Unlocking Efficiency: Accessing the Next Level of Automotive Assembly Line Control

In a landmark webinar at the close of the previous year, KINEXON and APEX Tool Group unveiled their strategic alliance, marking a significant collaboration in the automotive manufacturing sector. This partnership merges the renowned Cleco tool brand, with its extensive history of providing manual assembly tools to automotive OEMs, with KINEXON’s innovative prowess in the localization, automation, and digitalization of manual assembly processes. This synergy promises to enhance efficiency and innovation, heralding a new era of integrated solutions for automotive production.

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Embracing Innovation: The Journey of OEMs Towards Wireless Tool Integration and Process Optimization

In the rapidly evolving industrial landscape, Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) are increasingly compelled to transition to wireless tools, driven by the benefits of enhanced flexibility, worker satisfaction, and cost savings through automation. However, this shift is not without its challenges. It necessitates a comprehensive overhaul of existing processes to ensure that tools are used exclusively at their intended stations and to prevent their inadvertent removal by workers.

Moreover, the substantial financial investment required for new tools can only be justified if the advantages they offer are fully realized. This means eliminating additional efforts such as prior manual approvals to confirm tool appropriateness, reducing time spent searching for tools, and implementing effective theft protection measures. Only then can OEMs harness the full potential of wireless technology to streamline operations and bolster productivity.

Realizing the Vision of a Virtual Cable for Wireless Tools

Cleco cordless assembly tools are designed for maximum mobility. Cleco cordless nutrunners have been designed to provide wireless connectivity in manufacturing environments. The flexibility of a wireless tool in safety- critical applications can greatly improve operator productivity.

Cleco’s most innovative CellTek^TM products lead the market in speed, ergonomics, and connectivity to leverage the full potential of a wireless future:

• Connectivity – The most reliable real-time synchronization with manufacturing and engineering systems

• Ergonomic – Sleek and lightweight for the ultimate in comfort and balance

• Speed – Improve your production time with fastest cordless assembly tools in its class

• Accurate – Ensures safety-critical assembly with best-in-class accuracy and repeatability

Equipped with KINEXON RTLS Integrated Tool Tags, CellTek^TM assembly tools can be localized and identified seamlessly to realize the vision of a virtual cable. Leveraging ultra-wideband technology, even tooling operations can be controlled with high accuracy to assure both product quality and process flexibility. UWB is considered the gold standard of indoor localization technologies thanks to its numerous advantages over comparable technologies such as RFID, BLE or WiFi. It is an ideal solution for location-based automation of production-critical tooling operations.  

Thanks to its small size, attaching an Integrated Tool Tag is fairly easy and highly flexible without impeding tool operators, ensuring ergonomics and operational safety. With years of experience, standard housings for different tool models have been developed, capable of the daily usage of a production environment over multiple years.

Powered by the wireless tool’s power supply, the Integrated Tool Tag is easy to maintain, imposing no additional efforts to maintenance engineers. It facilitates their daily routine by making tools easily locatable for any service or repair task.  

With a KINEXON RTLS Tag attached, CellTek^TM assembly tools offer a streamlined approach to achieving a virtual cable concept. These tags utilize ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, renowned for its precision, to enable high-accuracy control of tooling operations, enhancing both product integrity and procedural adaptability. UWB is hailed as the premier choice for indoor localization, outshining alternatives like RFID, BLE, or WiFi, due to its superior benefits. It’s the perfect system for automating the location of essential tooling operations in production.

The compact design of the KINEXON RTLS Integrated Tool Tag ensures its attachment is straightforward and adaptable, without hindering the tool operators, thus prioritizing ergonomic design and safety. With extensive experience, standardized casings have been crafted for various tool models, ensuring durability in the demanding conditions of daily production use.

Powered by the tool’s own wireless energy source, the KINEXON RTLS Integrated Tool Tag demands minimal upkeep, relieving maintenance engineers of extra work and simplifying the process of locating tools for servicing or repair tasks.

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Watch here and elevate your assembly line to the next level!

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