Welding positioner increases productivity, safety in trailer frame manufacturing

Situation

Falcon Asphalt Repair Equipment, Freeland, Mich., is a manufacturer of asphalt recycling and hot box equipment. It produces three types of trailer frames: single axle, tandem axle, and tri-axle.

The company had a single welding fixture that could accommodate one of its trailers, but not all three. It was a fixed jig with a working surface of about 48 in. and could not articulate up and down. This would cause ergonomic concerns, as employees were loading steel pieces up to the working surface. In addition, the fixture did not have marked locations, and after many years of use, the quality was not always true.

Wishing to expand capacity, Falcon was in search of a fixture installation that could handle all three trailer frame types and also manage custom frames. Not only was fixturing an issue, but the company also had concerns about material handling and space restrictions associated with its trailer frame production. Safety, quality, productivity, and waste elimination were additional priorities.

Resolution

Falcon reached out to Bluco, which brought its hands-on travel demo trailer to the asphalt equipment manufacturer’s facility. Realizing that manipulation of the tooling was needed both for lifting and rotating, Bluco suggested the ALM positioner combined with Bluco tooling. The positioner would allow Falcon to load, weld, rotate, and release the part from the fixturing while increasing safety and reducing production times.

The positioner allows employees to move the fixture up and down to levels that are safe for lifting steel rails and parts. With the modular tooling, workers can quickly load pieces to predetermined, marked locations that are “true” in terms of quality.

Falcon has seen a productivity increase of 25 percent so far.

Bluco

https://bluco.com