The modern manufacturing sector carries the highest expectations in quality and efficiency that the industry has ever held. More than ever, products are expected to be manufactured in ways that are lean, repeatable, and sustainable.
Meanwhile, labor costs have steadily risen to keep pace with the complicated production processes required in today’s market – especially in the case of North American companies. Today’s manufacturers are therefore faced with the difficult challenge of simultaneously raising the bar in capability while lowering costs to stay ahead in an ever more competitive global manufacturing space.
Considering all of these factors, it’s no surprise that custom machine automation is increasingly popular in factories across the nation. Rising manufacturers increasingly turn to automation engineering companies like Advanced Systems and Controls (ASC) to streamline their operations with special purpose machines designed to perform as much of the process automatically as possible. By tailoring the production machinery to the specific products being manufactured, we are able to achieve higher speed and repeatability, along with reduced waste and overall better sustainability.
The Benefits of Custom Process Automation:
Better Manufacturing Efficiency
For many manufacturers, factory automation is all about lean efficiency. The main goal is to simplify the production process along with the supply chain that supports it. Custom machine automation achieves these goals by tailoring a unique process to your unique products, removing inefficiency and waste along the way.
When we develop custom automated systems for specific processes, we can cut out any unnecessary time and complexity to deliver a truly optimized, turnkey solution.
- Reduced Waste – The smallest amount of materials go in, the minimal amount of waste comes out. Thus raw material purchase costs are minimized and the end product is produced more sustainably.
- Reduced Labor Requirements – Repetitive tasks are automated to minimize labor time and costs. As a result, employees can dedicate their efforts to more specialized tasks elsewhere on the production line – for example in process monitoring, or performing additional checks in quality control.
- Quicker Response and Turnaround Time – When your production process is custom engineered and automated around the specific requirements of your products, you can offer much quicker turnaround and response times to keep pace with fluctuating order volumes and just-in-time delivery schedules.
More Consistent Quality Control
Custom machine automation reduces (or, in some cases, completely removes) the likelihood of human error in the manufacturing process. This leads to better repeatability and ultimately higher quality products. Consistent quality control is particularly important in industries where absolute accuracy and precision are critical for end product compatibility and/or performance, such as the cutting-edge aerospace sector and automotive industry.
Automating the Quality Control Process
Automated testing and inspection systems can take manufacturers’ quality control efforts even further. Automation in quality control facilitates faster and more consistent results. As you can imagine, machines don’t get tired or distracted while performing highly repetitive product tests and inspections, thus removing human error and fatigue from the equation.
For unique examples of special purpose automated testing systems in action, check out our Projects Page which contains a number of detailed case studies. We can likely develop similarly capable automated test systems for your unique products and/or quality control process.
Better Long-Term Sustainability
Most often, manufacturers approach ASC with manufacturing processes that are too complex, too costly, or too inefficient to perform manually. Our job is to streamline these unique processes with special purpose machinery, thus facilitating quicker, more cost-effective manufacturing. We aim to maximize sustainability while minimizing wasted materials as well as your time invested in each end product.
Remaining Ahead of Your Competition
Companies that invest in custom automation can gain a competitive edge by offering faster delivery, higher quality, and more cost-effective products, ultimately attracting more customers.
ASC’s highly diverse industry experience facilitates a cross-pollination of ideas which is crucial for developing practical, cost-effective automation equipment. Streamlining new manufacturing challenges as they arise, we develop solutions which are effective not only today, but also have the flexibility to expand and evolve alongside your business, meeting the changing market demands of the future while remaining ahead of your competitors.
Innovation in Custom Machine Automation Since 1990
Advanced Systems and Controls specializes in the engineering and manufacturing of custom machine automation solutions. Since 1990, our company has remained an industry leader in the development of high-quality assembly, measurement, and test systems for the automotive /commercial vehicle drivetrain industry and beyond. A highly experienced American manufacturer, ASC currently operates from a state-of-the-art 24,000 sq.-ft facility located in Macomb, Michigan.