RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The ATAM R&D department studies and designs both standard and custom products, providing an accurate response to the most exacting demands of users, with constant attention to qualitative, production, logistics and economic factors. Special care is taken in the study and construction of moulds and tools, of dedicated machines, and in the choice of product construction materials, to create a solution that provides an optimal response to the customer’s expectations and needs, to the prescriptions of standards, and to the requirements of Atam’s production departments.
And that’s not all: again, with the aim of guaranteeing complete customer satisfaction, ATAM cooperates closely with the end user right from the drawing-board stage of any new project, carrying out painstaking research into performance, materials and production techniques. This is another factor explaining Atam’s ability to offer products that fulfil the requirements of the main national and international homologation organizations and also to assist customers throughout all stages of the certification process of their devices.
TESTING LABORATORY
The Testing Laboratory plays a key role in guaranteeing the utmost quality in each stage of the production process. This includes the execution of tests to establish resistance strength, turn-to-turn insulation, insulation to ground, and inductance, with the ability to check transients, monitor temperatures, the residual magnetic value, the capacitance value and force-stroke graph of electric actuators as well as the response time of solenoid valves, and spectrographic analysis of materials.
The Laboratory is also fully equipped to carry out thermal cycles and operating life tests in environments at various temperatures and humidity levels. All the test equipment is managed by a central computer that interpolates the data and produces specific certificates showing the values measured during testing.
MACHINE TOOL DEPARTMENT
With a strategy of complete production integration, ATAM is equipped with a modern in-house machine tool department that handles the design, construction and maintenance of moulds and tools. The machine tool department is indispensable in allowing ATAM to operate flexibly and solving any production problems rapidly.
The Tool/Equipment Design department works in close contact with R&D, external workshops and supplier partners, to engender efficiency throughout the process in order to obtain a construction plan with the maximum level of certainty before proceeding to final production. The Machine tool department also provides rapid responses to support requests related to production moulds, tools and machinery.
INCOMING GOODS INSPECTION
Before the production stage, all components and intermediate products (complete with accompanying analysis certification) undergo stringent checks on arrival in compliance with clearly defined Acceptable Quality Levels (AQL). These procedures are carried out using computerised and conventional metrological/electrical instruments, all of which are subjected to constant checking and calibration.
ATAM uses only top-quality raw materials from leading national and international suppliers, with each consignment accompanied by analysis certificates that are likewise vetted in the IGI procedure.
WINDING AND SOLDERING
ATAM uses highly automated machines for winding and soldering operations. Special care is taken when mounting the magnetic structure, sometimes using manual procedures, to ensure that these operations are kept within the correct conformity parameters. Regular in-line monitoring guarantees consistently high mechanical and electrical quality throughout all production stages.
The same attention is given to the materials forming the winding support (bobbin), which have to withstand the stresses produced during winding and, at the same time, resist the high temperatures resulting from the encapsulation process and from actual operation of the solenoid.
CONNECTOR ASSEMBLY
ATAM is equipped with advanced automated lines for both component production and quality control, capable of handling a complete range of connectors for solenoid valves and sensors.
Global product quality is guaranteed by reliable, versatile and innovative transfer machines, equipped with inspection stations that check each component and ensure it is correctly assembled. This organizational approach has allowed the ATAM brand to assume a position of world leadership in the field of industrial connections.
ENCAPSULATING
In the Encapsulation department the semi-finished product is over moulded with suitable resins to create the appropriate covering in both technical and aesthetic terms. The use of advanced electronically-controlled machinery enables ATAM to offer and use a wide range of resins to satisfy each specific requirement of our clients. The problems of obtaining higher power with ever smaller external dimensions have led ATAM to carry out endless research and to test resins that perform better at high working temperatures while being simultaneously capable of withstanding humidity and atmospheric agents in general.
ATAM uses only materials with high resistance to wear and tear, such as epoxy resins, polyamide resins, polyester thermoplastic resins, polyarylamide-based resins and special thermoplastic resins with a phenyl polysulphide base. Special attention is paid to the choice of resins used in potentially explosive environments and for applications subject to local regulations such as UL, CSA, VDE and EAC/GHOST. The encapsulation of connectors is carried out using the most technological engineering polymers on the market in order to guarantee the maximum level of resistance and durability of the connections, with special attention devoted to the degree of impermeability through time.
FINAL TESTS
The final Quality Control department is particularly important. Here, with the aid of fully automated computerised machinery, Atam’s entire production range undergoes stringent testing to check the winding resistance, ground continuity, polarization and cut-off voltage of any suppressors, copper wire insulation (surge) and current absorption of each individual component. This department is staffed by highly qualified and attentive personnel who carry out a meticulous visual inspection of each individual product. Furthermore, via an internal computer network connected to the testing machine the test officer displays the drawing of the product being tested so that compliance with the original project can be checked at a glance.
WAREHOUSE
ATAM has a well-stocked warehouse of around 800 m² for raw materials, components, intermediate and finished products. All the material is bar-coded to ensure rapid distribution and despatch to the various production units and clients. Each process is automated and centrally controlled by a computer network, with the aid of operators’ individual hand-held terminals. The central warehouse has also been supplemented by an automated vertical warehouse for moulding tools, designed to minimise production lead times.
AUTOMATIC MOULD WAREHOUSE
ATAM's integrated production system has been enhanced with an automatic vertical storage system housing moulds and various mechanical component kits, allowing for different versions. The integration of the warehouse with an internal management system provides all operators with real-time availability of items, supporting modular production planning for maximum flexibility and efficiency. A bar code system ensures that a mould can be retrieved by the system within seconds and delivered to a work bench equipped with LEDs to facilitate identification. The mould is then collected by an automatic handling system to support operators.
MOLDING OF TECHNICAL COMPONENTS
The technical components moulding department is equipped with the most advanced automation systems available on the market. This division features widespread use of lean manufacturing processes plus data networking, all of which are key aspects of Atam’s manufacturing philosophy. The department’s internal management system is a key factor in our just in time production process.
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