Production Lines for Mass Production

A continuous material flow, minimal manual intervention and short cycle and handover times reduce losses that would otherwise add up massively across high production volumes.

Automated quality inspections lower scrap and rework costs, since defects are detected directly in the process instead of only at the end of the line.

Controlled tool and equipment conditions secure high technical availability and prevent costly, unforeseen downtime.

Automated operating data acquisition enables optimal utilisation of personnel and equipment. Economic efficiency thus arises from optimising the entire production chain, not just individual activities.

Target volume per year, month, shift and hour, the available net production time, the required cycle time and the desired OEE form the basis of every capacity plan.

Material changes, tool changes, inspection times, maintenance windows, disruptions, shift models and planned production breaks all flow into capacity planning — not just the theoretical machine cycle.

assemblean analyses every process step individually and identifies the line's actual bottleneck. We then optimise machine movements, robot paths, gripping and handover times, parallel process steps, material provisioning, inspection strategies, buffer sizes, loading and unloading operations, and communication and release times.

Inspection and documentation requirements, material supply including empty-container concepts, and the necessary buffer capacities are integrated into equipment planning from the start.

Maintenance and accessibility areas, expansion options and connection to existing production systems ensure the line achieves stable, high output volumes even in real shift operation.

Time-intensive processes can be distributed across several identical stations. An intelligent distribution system automatically routes products to the currently available station. This increases overall capacity while reducing the impact of a single station failure.

Buffers decouple process stations with different cycle times or availabilities, so brief disruptions at one station do not immediately halt the entire line. Buffer size is dimensioned based on realistic fault and restart times — buffers that are too small do not protect the line sufficiently, while oversized buffers increase floor space, work-in-progress and lead time.

For suitable processes, the line can be built so that individual stations are temporarily bypassed. Products are then routed to an alternative station or a defined rework process, keeping production controllably operational even during maintenance or disruption of individual modules.

Automatic raw material provisioning, singulation of bulk material, correctly oriented part feeding, container and tray handling, as well as workpiece pallet circuits and intermediate buffers secure an uninterrupted material supply to every station.

The automatic rejection of defective products, the return of empty containers, and automatic packaging and palletising close the material cycle through to shipping readiness.

Sensors monitor fill levels, material positions and feeder states. Line control detects impending material shortages early and automatically informs operators or higher-level logistics systems.

Depending on the product, checks include dimensions and tolerances, presence and position of components, surfaces, joining forces and torques, tightness, electrical functions, and codes and serial numbers. Results are uniquely assigned to each product, and defective parts are automatically locked or ejected.

Modern lines use measured values directly to regulate upstream processes. If a measuring station detects a gradual dimensional deviation, the system automatically adjusts process parameters — enabling early detection of process drift, less scrap and rework, and longer stable production phases.

Serial numbers, data matrix codes, RFID tags or batch-related markings link each product to material batch, process parameters, measurement and inspection results, and release information. The data can be transferred to MES, ERP or CAQ systems, so affected products can be quickly identified in case of quality issues.

High OEE is achieved when the line rarely stops unplanned, reaches the intended cycle during runtime, and produces a high proportion of defect-free products. Small losses such as brief sensor stops or delayed material handovers are also taken into account and automatically categorised.

Robust, proven components, maintenance-friendly machine modules, fast diagnostic capabilities, standardised spare parts, automatic fault detection and redundant stations for critical processes protect production against unplanned downtime.

Motor currents, vibrations, temperatures, pressure profiles, tool life and energy consumption are continuously monitored. If a component's behaviour changes, maintenance can react before an unplanned failure occurs — allowing maintenance work to be better scheduled into planned production breaks.

Automatic product recognition, programmable robot and axis movements, changeable grippers and tools, flexible feeding technology and automatic parameter sets enable the production of several variants on one line. The right balance between speed and flexibility is defined already during the concept phase.

Additional processing stations, parallel inspection processes, further robots, larger buffer sections or mirroring the entire line enable gradual growth in step with the market. Interfaces, floor space and control architecture are considered as early as possible for this purpose.