Cummins Engines Installs New Conveyor System

Cummins Engines has installed a new conveyor system in their Jamestown plant and officials there report it has made a huge difference.

The new conveyor system replaced a basic in-floor towline that was getting old. Kevin Aker, Cummins assembly leader said the new system brought an updated system to the production of truck, bus and generator engines and has maximized production flexibility. Because of the great new system Cummins moved production of generator engines from the company's Columbus, Ind. engine plant to Jamestown. Aker stated, "This plant utilizes our most modern assembly line, which has the flexibility and capacity to meet all customer requirements for our 11- and 15-liter engines more productively and cost-effectively."

The 1,500-foot towline conveys 235 engines a day through the plant. A 10% increase in efficiency won Cummins Engine the Modern Materials Handling's Productivity Achievement Award for Manufacturing.

Aker explains that 90% of the work necessary to build a generator engine is done at the workstations on the towline, at the 12 assembly stations there, options such as engine brakes and power take-offs are added to engines. Only 500 feet of the old tow-line is used to buffer engines for the build line.

Aker added that as engines move along the line, the exact location of each one is critical. Engines are now tracked by an RFID tag on each cart. When the engine is placed on the cart, the tag is read and linked to the serial number of the engine stored in a programmable logic controller-based control system.

This new system gave Cummins maximum flexibility in controlling the generator engine assembly process.