MMS Blog
By: Matt Danford 5/11/2019
Data-Driven Manufacturing Scales Down
Showcased at the Indian Metalcutting Machine Tool Exhibition (IMTEX) trade show in Bengalaru, India, this SmartCorrect gaging station uses a rotating turntable fixture and digital probes to check profile accuracy and find the point of maximum ovality on the circumference of this engine piston, which must be within 88 to 92 degrees from the centerline of the piston pin. Measuring each part and automatically calculating and feeding tool-wear offsets to the lathe CNC prevents measured features from trending out of specification over the course of the production run. Loading and unloading these systems by robot can further reduce the need for people.
Whenever the process mean—the average of the last three measurements of a machined feature—strays outside the control limits, the system feeds an insert-wear offset adjustment to the CNC. The same measurement on the next part will be closer to the center of the tolerance band.
Data-driven manufacturing does not have to be overwhelming or complex. Simple feedback loops from a measurement instrument to a CNC can provide a means for skills-strapped manufacturers to ensure quality parts with minimal involvement from shop personnel.
This was my thinking upon encountering an automatic gaging station that calculates and corrects turning insert wear offsets in real time. Available from Marshall Automation America Inc., the new U.S. arm of Indian machine tool builder Marshall Machines Ltd., SmartCorrect is designed to ensure defect-free, high-production turning in environments where skilled machine operators and inspectors are scarce. In a recent conversation, CTO Gaurav Sarup detailed how the system works.
By: Michael Guckes 5/10/2019
Metalworking Index Continues Modest Growth Trend
Metalworking Business Index:
April’s increased business activity in supplier deliveries, production and employment was offset by a sharp slowing in new orders. New orders readings have been very volatile on a month-to-month basis.
Metalworking — Supplier Deliveries & Employment (3MMA)
Closely similar Metalworking Index readings throughout 2019 belie the volatility in new orders, which have been offset by improving monthly readings in other components, particularly supplier deliveries and employment.
April’s Gardner Business Index (GBI): Metalworking registered 53.6 for a third month in a row, making the 2019 trend atypically static. April’s value is 10.4% lower than last year’s reading. Index readings above 50 indicate expanding business activity while those below 50 indicate contracting activity. Gardner Intelligence’s review of the underlying index components observed that the Index — calculated as an average of its components — was supported by increased supplier deliveries, production and employment activity. Components including new orders, exports and backlogs lowered the Index. Both backlogs and exports contracted in April.
April’s growth in new orders extended the volatile pattern of this component reading first experienced in late 2018. Since reaching a peak in February 2018, the three-month moving-average trend in new orders activity has signaled decelerating growth. However, individual month-to-month changes have expressed a much more volatile seesaw motion. Throughout 2019, new orders readings have been the most volatile among all business index components. Unexpectedly, export orders readings have been very consistent in the last six months, with all readings falling within a nearly two-point range.
By: Jedd Cole 5/9/2019
May 2019 Product Spotlight: Machining Centers
The SH-4000P horizontal machining center from Tongtai was developed for mass production lines. The new compact machine has a 35% smaller footprint than the previous model, enabling maximum shopfloor space utilization. Sold and serviced by Absolute Machine Tools, the HMC is intended to be a low-cost, high-speed machining center meeting the demands of manufacturers with high-volume machining needs. Read More.
GF Machining Solutions’ high-speed Mikron Mill S 400/500 Graphite and Mikron HSM 500 Graphite are dedicated specifically to graphite machining. Graphite glass molds for glass end products are especially common in markets such as information and communications technology (ICT), while graphite electrodes are typically used in the automotive, electronic components, aerospace and packaging sectors. These two machines are designed to meet the peculiar challenges of machining graphite in these contexts. Read More.
KRC Machine Tool Solutions’ Fusion VI is a modular large-format, multi-process gantry system capable of being parametrically configured for a range of part sizes. The Fusion VI is designed to perform trimming, drilling, routing, surface milling, marking and inspection in a single setup. Read More.
Making its debut in the United States this year, the MAM72-70V from Matsuura Machinery is a high-speed, large-capacity five-axis VMC. “The MAM72-70V is designed to handle a greater workpiece size than Matsuura’s existing models, offers faster response times and delivers higher productivity,” says David Hudson, vice president of sales and marketing. The machine features a maximum workpiece capacity of 700 × 500 mm (diameter × height), with a load capacity of 500 kg per pallet. Read more.
Mazak’s VC-500A/5X AM HWD multitasking machine is said to reduce lead times and part costs, increase machining accuracy and part quality, and improve productivity. The machine incorporates hot wire laser deposition technology to combine additive processes and programmable welding automation with five-axis machining. Read More.
The image gallery above, based on Modern Machine Shop magazine’s Modern Equipment Review Spotlight, features a selection of the product releases we have recently published about machining centers—powerful milling machines with advanced CNCs, enclosures, automatic toolchangers and other peripheral technologies.
Find more items in the product page of the MMS Online Zones dedicated to Vertical, Horizontal and Five-Axis Machining Centers.
Ira Green Inc. makes accoutrements for military uniforms, such as medals and pins. 3D-printed fixtures ensure the accuracy of nail placement while cutting down significantly on both the time and cost of designing and building fixtures. The machine’s ink-marking capability also adds three points of verification to prevent errors. (Image courtesy of Ira Green.)
The Rize One 3D printer is what IGI uses for its ficturing and prototyping work. The system uses what Rize calls augmented deposition, a hybrid of extrusion and jetting. The machine jets a release agent between layers for cleaner removal of support structures. Jetting also enables the ink marking capabilities that IGI takes advantage of for printing work order numbers, line numbers and pictures of the piece on the fixtures for identification as well as instructions for part use and storage.
Founded in 1943, Ira Green Inc. (IGI), headquartered in Providence, Rhode Island, is a full-service manufacturer and distributor of nearly 40,000 different accoutrements for military uniforms. IGI’s tool shop is focused, therefore, on manufacturing coining and blanking dies. It also produces small fixtures for welding and polishing.
With high demand for IGI products, new fixtures are required every day. However, each job had to wait in a queue for several days before it could begin, resulting in bottlenecks. Lead times between job requests and fixture delivery ranged from several days to weeks. Moreover, each fixture required eight hours of CNC programming, either for setup of pockets or contour electrodes for tool steel and wire EDM flat pockets. IGI was spending $300 for every fixture.
By: Wayne Chaneski 5/7/2019
Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Lean Manufacturing
In simple terms, lean manufacturing is a process that operates effectively through the elimination or reduction of waste.
Having spent many years training and consulting on lean concepts, I have responded to many questions. Here are some of the most frequently asked ones:
In simple terms, lean manufacturing is a process that operates effectively through the elimination or reduction of waste. There are proven tools to address waste, such as the 5S system to improve workplace organization, quick change-over to reduce machine setup times, total productive maintenance to reduce equipment downtime, one-piece flow to keep things moving until finished, standard work to discover the best way to do a job and ensure everyone follows the same protocol, and more.
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