Specialisation and diversification are not two antithetical visions, but the same side of a coin for businesses interesting in taking an innovative and competitive approach to the market. This assumption is at the heart of the experience and work of Camas, a company based in the province of Brescia (Italy) which has built its reputation on custom solutions for automatic or semi-automatic assembly lines and testing. Over a relatively brief time period – less than thirty years in business – from its headquarters in Rovato, the company has completed more than a thousand automation projects developed by a team of more than 50 engineers in response to the needs of the manufacturing industry. Its range features increasing levels of customisation to suit individual client specifications.
A recent project developed by Camas is the control line for the operational control of a dashboard module for BMW. Loading is done manually because of the delicate nature of the part and the need to identify each piece by bar code. The pieces are then conveyed to a revolving table with 24 divisions, each having a different task:
- testing of key and power switch operation load with printout of displacement force diagram;
- analysis of the operating torque of the adjustment wheels and of power continuity during transients;
- reading of the luminosity of the LED symbols, their completeness and position using the vision systems;
- testing of the electrical connections and absence of short circuit.
Moreover, the tested device has active logic, and therefore can be signal- and not power-controlled: this in turn calls for operations also using specific communication protocols developed for the automotive industry (in short, power is not needed to turn on a LED, instead a signal is sent that orders the device to turn on the LED).
All the parameters measured and test results are archived in a database and marked with laser datamatrix on the piece in order to ensure 100 per cent traceability.
