An automated cable assembly machine

A hand-built cable purchased from an outside vendor, and used in large quantities at the Denver Works to assemble AT&T private branch exchange (PBX) systems, did not meet quality, shipping, and cost expectations. Therefore, Denver engineers began in-house automated production of this cable, using robotics and custom-designed automation. This paper describes the configuration and operation of an automated cable assembly machine composed of six major workstations that, when operating simultaneously and sequentially, completes one cable assembly every 30 seconds. Restocking the machine with piece parts is the only manual intervention required.