Conceptual Design of Automated Equipment for Loading, Fixing, Processing, and Ejecting Cylindrical Parts

Given the intense competition in the automotive industry, the product delivery pace has shown a significantly accelerated trend, and suppliers must find solutions to maintain competitive products. Among the solutions, which can reduce both cost and production time, process automation plays a key role in machining, assembly, packaging, etc. The paper presents an automation solution with a subsystem corresponding to automated equipment designed for loading, fixing, processing, and ejecting cylindrical or other types of parts. As a result of documentary research, an analysis of the current state of existing similar equipment was conducted, identifying the requirements that such a system must meet to ensure highly efficient processes. A study of possible solutions was carried out using a concept map and a sub-morphological division method to select the optimal solution objectively. Consequently, an automated subsystem was designed for the specified operations, considering general design principles. These aspects can later be revisited for new research directions.