Snowboard Assembly
Control Freaks
A snowboarder watching the powder fly while racing down a hill demands control. So do snowboard manufacturers. That’s why one major firm called on Sterling to build two identical transfer machines to assemble and bond the trendy sports gear. Snowboards are built like sandwiches, with layers of wood, steel, fiberglass and resin, they explained. Heating, squeezing cooling -- everything must be precise, Quality is vital. In-process SPC monitoring provides a permanent record for each snowboard produced.
Sterling Engineering and Manufacturing rose to the challenge and developed a work cell with 10 stations laid out in a square indexing arrangement. After removing finished pieces, operators lay up materials on the mold for processing. The boards are heated and cooled as they move around the system. The mold then opens automatically at the load/unload station. Feel your heart beating faster? Call us. We’ll share more automation excitement.
