by bill.c bill.c

Implementing Data Systems into Automobile Manufacturing

In today’s competitive market, automotive manufacturers must be able to come up with new processes, automation and information systems in order to create a superior vehicle. Despite the fact that automotive assembly involves a lot of manual work, data must be captured in almost every single manufacturing process. Automotive manufacturers can experience declines in warranty costs and significant improvements in quality with a design that implements the correct combination of manual operations, automation as well as information infrastructure.  Simply put, automobile manufacturers can improve quality through better data.

Information systems that can benefit automobile manufacturers include:

  • Tracking technology
  • Kitting and sequencing systems
  • Automated error proofing systems

Automobile manufacturers can benefit greatly from the implementation of tracking technology. Software and controls can be integrated with the existing conveyance system in order to create awareness of vehicle location throughout the entire production process. Implementing a user-friendly interface at each station that generates data about each individual vehicle’s parts and processes, allows operators to easily understand the specific requirements for each specific vehicle.

Kitting and sequencing systems can also be utilized by automobile manufacturers. These systems can ensure that each vehicle’s specific parts and part kits arrive at each station at the correct time. This type of system can significantly reduce the time that it takes for operators to install all of the required vehicle parts in each individual station.

Before automated error proofing existed, inspection operators would simply visually inspect all vehicles and press a button that indicated whether the vehicle passed or failed the inspection. With automated error proofing the operator still visually inspects each vehicle, but with the help of a user-friendly interface. That way valuable error proofing and inspection data can be incorporated into their overall evaluation of the vehicle.

Information systems that monitor machine health, identify bottlenecks, track issues to specific machines and provide complete visibility for analysis allow operators to know the state of any machine at any given time. It also allows operators to understand why the line has stopped, identify any fault code trends in order to identify and solve machine issues and can help them solve any supply chain challenges. By implementing data systems into automated and manual production, automobile manufacturers can significantly improve the quality and efficiency of their production.

Bay Industrial Group offers manufacturers solutions that solve a variety of complex manufacturing challenges. For more information please contact Bay Industrial Group today.

Natural Gas in Baltimore Maryland
by bill.c bill.c

How is Natural Gas Involved in Manufacturing?

Natural gas is helping to revive American manufacturing. Natural gas is likely to create thousands of manufacturing jobs as many manufacturing companies build or expand their plants in order to take advantage of the low price of natural gas. Natural gas is an extremely important feedstock for chemical manufacturing and a major input to fertilizer manufacturing.

Natural gas is one of the world’s most important energy sources. It is useful for heating and cooking purposes and can be used as transportation fuel. Natural gas forms below the earth’s surface as a result of millions of years of heat and pressure. Like coal, it was one of the first fossil fuels harnessed for energy needs.

Increased availability of inexpensive natural gas in the U.S. has had a direct impact on many manufacturing industries including:

  • Steel
  • Iron
  • Fabricated metals
  • Machinery
  • Plastic
  • Rubber
  • Resin
  • Organic chemicals

It is believed that the energy revolution is helping the United States to regain its footing in the manufacturing sector. The manufacturing sector has been a critical part of the national economy’s rebound from the recession, especially in the metropolitan areas where employment continues to grow. In fact over the past few years, manufacturing employment has grown by an average annual rate of 1.7 percent. The energy intensive industry has played a key role in manufacturing expansion.

The abundance of natural gas in the United States produces many economic benefits for the manufacturing industry including cost savings, greater investments to expand U.S. manufacturing facilities as well as increased levels of employment.

Today, many European countries are moving their manufacturing to the U.S. in order to take advantage of the abundance of natural gas. In fact, there is such an abundance of natural gas in the U.S. that the capacity is enough to satisfy the existing consumer demand in addition to the new manufacturing demand.

With natural gas and oil more readily available than ever in the U.S., a surge in plastic, rubber, resin and chemical manufacturing has been seen within the country’s metro areas. The expanded demand for new pipelines and mining equipment has also resulted in an increase of sales and employment in steel, iron, fabricated materials as well as machinery manufacturing in the metro areas.

