Nov. 24, 2014 – The new GE Industrial Solutions advanced manufacturing lab in Plainville, Conn., will use “sophisticated robotics and automated manufacturing systems” to design and build production lines for the GuardEon moulded case circuit breaker (MCCB), said the company. For customers, advanced manufacturing methods ensure the consistent high-quality outputs and flexible production to meet the safety and uptime challenges they face everyday in keeping their operations running, it added.
“The new lab is another example of GE’s investment in the future of our electrical distribution business to better serve our customers,” said Bob Gilligan, CEO of the Industrial Solutions business. “While six months ago this space was simply offices and cubicles, today, the 8,000-square-foot area is filled with hands-on, real-world innovative manufacturing design and development tools employed by a highly energized and experienced team of advanced manufacturing engineers.”
Production lines for the circuit breaker will incorporate robots that utilize smart-response movements to help safely and intelligently work directly alongside operators in a manufacturing environment, said GE. “Moonshine” tables will also be featured, outfitted with programmable logic controllers and pneumatics, which will serve as experimental design pods for inventing manufacturing operations.
Available in 2015, GuardEon will be a platform of four frames, accessories and trip units designed.
“We are making unprecedented investments in our business to deliver the global MCCB platform faster than ever before, while introducing innovative design-for-manufacturing development methods and launching a modern, advanced manufacturing plant,” added Gilligan.
Photos courtesy GE.
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