for a wide range of other processing situations with similar difficulties. The solutions proposed allow a decrease in the cycle time, present high flexibility, save workshop space, and are affordable in terms of global cost.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/11/11/992fully automated solutionscompetitivenesshigh productivityhigh flexibilityBowden cablesautomotive industry |
| spellingShingle | Eduardo Eiras Francisco J. G. Silva Raul D. S. G. Campilho Rita C. M. Sales-Contini André F. V. Pedroso Naiara P. V. Sebbe A Novel Fully Automatic Concept to Produce First Subset of Bowden Cables, Improving Productivity, Flexibility, and Safety Machines fully automated solutions competitiveness high productivity high flexibility Bowden cables automotive industry |
| title | A Novel Fully Automatic Concept to Produce First Subset of Bowden Cables, Improving Productivity, Flexibility, and Safety |
| title_full | A Novel Fully Automatic Concept to Produce First Subset of Bowden Cables, Improving Productivity, Flexibility, and Safety |
| title_fullStr | A Novel Fully Automatic Concept to Produce First Subset of Bowden Cables, Improving Productivity, Flexibility, and Safety |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Novel Fully Automatic Concept to Produce First Subset of Bowden Cables, Improving Productivity, Flexibility, and Safety |
| title_short | A Novel Fully Automatic Concept to Produce First Subset of Bowden Cables, Improving Productivity, Flexibility, and Safety |
| title_sort | novel fully automatic concept to produce first subset of bowden cables improving productivity flexibility and safety |
| topic | fully automated solutions competitiveness high productivity high flexibility Bowden cables automotive industry |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-1702/11/11/992 |
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