How T&D Metal Products Helped Restore Quality and Capacity
T&D Metal Products works with leading manufacturers in the agricultural equipment industry. We handle full production programs, including stamping, assembly, quality control, and delivery. When problems arise, we take responsibility and solve them.
This is exactly what happened in this case. For almost ten years, T&D Metals made a specialized airless irrigation wheel for a major customer, using an automated assembly cell that applied 40 fasteners per wheel to exact torque standards. At full capacity, the cell produced about 6,000 wheels each year.
The problem developed gradually, with each product change. By 2020, the assembly cell failed to complete all 40 fastener torques on every wheel, reaching a 100% fail rate.
This number is important because of our strict quality standards. If even one torque was missed, the whole wheel failed inspection. Any wheel the automated cell could not finish had to be completed by hand at a separate station. As a result, output dropped to about half the planned rate, and we needed to add another operator to each shift. The program faced extra costs and quality risks it was not meant to handle.
The main issue came from several product changes made by the customer between 2017 and 2018. A new drive-point component was added to fix field failures, but it was much more complex than the original. We retrofitted the assembly cell to handle it, which worked for a while. However, this only hid a bigger compatibility problem that grew worse over time.
Later, the customer added a heavier, stiffer track component that needed more force to position. The retrofitted mechanism could not handle this. The original cell design moved all ten drive point stations at once, which worked with the old parts but was too much for the new system. As a result, misalignment at the torque station became common.
T&D Metals worked with an engineering design and the customer’s teams to find the best solution. We decided that more changes to the old station would not be worthwhile. Instead, we needed to design and build a completely new final assembly station.
We began by addressing the main failure. The original cell tried to position all ten drive point stations at once, which did not work with the new parts. The new design focused on positioning one drive point at a time, right as it entered the torque position. This solved the force-distribution problem at its source.
We added several improvements to the new station to make this approach work reliably in production:
- A shot pin mechanism locks each station in place before torquing starts, ensuring repeatable results every time.
- A reinforced torque gun carriage guides itself through the dial assembly and into the drive point sled, keeping alignment consistent without needing operator adjustments.
- The new fixture uses heavier construction, which removes the flex and wear that weakened the old retrofitted design over time.
- We updated the control system and integrated it with the existing torque equipment. Now, every bolt torque is recorded electronically, and the automated pass/fail labeling system is back in place, with production data available for monitoring and audits.
The redesigned assembly cell improved every important metric.
Automated torque completion went back to 100% per wheel, so manual finishing was no longer needed. Staffing returned to the original level, and we no longer needed an extra operator on each shift. Throughput reached the intended run rate, with enough capacity to match or beat the program’s record of 6,500 wheels in a year.
Now, the program has consistent electronic torque tracking for the first time. Every fastener on every wheel creates a traceable quality record. This reduces human error and fatigue from hand torquing, and gives the customer reliable data they can trust.
The return on investment was clear. Considering years of reduced throughput, extra labor, manual finishing, and quality risks, the cost of a well-designed solution was much less than the ongoing cost of keeping a broken system.
This project reminded us of some key lessons we bring to every manufacturing partnership. When a key part is redesigned, the equipment that works with it should be reviewed just as carefully. A retrofit can help for a while, but it does not solve the real issue. Over time, it can even hide how serious the problem is. Collecting electronic quality data right at the production line is essential, not just a bonus. It is the basis for reliable, proven results that keep customers coming back. Fixing a broken process the right way usually costs less than the long-term losses from lower output, extra labor, and lower quality that come from patching things up. Sometimes, the best thing a partner can do is help you see the true cost of not taking action.