Client Background
Guard rail fabricator producing repeat rail sections
Project Challenge
Long rail sections were being marked, clamped and drilled by hand. Measuring from the previous mark accumulated error along the rail, and holes that did not line up were discovered by the crew on site.
Customer Pain Points
- Error accumulating along the length of every rail
- Repeated clamping and re-clamping of a long profile
- Rework on site when holes did not align
- A physical jig for every pattern, with storage and setup time
- No meaningful way to inspect a batch
Our Solution
What We Built
A CNC rail assembly machine that holds the profile on a single datum and indexes it under the head, performing the operation at each programmed position. The pattern comes from a stored part program, so the pattern change is an HMI selection rather than a jig change, and every position references the datum rather than the previous hole.
Manufacturing Process
How the Machine Was Built
Product range review
Rail sections, lengths and fastener patterns recorded, including the end conditions.
Datum and clamping concept
Locating scheme agreed before detail design.
Design
Mechanical, control and safety design carried out together.
Build
Manufactured and assembled at the Vaughan facility.
Programming and try out
Part programs created for the customer patterns and proved on their profiles.
Installation
Installed and handed over with operator training on recipe selection.
Supply Chain Coordination
Sourcing and Build
Bed structure, support and indexing components are sized to the longest rail the customer produces. Tooling is selected for the fastener and material, and part programs are structured to match the customer's own product coding.
Quality Control
Checked Before Shipment
- Indexing accuracy measured over the full profile length and recorded
- Sample rails produced and fastener positions measured against the program
- Repeatability confirmed across a continuous batch
- Recipe recall verified for every stored pattern
- Safety functions verified before shipment
Final Result
What the Machine Does Now
Rails leave the shop with a pattern that came from a program rather than from a tape measure. Because every position references the same datum, a check on the first and last rail of a batch says something meaningful about the whole batch.
Customer Benefit
Why It Mattered
Site assembly stopped being a fitting exercise, and pattern changes moved from the jig store to the operator interface.
Customer identity, rail specifications and commercial details are not published. Technical discussion is available on request.
Photographs
The Machine on the Floor
Related
Equipment Used
CNC Assembly Machines
CNC Guard Rail Assembly Machines
Index and fasten long rail assemblies to a programmed pattern instead of by hand marking
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Multi Spindle Screw Machines
Drive every fastener in a pattern in one stroke with torque controlled at each spindle
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CNC Assembly Machines
CNC Custom Automation Equipment
Purpose built CNC machines designed around your part when no catalogue machine fits
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Related Reading
Questions
About This Project
Can you tell us who the customer was?
Customer identity, rail specifications and commercial details are not published. Technical discussion is available on request.
Could you build the same machine for us?
Not identically, and that is the point. The machine was designed around one customer's part, rate and floor space. The same approach applied to your part produces a different machine.
How long did the project take?
Project duration depends on scope and the build schedule at the time. We are happy to give you a realistic schedule for your own requirement once the scope is defined.
What was proved before the machine shipped?
The checks listed in the quality control section of this page, run at the Vaughan facility. Customer witnessed try out before shipment can be arranged.
How do we start a similar project?
Email [email protected] with the part drawing, the operation and the rate. That is enough for a concept and a defined scope.
Talk to an engineer
Have a Similar Operation
Send the part and describe the step. We will tell you what the same approach would look like applied to your line.