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Flawless Execution in High-Volume Part Tending

The Bottleneck

A precision contract manufacturer was contracted to deliver high-volume, critical components for the aerospace sector. Their primary bottleneck was machine tending: manual operators were loading and unloading parts into the processing station, leading to inconsistent cycle times, idle machinery, and bleeding margins.

Traditional automation integrators pitched solutions that were massive, required heavy safety fencing, and carried an eight-month deployment timeline. The client didn't have eight months; they needed to start fulfilling their contract immediately.

The fathom Solution

fathom audited the production floor and determined that the client didn't need a sprawling, over-engineered robotics cell. They needed lean, continuous throughput. We designed and built a highly optimized collaborative workstation that seamlessly integrated into their existing floor space.

• Lean Architecture: Instead of a traditional, bulky industrial robot requiring extensive safety cages, fathom integrated a highly precise collaborative robotic arm mounted on a custom L-shaped chassis.
• High-Capacity Queuing: We engineered dual custom-slotted magazine racks. This allowed floor operators to load hundreds of blank components at once for hours of uninterrupted processing.
• Simplified Operator Control: By integrating a centralized, intuitive HMI touch-screen, floor managers can operate the system without needing an advanced robotics degree.

Eliminating Defects with Automated Vision Inspection

The Bottleneck

Quality control in medical device manufacturing is notoriously difficult to scale. Our client relied on manual operators to visually inspect and sort small, highly reflective components. Defect rates were unacceptable, and throughput was entirely capped by human inspection speed.

The fathom Solution

fathom engineered a turnkey automated testing station centered around a high-speed vibratory bowl feeder and an ultra-high-resolution vision system. This eliminated manual handling and guaranteed 100% inspection reliability.

• Continuous Material Flow: The custom vibratory bowl feeder reliably orients and feeds hundreds of parts per minute without jamming or damaging the reflective components.
• Sub-Millimeter Vision Inspection: An integrated 4K camera array with custom lighting profiles inspects each part on the fly, instantly rejecting microscopic defects that humans couldn't catch.
• Real-Time Data Logging: Every accepted and rejected part is logged into the client's central ERP system, providing unprecedented visibility into production yield rates.

Quadrupling Throughput with Precision Dial Assembly

The Bottleneck

A manufacturer of multi-part fluidic valves needed to massively scale production. Traditional linear assembly lines took up too much floor space and required complex, error-prone part transfers between stations, leading to constant machine faults.

The fathom Solution

fathom developed a proprietary, high-speed rotary dial indexing system. By organizing the assembly steps in a tight circular footprint, we eliminated wasted travel time between stations and significantly boosted throughput.

• Synchronized Multi-Stage Assembly: Parts are loaded, pressed, tested, and unloaded simultaneously at different stations around the dial, multiplying output without increasing cycle time.
• Cam-Driven Precision: We utilized a mechanical cam-driven indexer to achieve sub-millimeter positional accuracy at high speeds, reducing misalignments to absolute zero.
• Compact Footprint: The entire dial assembly machine takes up 60% less floor space than the client's previous linear line, freeing up room for additional capacity.