serious solutions 2013 LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING - Hubspot.net

serious solutions

LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING

2013

INTRODUCTION + CONTENTS The prospect of making parts overnight with little or no labor cost is extremely tempting to any CNC machine shop. It’s easy to understand why: Competition is keen and customers demand better parts and products to be available precisely when they need them – and at the lowest possible price. Meanwhile the cost of materials, utilities, labor and employee benefits continue to spiral upward. So the idea that a manufacturer can turn off the lights and go home every night while unattended mechanical minions crank out parts is an intriguing concept. Modern technology, in fact, makes it possible to implement lights out production not just for large manufacturing operations, but also for smaller CNC shops. However, there are a number of issues that must be considered before embarking on this journey. In this paper we will discuss several important factors and provide suggestions to help you develop a workable plan to go lights out.

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SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES & CONSIDERATIONS

3

THE ROLE OF ROBOTICS

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CASE STUDIES

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SPECIFIC ADVANTAGES OF LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING The big picture objective of lights out is to reduce labor costs, but there are other potential savings as well:

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Machine Tools. Is the machine capable of continuous operation? Is it highly stable and rigid? Does it have appropriate spindle power? Does it have enough tooling stations to automatically provide an adequate supply of cutting tools? Is the control system capable

•

Long overnight runs can make your daylight machine time more flexible, so you can make more short runs that require changeovers, work on more complicated parts, or respond to an urgent order from one of your customers.

•

for energy used during off hours...”

Machine operators can use their time more efficiently by setting up overnight production while daytime runs are in progress.

•

“Power companies often charge less

of monitoring activities and either auto-correcting or remotely communicating problems? Does it have

Power companies often charge less for energy used

built-in thermal compensation and crash avoidance

during off hours (overnight), so it may cost less to

technology?

operate machinery during lights out production. Chip & Coolant Management. Can the chip conveyor

considerations Assuming the kinds of parts you want to produce during lights out manufacturing lend themselves to unattended operation, there are some fundamental issues to consider.

adequately handle the quantity and types of chips produced throughout the production run? Or will the chips begin to back up and create problems? Can the conveyor efficiently filter coolant to prevent fines from contaminating the cutting fluid and potentially clogging coolant delivery nozzles or causing a pump

Reliability of Equipment. Since there won’t be

breakdown? If high-pressure coolant delivery is re-

anyone on site to address machinery malfunctions,

quired, can the delivery system be programmed to

the machine tools, peripherals and automation

vary the pressure throughout the machining cycle as

equipment you use must operate flawlessly.

necessary?

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Material Loading/Unloading. The two most com-

an in-house plan or contract with a reliable service

mon loading methods are bar feeders for loading bar

provider, a preventative maintenance program is

stock, and robots for just about everything else. If

critical for lights out operations.

loading bar stock, is the feeder capable of holding an adequate amount of material in its magazine or

Remote monitoring. Although using reliable

holding tray? Does it have the ability to continuously

equipment and following a planned preventative

feed and support bar stock in synch with the machine

maintenance program will minimize problems,

tool to eliminate crashes? If running a family of parts,

there is always the possibility of machine failure,

can it communicate with the machine tool program

cutting tool breakage, power outages and other

schedule and automatically adjust itself to a new part?

unexpected issues. That’s when having a remote

Is it sturdy enough for continuous operation? Once the

monitoring system is invaluable. Today many CNC

cycle is completed, can the part simply be pushed out

machine controllers and peripheral equipment are

of the machine tool into a bin? Is a vacuum unloader

designed to work with Ethernet or other communi-

required to help protect part finish? Is a robotic arm

cations tools that can send alerts to PCs or mobile

or other device called for to unload the machine tool?

devices located anywhere you choose. A number of manufacturers use MTConnect® for universal

Planned Preventative Maintenance. Although

connectivity. It is, essentially, a common translator

such a program is invaluable regardless of whether

based on Internet standards that enables CNC and

or not you perform lights out manufacturing, it’s

non-CNC machine tools and other shop floor equip-

extremely critical for overnight operation. If a

ment to communicate with each other and with a

machine goes down at any time it’s a problem, but

central production monitoring system.

if machine operators are present, they can shift production schedules or use other machines until

Commitment. For lights out production to work,

help arrives. When a machine breaks down in the

everyone must be on board, from management and

middle of a lights out shift, work grinds to a halt

the machine operators to the support staff. It’s a

and precious run time is lost until someone is avail-

cultural change for many companies and change

able to correct the problem. Whether you create

always carries with it an element of fear. So it’s

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critical to make certain everyone in the organization

Whether used for lights-out or daytime production,

understands the plan, their roles in it, and what it

robotic-based automation has enormous potential to

means for their future and that of the company.

reduce labor costs, improve capital utilization, improve

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quality and increase productivity for companies of

The Role Of Robotics As mentioned above, robots are commonly used to load and unload a variety of parts during lights out production. Robotic technology continues to advance and capabilities currently include a number of oth-

all sizes. Yet, it is estimated that in the U. S. robots are used in fewer than 10% of potential applications. This means there is great potential for manufacturers to leapfrog their competition through robotic-based automation.

er functions. Using vision systems, robots can sort

Not every application lends itself to lights-out manu-

parts by size, color and by reading bar codes on the

facturing. Some parts are simply too complex to suc-

parts. Programming robots has become easier, as has

cessfully manage without operator intervention. Here

integrating the robotics with “smart” machine tool

are some considerations for evaluating applications for automation: •

Machine tools & fixturing are automation capable

•

Machine tools are dedicated to specific parts or parts families

•

Families of parts share common machining processes

controls, such as Okuma’s OSP. In the near future it is expected that some robots will be programmable via voice commands.

