Case Study: a custom equipment manufacturer achieves automated turbocharger refurbishment with Sterling Engineering

a custom equipment manufacturer automates turbocharger refurbishment in 14 weeks with Sterling Engineering

The customer, a custom equipment manufacturer, faced the challenge of designing and building a system to automate the rebuilding of used turbochargers. Sterling Engineering provided equipment engineering services to meet this need for a system that could inspect, measure, and track each unit to determine which parts required replacement.

Sterling Engineering implemented a solution by providing a team of nine engineers to design a complete automated production line. This system consisted of eight work cells that used RFID technology to track and refurbish turbochargers through disassembly, inspection, and reassembly. The results were a system operating at a 51-second takt time with a capacity of 500 parts per shift, and Sterling delivered a full set of engineering documentation for the $10M+ project.