Bay Industrial Group offers manufacturers solutions that solve a variety of complex manufacturing challenges. For more information please contact Bay Industrial Group today.

Conveying Systems in Washington DC
by bill.c bill.c

When Are Conveyor Systems Needed?

A conveyor system is a piece of mechanical handling equipment that is used to move materials from one location to another. Conveyors are especially useful when heavy or bulky materials must be moved. Because conveyor systems allow quick and efficient transportation of a wide variety of materials, they are extremely popular in both the material handling and packaging industries. Conveyor systems are typically at the heart of many different manufacturing operations. There are several different types of conveyor systems available, depending on the individual needs of specific industries. Conveyor systems are utilized by a number of different industries including the automotive, computer, electronic, food processing, aerospace, pharmaceutical, bottling, canning and packaging industries.

Benefits of conveyor systems include:

  • Safely and quickly transports materials from one level to another
  • Safer than using a forklift or other machinery to move materials
  • Can be installed almost anywhere
  • Can move loads of all different shapes, sizes and weights
  • Properly made conveyors have reliable safety measures to help avoid accidents
  • Can be custom made to meet a variety of different needs
  • Improves efficiency

Many factors must be considered when selecting a conveyor system. Depending on what the conveyor system will be moving, it is extremely important for industries to know exactly how the conveyor system will be used. Points to consider include:

  • Transportation needs
  • Accumulation and sorting needs
  • Size of materials to be moved, including weight and shape
  • Where the loading and pickup points need to be located

Bay Industrial Group offers custom designed conveyor systems to meet any need. Their expert team works directly with your company to access your individual needs and help you design and integrate a conveying system that will provide you with the efficiencies that you require. Bay Industrial Group’s highly trained and experienced staff and fully-equipped manufacturing facility allows them to fully test and de-bug all custom built solutions prior to presenting them to the customer for approval. This unique approach minimizes downtime in your company’s manufacturing process.

Bay Industrial Group has extensive experience designing and integrating custom conveyor systems. Their core concept development team has worked together for over twenty years creating custom solutions to a wide variety of manufacturing challenges. Custom conveyors built by Bay Industrial Group include:

  • Drag chain
  • Slat conveyors
  • Mattop
  • Table top
  • Belt conveyors
  • Light, medium and heavy rollers

For more information on Bay Industrial Group’s custom conveyor systems please contact Bay Industrial Group today.

Welder in Balimore Maryland & Washington DC
by bill.c bill.c

What Are Bay Industrial Group’s Welding and Fabrication Capabilities?

When it comes to industrial machines, there are several different configurations as well as build-out options possible. Many of these alterations require welding or fabrication. Most manufacturing companies cannot get by with a simple cookie cutter solution. Bay Industrial Group understands these challenges and work directly with their customers to identify the specific problem define a solution and put their experienced welders and fabricators to work on a truly unique solution.

Bay Industrial Group specializes in creating solutions to complex manufacturing challenges. Their highly trained team of expert project managers, fabricators and automation designers work closely together in order to create the perfect solution for many different industrial enterprises.

Bay Industrial Group understands that an industrial or manufacturing facility is only as good as the components that make it function such as the machines, the processes and the people that make them work. When manufacturing machinery is not functioning properly, time and money can be lost. That is where Bay Industrial Group can help. They create custom made solutions to help manufacturers overcome even the toughest manufacturing challenges.

Bay Industrial Group’s experienced designers and fabricators have over twenty years of experience designing and implementing manufacturing processes. They also create workflows and machines that have the ability to make a manufacturing business much more efficient and more successful. Once a solution has been created, all of the machinery and components are fully tested and de-bugged before being presented to the customer. This superb attention to detail ensures that Bay Industrial Group’s customized solutions work right and make operations as efficient as possible with the least amount of downtime possible.

