Modular conveyor system enhances production line agility

Modular DynaCon conveyor systems provide automotive parts heavyweight Mann+Hummel added flexibility, simplified replacement parts inventory and easier maintenance on dedicated manifold production lines.

by Ed Sullivan

Production agility is vital to many manufacturers today, perhaps in the OE auto parts sector more than most others. Although many auto parts companies have dedicated production lines for continuous runs of components and assemblies, such setups can benefit from the ability to quickly reconfigure, fine tune and service production line equipment – including conveyor systems.

“In this business, you’ve got to be fast on your feet,” said Bruce Wakefield, Manufacturing Engineer for Mann+Hummel Automotive in South Bend, Ind., which develops and produces injection-molded plastic manifolds for the international automobile industry. Using lost core and multi-shell technology, the Mann+Hummel unit is a tier-one producer of plastic manifolds, primarily for U.S. Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) customers.

The global Mann+Hummel Group is one of the world’s largest suppliers of air and liquid filters, intake manifold modules and liquid management systems in vehicles. In fiscal year 2000, the company employed a workforce of 9,100 at 38 locations in Europe, North, Central and South America, Asia and Australia.

The plastic manifold segment of Mann+Hummel business has been highly successful for the past 10-plus years. Injection-molded plastic manifolds offer several important benefits over the previously universal cast metal versions: They are lighter in weight and lower in cost.

Injection-molded manifolds require neither honing nor polishing, and permit more complex geometries than cast metal manifolds, thereby facilitating improved airflow. Plastic manifold components are friction welded on the production line, eliminating the need for later assembly on the vehicle engine production line.

The South Bend operation produces three-part manifolds for four-cylinder General Motors Corp. engines, and a four-part assembly for eight-cylinder DaimlerChrysler AG Chrysler engines.

As with typical auto parts manufacturing facilities, the Mann+Hummel manifold plant requires a high degree of efficiency and a certain amount of flexibility.

“There are varying factors we must consider when making production decisions,” said Wakefield. “We have major investments in production equipment and stringent delivery requirements for finished products. To ensure that we can meet our primary commitments, we may have excess production capacity that we can sell. At the same time, we must avoid downtime, which requires being able to service our production lines quickly, including any necessary reconfigurations and repairs.”

The manifold production lines include conveyors that feed three 1,750-ton presses located in three cells. Work in process goes from the presses to a collect chute, where operators put parts in totes and continue on to workstations where automatic welding takes place.

The original conveyor system installed when the plant was built in 1989 was a typical fixed-steel design, with runs varying up to approximately 80 feet. Although the conveyors performed reliably, there were circumstances when they did not offer the flexibility or ability to tweak a configuration that would have helped production flow. When manifold designs changed, the molding cells needed to be reconfigured, and in some instances meant ordering new conveyors, which also meant waiting weeks for them to be delivered.

In early 2000, Mann+Hummel of South Bend replaced the conventional steel conveyors on a secondary line with a DynaCon modular plastic conveyor system manufactured by Dynamic Conveyor Corporation, Muskegon, Mich. DynaCon conveyors were designed for medium-duty applications and enjoyed a fine reputation in the injection molding industry.

The trial DynaCon system proved to be reliable and offered the ultimate in flexibility with a wide range of module designs. So, Mann+Hummel decided to apply the system to the line feeding one of its primary manifold molding cells.

“We had a tight arrangement in one cell, and the DynaCon system made it a lot easier to bring the parts in on the conveyor,” Wakefield said. We put an angle on the end of the conveyor to be more ergonomic with the positioning of the parts to the operator. With the flexibility of the DynaCon we were able to try a 30-degree or 45-degree angle to the conveyor as we were laying out the cell on paper. It gave us a lot of flexibility in our floor plan layout.

"Plus, the system gives us a lot of flexibility down the road if we want to move some gear, reconfigure the cell, add a piece of equipment or take one out," he said. "And, it’s easy to reconfigure the conveyor. That’s a big advantage because with automotive programs that have a definite life, your cell is eventually going to be obsolete. But your DynaCon conveyors aren’t – you can reconfigure them for the next project.”

Wakefield said his group got a lot of assistance from Dynamic Conveyor for the initial DynaCon installations, service that you could not expect from a fixed conveyor supplier.

He added: “We didn’t really have much to do. We just gave Dynamic Conveyor the floor plan and then worked with them, as they suggested and laid out what they thought we should do differently in order to gain the greatest flexibility. They also came in and assembled the conveyors, so we had pretty much like a turnkey system."

Standard DynaCon conveyor system modules include drive flights, side guards, retaining walls, legs and connectors. A variety of accessories, such as cooling tunnels, separators, and water bath tanks are available. DynaCon also offers a radius turn conveyor that flows on an incline or decline.

Whether doing a complete reconfiguration or simply tweaking the system, Wakefield is confident he can handle the task without assistance from Dynamic Conveyor. On one line his group developed a proprietary system to cool the manifolds as they left the presses. 

While DynaCon cooling tunnel modules are available, Mann+Hummel engineers decided to use the threaded recesses on the conveyor sideguards (normally used to connect flange kits) to mount fans that cool the plastic parts as they travel on the conveyor.

Wakefield is impressed with the advantages of carrying an inventory of standard DynaCon parts for reconfiguring or replacing the system. 

“In our business, you’ve got to have fast reflexes," Wakefield said. "The last metal conveyor we ordered took five or six weeks for delivery. With the DynaCon system we can often work with modules and components we have on hand. Otherwise, delivery of new DynaCon orders is very fast.”

While Mann+Hummel’s South Bend manifold plant still has some dedicated fixed conveyors in use, most will ultimately be replaced with DynaCon systems.

“I would think that many manufacturers who use conveyors would benefit from a DynaCon system, especially from the advantage of commonality of conveyor parts throughout the production line,” Wakefield says.

A number of DynaCon system accessories are available: a feed shield to prevent parts from deflecting off the conveyor, exit chute, and drop-zone reinforcement module. Available electrical accessories include box filling via counting machine cycles, electronic eye for parts counting and placement, as well as electrical controls for indexing, reversing and cutting conveyor power.

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