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Customers issue repeat orders

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Machining processes are stable or controllable

•

Production is slowed by operator intervention

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Machine tools are not fully utilized

•

Part quality is inconsistent due to operator influence

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The most adaptable CNC machines for lights-out production are grinders, horizontal and vertical machining centers, multi-function lathes and 2 & 4 axis lathes. To ensure the system holds accuracies throughout the lights out period, many manufacturers use pro-

Automated Grinding Cell For this manufacturer of rotors used in air compressors, Gosiger Automation incorporated an Okuma GA-47 grinder with a FANUC robot equipped with a vision system and adjustable grippers. The Okuma grinder has a flexible, 2-axis configuration for greater versatil-

“With the right equipment and

consultation, lights out automation can open up many new avenues...”

ity and handles parts up to 60” long, weighing as much as 660 lbs. A specially designed chuck and adjustable grippers on the FANUC single arm robot enable the cell to accommodate a variety of part sizes weighing up to

cess control devices appropriate to the machine tools and applications. These may include jump-on gages, probes mounted in the machine tool, CMM (Coordinate Measuring Machines), and standard or custom automatic gaging systems.

420 pounds. An integrated gauging system uses a probe to determine when to automatically adjust the grinder during the operation to assure part accuracy and consistency. The cell also includes a custom conveyor system that utilizes pallets of unfinished parts loaded onto the

Case Studies

conveyor by a forklift. Another pallet receives the fin-

Following are case studies of lights out installations

ished parts from the robot arm and, when completely

developed by Gosiger Automation. As these examples

loaded, is indexed out of the cell by the incoming

demonstrate, lights out automation is not only feasible

pallet of unfinished parts. As a result, the cycle time

but, with the right equipment and consultation, can

for the operation is reduced by 62%, from the original

open up many new avenues of income and profitability

time of 45 minutes to just 16.8 minutes and runs

for companies from job shops to major manufacturers.

unattended overnight.

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Watch the video:

the main spindle, close the machine door and initiate a machine cycle start command. For optimum efficiency the finished part is deposited on the outbound conveyor by the robot as the machine tool produces a new part, and the next raw blank is picked up and staged. Watch the video:

Vision System Lets Robot “See” During Lights Out Operation Gosiger Automation combined an Okuma Multus B-300 CNC machining center, with a Fanuc M-20iA six-axis industrial robot, and a fixtureless conveyor system. Steel slugs to be machined sit on the incoming con-

Gaging Station Integrated Into Robot

veyor and the robot uses a vision system to locate and

Assisted Cell

then pick up and load the parts into the machining

This production cell that uses a Fanuc M-10iA Robot

center. At the end of the cycle, the robot arm removes

positioned at the side of a Hardinge Super Precision

the part and places it on the outgoing conveyor.

T-Series Turning Center, so the robot does not inter-

As the Okuma lathe machines a part, the Fanuc robot uses its IRVision system to locate and pick up the next raw blank from the inbound parts conveyor for

fere with access to the machine tool. This is a unique configuration as the robot must reach around the machine to load and unload the workpiece.

processing. The lathe’s end of cycle signal queues the

Not only does the robot load and unload the part

robot to open the machine door, load a part blank in

from the turning center, it also precisely positions

the lathe’s sub-spindle, unload the finished part from

the part into a gaging station that uses a Renishaw

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Equator comparative gaging system to check the part for quality control purposes. Watch the video:

For the right lights out plan, equipment selection, installation, training and customer support, turn to Gosiger Automation. With over 90 years of machine tool experience, and with hundreds of successful automation installations, Gosiger Automation brings unmatched experience and expertise to manufacturers of all sizes. To learn more, contact Gosiger Automation. And be sure to download the free white paper: The Case For Robotic Automation.

Visit www.Gosiger.com or call 877.288.1538 today for a no-cost, no-obligation consultation.

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ABOUT GOSIGER Since 1922, Gosiger has served the machine tool industry selling and servicing top CNC machine brands including, Okuma and Hardinge. From Aerospace to Clean Energy to Medical, Gosiger supplies the CNC machining centers, equipment and technology you need to meet the challenges of today’s manufacturing business. Our customers live in a world of intense pressure to make parts and products better, faster and cheaper. They need a solution focused partner who understands the connection between productivity and profitability, capacity and efficiency and can offer invaluable insight. At Gosiger, we recognize that time is money. Our goal is to help you make it right each and every time. We’re not simply a distributor of CNC machine tools and accessories. We’re a problem-solving company that helps manufacturers improve their processes so they can be more competitive and profitable. To accomplish this goal, Gosiger offers a full array of support and services such as Factory Automation, Financing, Engineering, High Volume, and Parts & Service.


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