Bay Industrial Group has experience with:

  • Custom design and manufacturing of industrial tools and equipment
  • Fully integrated systems
  • Engineering and process development to meet a wide variety of customer needs
  • Indexing work stations for final and sub-assemblies
  • Assembly and packaging lines
  • Automatic palletizing and de-palletizing stations
  • Hard automation
  • Material handling equipment and systems
  • Ergonomic solutions
  • UL panel shop including engineering and assembly
  • Lifting, positioning and placing loads for all industries
  • Custom tooling and fixtures
  • Custom built carts and dolleys
  • Conveying systems
  • Work station cranes and vertical stackers
  • Overhead fall protection
  • Ergonomic work platforms
  • Structural mezzanines
  • Test equipment and prototypes
  • Build-to-print fabrication
  • Reverse engineering and documentation of existing equipment

For information on how Bay Industrial Group can help your company with its complex manufacturing challenges or welding and fabrication project, please contact Bay Industrial Group today.

by bill.c bill.c

How Food Manufacturers are Using Management Information Systems

MIS or management information systems refers to a computer system in an enterprise that provides valuable information about its business operations. The term can also be used to describe the people that manage these types of systems. In a large corporation the MIS or MIS Department refers to a central or centrally-coordinated system of computer expertise and management, typically including mainframe systems and by extension the corporation’s entire network of computer resources.

Management information systems help companies keep track of their resources and stay organized. MIS allows management to create a variety of different reports about their company’s various activities. Managers are able to quickly print and view reports to efficiently keep track of their company’s daily activities, services being used and how their products have sold. These reports can then be used to make future business decisions.

Today, the need for more timely and accurate process data is paramount to food manufacturers.

  • Food safety
  • Quality standards
  • Yield management
  • Waste control
  • Cost containment

This is just a short list of the many factors that food manufacturers must consider every single day. These requirements are driving up both the interest and demand for MIS solutions in food manufacturing.

In the past the process of recording food manufacturing production has been done manually. Today, manufacturers are able to quickly and efficiently capture, aggregate, analyze and report real-time as well as historical data on a variety of process Key Performance Indicators or KPIs. All reports can be customized by plant personnel and published online where they are available immediately for management to view from anywhere that they have access to the internet.

Data that can be collected and reported include:

  • Process temperatures
  • Flow rates
  • Pressures
  • Tank levels
  • Production yield
  • Equipment downtime
  • Lot traceability

With today’s technological advances, long gone are the days when manufacturers must adopt manual processes. Now it has never been easier for decision-makers to access timely, relevant and accurate process data. Through effective MIS solutions, data management is far less baffling and production goals are much more likely to be met. Many different manufacturing businesses can greatly benefit from this type of efficiency. This is why process automation is evolving to include more data-based decision making.

Bay Industrial Group can help with your complex manufacturing challenges. They create effective solutions to meet a variety of different manufacturing and production needs. For more information please contact Bay Industrial Group today.

 

Bay Industrial Group
by bill.c bill.c

How to Add Value to Pre-Engineered Manufacturing Equipment

Bay Industrial Group understands the complex needs of a variety of different manufacturing and production industries. They know that most businesses cannot get by with a cookie cutter solution. This is why Bay Industrial Group works directly with their customers to create not only manufacturing equipment but rather manufacturing solutions to complex manufacturing challenges. These solutions are designed with each customer’s individual needs in mind.

