The Challenge – Equipment Engineering
Client: Custom Equipment Manufacturer
Objective: Battery assembly plant needed to assemble 190 lbs. electric vehicle battery packs
A custom equipment manufacturer needed to start designing a system to assemble and test electric vehicle battery packs on Dec 20th to be built in Q2. Because the assembly/test/reject process was intermittent, the material flow through the system needed accumulation and surge capacity to maintain the overall process cycle time. The manufacturing plant was also in a seismic zone, and the battery assembly line spanned 3 separate floors within the facility.
Our Solution
Sterling Engineering met with the client before the holiday to review their rough sales concepts and the expected performance, schedule, and cost objectives. Sterling provided a team of engineers using SolidWorks to design the system and provide a complete engineering package to build the equipment. Sterling’s lead engineers supported the client through all phases of design, fabrication, and assembly for this project.
The Results
Sterling developed an accumulation system that used robotics to manipulate each 190 lbs. battery pack and store up to 10,000 lbs. of them in a 2-story buffer elevator. The design incorporated the features required to meet the seismic requirements and maintain cycle time. The 3D solid models validated that the system could be installed in the multistory facility and integrated with all other upstream/downstream processes.
Project Duration
11 Weeks
Project Size
Design $245K
Project Team
8 Engineers