The pursuit of quicker lap times is driving motorsports manufacturers towards smaller components, tighter tolerances, and increasingly precise production processes. For one electronics manufacturer, manual bonding and encapsulation had reached its limit, restricting both throughput and repeatability.
Working with Intertronics, the company restructured its approach to use automated dispensing and controlled UV curing, improving production consistency, eradicating costly scrap, and creating greater capacity for growth.
The automotive electronics producer creates custom exterior LED lighting and displays for the highest level of motorsport. As customers sought smaller, lighter products and more precise encapsulation to protect assemblies from harsh racing environments, the company quickly recognised the limitations of its existing process.
“The bonding and encapsulation stages were heavily reliant on specifically skilled individuals, meaning our business model was vulnerable to disruption and limited from expanding,” explained the company’s Managing Director. “In our silicone potting step, around 10% of products had to be scrapped due to human error. The impact on profits led us to seeking Intertronics’ help in summer 2020.”
The demonstration and purchase of a three-axis dispensing robot at Intertronics’ Technology Centre in Oxfordshire marked the first step in the partnership with the electronics manufacturer. Capable of five-micron positioning accuracy, the robotic dispensing system also achieves 99.9% accuracy in volumetric dispensing.
“The simplicity that these robotics bring to the manufacturing process allowed us to outsource previously specialist work, like PCB assembly, making our expansion organic and natural,” said the Managing Director. “The same encapsulation step that had a 10% scrap rate has since run through 400-500 cycles with zero waste, perfected by the robotic system.”
Six years after its first enquiry, the relationship has developed into an ongoing technical partnership. Intertronics has since supplied multiple robotic dispensing systems as the manufacturer’s requirements have evolved, alongside three bonding and sealing materials. Together, these solutions have helped the customer strengthen its production capabilities, and support the continued expansion of the business.
“During discussions, it became clear that the issue was not whether the adhesive could be dispensed, but whether it could be dispensed consistently enough to meet the customer’s repeatability and accuracy requirements,” said Darren Rea, Lead Sales Specialist.
“Automating that process allowed the customer to remove operator error and reach their repeatability targets. It also supported quality and traceability efforts, using consistent adhesive volumes, movement speed, and flow rates,” said Rea.
For a deeper look at how automation future-proofed the manufacturer’s business model, read the full case study on the Intertronics website.
