The main goal of this project is to maximize insulation and seal edges of spot-resistance welding as it is a requirement for the construction of heat shields for turbine engines. One of the major issues that the company has with the current way they are being constructed, is that the process time exceeds takt time and does not always get a proper seal on the first weld forcing be re-welded. This then leads to the company not being able to meet demand in time.The current process makes about 500 hundred manual spot resistance welds in a given year and leads to operator fatigue as it is a very mundane task. The solution that the company was able to come up with is to replace the handmade spot resistance welding process with an automated seam welding machine. This would not only meet the direct need of the operators, but the indirect need of the company as a whole. Using the budget we have been given $10,000, to construct the most efficient and cost-effective automated seam welding machine by May 2022. We have taken into account the risks we may encounter and assessed each of them while also developing a schedule for the project to ensure we stay on track to achieve our goal in time. The most important aspect that our sponsor has requested we take into account is to oversee the quality of weld happening and decreasing the cycle time. Weld quality will need to be monitored very closely because this causes the largest increase in takt time.

Our team collaborated with Mechanical Engineering 63 on this project.