Contents

PSU CNH-3 Team:  Spencer Brown, Jason Martin, Gabe Pardo, Sean Sullivan, Mike Zboray

     Project Overview:

     Case New Holland is a worldwide leader in the manufacture of agricultural equipment such as harvesters and combines.  The New Holland, PA plant currently welds many of its sub-assemblies manually but recently purchased two Motoman 2-positioner welding robots.  Case New Holland (CNH) requested that Penn State University provide a student team to determine which of the manually welded parts could instead be welded on the robots.  The PSU CNH3 team developed a plan to address this determination which includes the following steps:  researching welding capabilities, analyzing the provided list of possible welds to be moved to robot welding according usage and handling time, reviewing robot capacity load hours, and drafting of the parts list for robot welding.  The team delivered a final list of sub-assemblies that was recommended to be changed from manual to robotic welding.  By reaching this objective the team maximized utilization of the welding robots and decreased cycle time by 25% per part, thereby potentially reducing welding costs.  An in-depth cost analysis was not required and not included in this final report.  Each team member has varied work experience and all have taken manufacturing classes that have given each member knowledge of basic manufacturing processes.

            The team completed all of the tasks relating to the completion of the project.  The final recommendation was to convert as many feasible weldments as possible to robotic welding.  These weldments may be selected by CNH from the finalized list provided by PSU CNH3. 

The team wishes to acknowledge Alfred C. Forsht, Sponsor Contact, and Clayton O. Ruud, IE 430 Professor for their help.