Typically Bay Industrial Group will incorporate standard designed equipment into their customer’s project in order to provide them with their own unique solution. By utilizing proven technology whenever possible, Bay Industrial Group is able to provide reliable and effective systems in a much shorter period of time. This unique and cost effective custom-designed approach can be utilized in a variety of different applications including:

  • Floor conveyors
  • Overhead Equipment

Bay Industrial Group utilizes specialized tooling to transform all types of manufacturing and production concerns into reliable and proven manufacturing solutions. Examples of these unique solutions include:

  • Belt conveyors and slat conveyors with attached custom tooling and/or fixtures
  • Monorail conveyor supporting and indexing assembly tools with custom electrification for ergonomic assembly stations
  • Electric chain hoist supporting custom fixtures to allow for infinite height adjustment
  • Simple pneumatic lifts supporting conveyor sections in order to accept and position weld fixtures, allowing the operator to access hard to reach areas
  • Tandem driven screw jacks used to evenly press and/or form long material
  • Light duty crane rails used as guide rails for either vertical or horizontal motions, such as in walking beams and vertical lifting equipment

Some of the distributor products and pre-engineered equipment offered by Bay Industrial Group include:

  • Conveyors
  • Work Stations/Rail Systems/Balancers
  • Custom Conveyors by Bay Industrial Group
  • Custom Equipment by Bay Industrial Group
  • Hoists
  • Ladders/Platforms
  • Lift Tables/Stackers/Dock Equipment
  • Racks and Shelving
  • Work Stations/Tables/Carts
  • Storage Systems/Storage Bins
  • Castors

Bay Industrial Group’s process for designing and implementing a solution for manufacturing and production challenges is comprehensive and highly effective. They work directly with their customers from the concept design all the way to the just-in-time manufacturing. Their highly experienced staff and fully equipped manufacturing facility allows them to create prototypes of all concepts and fully test and de-bug them before presenting them to their customers for approval. This greatly reduces downtime and disruptions to the customer’s manufacturing process. This unique approach lowers costs, increases productivity, improves quality control and provides customers with a much better return on their investment.

For more information please contact Bay Industrial Group today.

by bill.c bill.c

How Customizing Pre-Engineered Manufacturing Equipment Can Save You Money

Custom manufacturing solutions can be expensive.  Often, they are necessary to get your processes working properly.

What can you do about this?

First, you need to go to the people who understand the complex needs of a variety of different manufacturing and production industries.

Here at Bay Industrial Group, we know that most businesses cannot get by with a cookie cutter solution. This is why we work directly with our customers to create not only manufacturing equipment but rather manufacturing solutions to complex manufacturing challenges.

You need a unique solution but one that uses proven engineering.

Typically we’ll incorporate standard designed equipment into our customer’s project in order to provide them with their own unique solution.

By utilizing proven technology whenever possible, we provide reliable and effective systems in a much shorter period of time. This unique and cost effective custom-designed approach can be utilized in a variety of different applications like floor conveyors and overhead equipment, for example.

Types of pre-engineered customizations.

For a typical design, we use specialized tooling to transform all types of manufacturing and production concerns into reliable and proven manufacturing solutions. Examples of these unique solutions include:

  • Belt conveyors and slat conveyors with attached custom tooling and/or fixtures
  • Monorail conveyor supporting and indexing assembly tools with custom electrification for ergonomic assembly stations
  • Electric chain hoist supporting custom fixtures to allow for infinite height adjustment
  • Simple pneumatic lifts supporting conveyor sections in order to accept and position weld fixtures, allowing the operator to access hard to reach areas
  • Tandem driven screw jacks used to evenly press and/or form long material
  • Light duty crane rails used as guide rails for either vertical or horizontal motions, such as in walking beams and vertical lifting equipment

Some of the distributor products and pre-engineered equipment offered by Bay Industrial Group include:

  • Conveyors
  • Work Stations/Rail Systems/Balancers
  • Custom Conveyors by Bay Industrial Group
  • Custom Equipment by Bay Industrial Group
  • Hoists
  • Ladders/Platforms
  • Lift Tables/Stackers/Dock Equipment
  • Racks and Shelving
  • Work Stations/Tables/Carts
  • Storage Systems/Storage Bins
  • Castors

Our process for designing and implementing a solution for manufacturing and production challenges is comprehensive and highly effective.

