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FastLane Provides Automation Assessment & Consulting
With the help of: Ohio Manufacturing Extension Partnership (Ohio MEP)
About
Gadjets, a small privately owned company located in Franklin, Ohio, is a manufacturer of high performance metal seals primarily for the hydraulics and pneumatics industries. Gadjets customers typically either manufacture or service hydraulic and pneumatic equipment such as cylinders, pumps, and valves. Gadjets specializes in exclusion seals which remove contaminants from reciprocating and rotating surfaces of mechanical systems to prevent damage.
The Challenge
The production process for one type of seal utilizes a semi-automatic welding process requiring repetitive, precise, manual alignment of parts leading to employee fatigue. The Gadjets team wanted a machine to automate the process to form and weld wire springs. They hoped to identify an alternative production process that would protect their employees while improving employee retention and improving product quality.
Knowledge of our company and our customers, combined with their experience in manufacturing and their access to a deep pool of talent from across the University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI), has been very helpful to us. FastLane has provided insights into opportunities for improvement and access to expertise that has delivered real, substantial value to our business.
MEP's Role
FastLane, the West Central Ohio Regional Partner to the Ohio MEP, part of the MEP National Network™, helped Gadjets brainstorm several design concepts to demonstrate an automated part welding and forming process with a prototype test rig. After choosing the best design option, FastLane created the detailed design of the rig and provided it to the Gadjets team for them to build. The prototype rig will enable Gadjets to prove out the new process concept allowing them to source a machine to meet their long-term production needs.
Created April 29, 2023