AEI improves handling and ergonomics

An intelligent assist device lifts, maneuvers and positions heavy parts.

By Bernie Knill, Editor at Large -- Modern Materials Handling, 10/1/2005

Advanced Energy Industries (AEI) in Colorado needed help in its manufacturing process. The company manufactures vacuum process tools for customers like Intel.

Trouble is, the unit AEI manufactures weighs about 80 pounds and costs up to $20,000. Worse yet, all handling was manual.

That has changed. Today, AEI uses an intelligent assist device (Gorbel, 800-821-0086) to lift, maneuver and precisely position the vacuum process tools during manufacturing. The result has been shorter handling times, reduction in costly damage and improved ergonomics for workers.

Manual handling was a problem for a number of reasons, says Gregory Kumor, senior test engineer.

Precision is one. Each unit (about the size of a clothes washer) has a vacuum flange in the middle of its horizontal surface. The product to be tested is an inductively-coupled plasma source in an electrical enclosure.

That requires the test unit to be carefully lowered so that the vacuum flange on the base of the unit is perfectly mated with the vacuum flange on the horizontal surface.

"We usually had only one operator," Kumor said, "so you can imagine the strength and precision to get the job done." Even two operators working together had difficulties.

Today, a single operator uses an intelligent assist device to pick up the 80-pound test unit and position it just a few inches above the flange.

Then, says Kumor, "the speed is decreased a few millimeters per second, and the unit creeps down to the surface. Because the operator simply has one hand holding the sleeve control, he can watch the flanges as they slowly approach each other and move into perfect position."

Kumor adds, "The intelligent assist device has worked flawlessly from the day we installed it."