How we can help you…

We work directly with their customers from the concept design all the way to the just-in-time manufacturing. Our highly experienced staff and fully equipped manufacturing facility allows them to create prototypes of all concepts and fully test and de-bug them before presenting them to their customers for approval. This greatly reduces downtime and disruptions to the customer’s manufacturing process. This unique approach lowers costs, increases productivity, improves quality control and provides customers with a much better return on their investment.

by bill.c bill.c

Properly Using “Buffers” Increases Productivity

One common enemy of production is an unbalanced flow of materials and/or processes.  These unbalanced tasks on an assembly line operation create surges that can dramatically reduce overall throughput.

In the same manner as one car making a sudden stop on a busy interstate highway will cause traffic to stop or slow at the same point for hours, a sudden stoppage on an assembly line may cause an extended delay in overall production.  If the stoppage or delay is due to the inability to provide parts or material in a timely manner, then The Proper Buffer could be the answer.

Buffer designs can take many forms.  The most popular is accumulation conveyor.  This can be accumulation tables on a high speed bottling line, zero pressure or low back pressure accumulation zones on floor conveyor, or lane accumulation on floor or overhead conveyor systems.  The purpose of all accumulation conveyors is to receive and stage items from an upstream operation until the downstream operation(s) are ready.  The effect is that the upstream operation is not held up due to a downstream delay and the downstream operation is not waiting for upstream part delivery.

Many operations require a more creative approach to resolve unbalanced product flow issues.  Bay Industrial Group has developed a number of custom buffers for a variety of manufacturing processes.  One of the most effective concepts is an accumulation “Tower”.  This design allows product to be stored in a vertical direction therefore greatly reducing the floor space required.  A tower may be designed to accept and deliver items in the same order as received providing a “First in – First out” (FI-FO) design.  A tower may also be design to strictly balance flow.  These systems receive parts from a surging upstream operation while presenting a consistence flow of parts to the downstream operations.

If you are having production issues due to an unbalanced flow of parts, material, or sub-assemblies, Bay Industrial Group may be able to help!

 

 

by bill.c bill.c

Whatever Your Automation System Needs, Bay Industrial Group Can Help

Automation refers to the use of various control systems for operating equipment such as machinery, processes in factories, boilers and heat treating ovens, aircraft and other operations with minimal or reduced human intervention. Perhaps the biggest benefit of automation is that it saves labor costs. However, automation also saves energy and materials and improves quality, accuracy and precision. Automation is achieved through a number of different means such as mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, electrical and computers. Many automation systems utilize a combination of some or all of these processes. Industrial automation refers to when these types of procedures are used in a work place environment, typically in the manufacturing industry. Benefits of industrial automation systems include:

  • Increased efficiency
  • Increased productivity
  • Less man power
  • Early fault detection and repair
  • Remote operations
  • Data for better results
  • Safer operations

Many industry experts believe that the future of industry requires an increased need for manufacturing processes to implement highly mobile automated systems. Virtually every industry has benefited from automation and some have even been greatly transformed by it.  Industrial automation devices come in various shapes, sizes and forms and a number of them can be used in large industrial outfits to perform a variety of different manufacturing tasks. All of these automated systems are simply robots with a mechanical body that is controlled by a computer. The motions of these industrial robots are highly sensitive through various degrees of movements. By using computers, they can even be made to understand complex things such as heat and pressure.

Today, industrial automation is used in many more places than simple manufacturing processes. After all, a single industrial robot can perform the work of fifty people in a single day. Companies can even keep industrial robots operating throughout the night and on weekends and holidays. This is obviously an extremely large advantage of using industrial automation. Industrial robots also tend to be more precise than humans.

Bay Industrial Group provides automation systems that meet the needs of all industrial operations. Their automation system capabilities include:

  • Custom Conveyors
  • Work Stations
  • Rail Systems
  • Balancers
  • Manipulators
  • Tray Stackers

Bay Industrial Group works directly with your company throughout the entire process from concept to full automation production. For more information about how our automation systems can help your business improve work flows and become more efficient, please contact Bay Industrial Group today.