3D Printed Assembly Jig

Mandate

The company had to provide its customer, a vehicle manufacturer, with comprehensive sealing devices with all components assembled. The manufacturer accepted only one defective part per batch. Even a single case of non-compliance could be disastrous, given the costs involved in re-inspecting the batch.

Goals

• As a result, our customer asked us to produce an assembly jig that would allow operators to ensure the compliance of the assemblies to be delivered.

Results

• We designed, produced, assembled and programmed an assembly jig equipped with optical fibres to detect the presence of components to add.
• Our customer’s quality objective was achieved.
• The tooling was designed more ergonomically, allowing our customer to speed up assembly by 15% as well as boost production volumes.
• The jig was made 80% lighter than a comparable aluminum jig. The tooling can now be safely lifted by an operator.
• This weight reduction also enabled our customer to implement new storage solutions that have freed up floor space.
• Given that plastic is hotter than aluminum, the operators prefer to work using this type of jig.