Key Assembly Line

Sonplas has developed a fully automatic assembly machine for efficient assembly and testing of car keys. It goes without saying that the cycle time for doing so being of the order of a few seconds is decisive, in order to ensure a correspondingly high number of pieces. The system solution of Sonplas has a very fast cycle time of 8.5 sec.Highly complex processes such as joining, plastic welding, punching, screw-driving, flashing and test processes are integrated in it to save time and to be executed autonomously. In addition, haptics-based measurements, various other tests and laser marking take place during the process. A centralised database saves all process parameters and results. In order to keep the flexibility level high, these can be assigned subsequently. The worker feeds the assembly plant the necessary components in blister packaging or as loose goods. 14 robots remove these fully automatically and process them further. DMC readers identify the individual components during the entire production process. Comprehensive traceability is ensured in this way. Over and above this, the Sonplas assembly plant grants comprehensive software-controlled access control with extensive visualisation at LED spots, touch-screen control panels and a server terminal program. Special features of the assembly plant include, among others, welding of the key body within a tolerance range of +/- 0.05mm and a tensioning mask with various adjustment options. In addition, a press with direct shut-down controls the impact of force and joining techniques take place without visual defects. The assembly plant produces different types of keys completely without any further changing parts.