grinder with a FANUC robot equipped with a vision ... on the FANUC single arm
robot enable the cell to ... This production cell that uses a Fanuc M-10iA Robot.
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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
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THE ROLE OF ROBOTICS
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CASE STUDIES
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LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING
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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.
•
Customers issue repeat orders
•
Machining processes are stable or controllable
•
Production is slowed by operator intervention
•
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.
LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING
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2013
LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING
LIGHTS OUT MANUFACTURING
2013