For over 70 years, Elec-Tron has been synonymous with quality in electrical components. They’ve set the engineering standard for spacing and mounting, and their electrical connectors, terminal blocks, and custom designs are the backbone of countless appliances and equipment. From your car to your home utilities, chances are an Elec-Tron component is powering it.
But staying at the forefront requires strategic adaptation, and Elec-Tron recognized that the next step in their evolution was improved automation. This meant moving away from their aging equipment and exploring new ways to meet the increasing demands of the market.
They needed more than just a new machine — they needed a partner that understood their challenges and could deliver a custom automation solution. They found that partner in DEVELOP LLC.
Contents
The Challenge of Meeting Rising Demand with Aging Equipment
Elec-Tron faced a significant challenge — surging demand coupled with an aging production line. To maintain their leadership, they needed to address some critical areas:
- Replacing Inefficient Machinery: Their grounding lug production equipment was becoming increasingly costly to maintain and was no longer efficient.
- Reshoring Production: Elec-Tron recognized the strategic advantage of bringing their grounding lug production back in-house, reducing their dependence on overseas suppliers such as China, and improving supply chain reliability. This move was critical to their overall goals.
- Boosting Production Capacity: They needed a dramatic increase in electrical component production to keep pace with their growing customer base.
- Improving Labor and Safety: Optimizing worker efficiency while ensuring a safe work environment was a priority.
- Maintaining Compliance: Their products needed to meet the highest standards, including UL and CSA regulations.
“It comes back to that American design, American engineering, American quality standards, and having just an excellent, excellent product that’s gonna be far superior to anything else out there. We wanted to signal to our customers that, hey, we are taking your request seriously, and we are ready to meet your increased demands,”
Caleb Edelman, President of Elec-Tron
The Automation Assessment with DEVELOP LLC
DEVELOP approached the project with a strategic, data-driven mindset. They didn’t just propose a solution; they engaged in a deep assessment of Elec-Tron’s operations. The Automation Assessment included:
- On-Site Scoping: DEVELOP’s team analyzed Elec-Tron’s facility, manufacturing capacity, and business objectives.
- Stakeholder Interviews: They spoke directly with team members to gain a comprehensive understanding of the challenges.
- ROI Training: DEVELOP went beyond a presentation, actively training the Elec-Tron team to evaluate ROI, assess project risks, and identify growth opportunities.
- Focused Design: Together they analyzed key metrics: Which SKU’s made the most sense based on risk, cycle times, and budget? How much could rely on off-the-shelf parts, and how much would need fully custom engineering? Which options would provide the best long term growth opportunities, ROI, and meet all the rigorous regulations?
Following this deep dive, DEVELOP and Elec-Tron collaboratively identified the need for a custom automation solution to produce millions of grounding lugs per year from extruded aluminum bars.
“I view automation as this is how I’m gonna grow. This is how I’m going to develop new capabilities. This is how I’m gonna get bigger, stronger, and hire more people, and create more jobs, and just do more work, and create more value.”
Caleb Edelman, President of Elec-Tron
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The Solution: Introducing the Drill, Tap, Stamp, and Cut (DTSC)
The answer to Elec-Tron’s challenges came in the form of a customized automation solution: the Drill, Tap, Stamp, and Cut (DTSC) machine. This linear transfer machine, designed for efficient extrusion processing uses custom modular stations to transform extruded aluminum into finished grounding lugs with incredible precision. The DTSC achieved numerous goals for Elec-Tron with turnkey manufacturing:
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- High Speed Production: An estimated speed of 5.6 seconds per part, with an annual manufacturing capacity of over 4.5 million units.
- Automated Material Handling: A six-bar magazine automatically loads 14-foot aluminum extrusions, with a linear rail system for hands-off feeding.
- Sequential Manufacturing: Dedicated Drill, Tap, Cut, and Sawing stations ensure precise and hands-off grounding lug production.
- Automated Minimum Quantity Coolant (MQL): Ensuring the longevity of the tools and consistent part quality.
- Semi-Custom HMI: A user-friendly computer interface, using our HMI ecosystem, was implemented to make operators’ lives easier while providing management with valuable operational data.
- Remote Maintenance and Diagnostics: Elec-Tron also enabled remote maintenance and diagnostics through our HMI via our PowerBI dashboard, allowing our support team to assist them from anywhere, and provide management with real-time visibility.
- Integrated Safety Systems: Numerous physical and electronic safety mechanisms were integrated into the machine.
- Footprint Reduction: The DTSC combined the functionality of two older machines, along with a magazine feeder, significantly reducing the required floor space, steps of labor, and overall labor demand, while simultaneously increasing unattended runtime.
“When I first saw the machine, it was definitely a moment of, wow, this is truly gonna be transformational.”
Caleb Edelman, President of Elec-Tron
The Results: Elec-Tron Leads with Advanced Automation
The implementation of the DTSC has been nothing short of revolutionary for Elec-Tron. They not only met but surpassed their goals, solidifying their position as the premier supplier of American-made electrical components:
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- Increased Production Volume: Cycle times for key SKUs of grounding lugs were drastically reduced, allowing Elec-Tron to meet rising demands.
- Significant ROI: The investment in the DTSC is expected to yield a full ROI within two years, with pure revenue generated beyond that point.
- Enhanced Workplace Safety: The compact DTSC occupies a smaller footprint, creating a safer, more compliant work environment.
- Streamlined Operations: The DTSC replaced not one but two aging industrial machines, multiple workers, and tedious manual steps with a single operator and a more efficient process, improving safety, and increasing unattended runtime.
- Ergonomic Improvement: The repetitive and ergonomically challenging task was turned into “lights out” manufacturing.
- Customer Assurance: The DTSC serves as a statement piece, signaling Elec-Tron’s commitment to staying at the forefront of grounding lug manufacturing in the United States.
- Strategic Roadmap: This project provides a proven path for Elec-Tron to strengthen their competitive advantages through further investment in custom automation solutions with DEVELOP.
- Continued Partnership: DEVELOP and Elec-Tron are currently evaluating additional automation opportunities to further optimize their production capabilities and solidify their position as the leading grounding lug manufacturer in the United States. Elec-Tron views now as the time to continue investing so they can remain the top lug manufacturer in the US.
“We need to respond by showing that we can automate here in the US, and that we can do it not just as good as other countries, but better. Supporting our domestic economy, supporting American jobs, being able to go home to my family, to my children, and say, hey, you know, we designed this product in America. It was made in America. It’s just something where I can personally attest to the quality of it. I’ve met every single person whose hands went into building this machine,”
Caleb Edelman, President of Elec-Tron
Powering Progress with Custom Automation
This case study demonstrates DEVELOP’s expertise in customized automation solutions that address complex manufacturing challenges. Through a thorough assessment, collaborative approach, and commitment to innovation, DEVELOP helps manufacturers like Elec-Tron achieve remarkable improvements in efficiency, productivity, and quality.
Elec-Tron’s story is a testament to the power of strategic automation and partnership. It highlights DEVELOP’s ability to not only solve immediate production bottlenecks, but also to help businesses grow, innovate, and lead in their respective industries.