Machining Center: Benefits of Automation

Since machining centers are machines that perform cutting processes, the surrounding area can become a poor working environment due to the noise of the process, the heat exhausted from the machine, and the misty atmosphere. By automating tasks around the machine, such as the attachment and detachment of workpieces, workers can be moved away from the machine and the working environment can be improved.

Even if there are setup tasks that cannot be automated, if the attachment and detachment of workpieces can be automated, it is possible to not only improve the working environment but also reduce the number of people by adjusting the time allocation, such as performing setup during the day and concentrating processing at night.

Labor saving improves productivity.

Improvements in the performance of machines and tools have shortened processing times. However, the timing of workpiece attachment/detachment and transportation has become faster, making it difficult for people to leave the machine and do other work. As a result, shortening processing time can lead to a contradiction in which the burden on the worker increases. If transportation and attachment/detachment are automated, such contradictions do not occur and the effect of shortening processing time can be maximized.

In addition, skilled workers and multi-skilled craftsmen perform various tasks every day, but not all of them are difficult. By automating simple tasks by entrusting them to robots, time can be saved and they can focus on tasks with higher added value. As a result, productivity improves dramatically.

Automation and mechanization can reduce subtle variations in mounting position that occur when workers attach and detach workpieces, resulting in stable quality.

Automating deburring also results in a uniform finish and prevents defects caused by burrs that are left behind.

Automating and mechanizing cleaning can improve cleaning quality and shorten cleaning time.

Robots and machines perform their work precisely according to the program, eliminating human error such as incorrect operation or missed checks.

In the manufacturing industry, chronic labor shortages have become a social issue. The introduction of automation technology will greatly contribute to securing talented personnel and increasing employee motivation.

In addition, to create an environment where women and the elderly can work comfortably, there is a need to improve the image of “tough, dirty, and dangerous” and embody “easy (reduced workload), clean (clean environment), and safe (simplification).”

Automation has many benefits, but many challenges must be overcome to keep an automated system running smoothly.

We will therefore divide the operation of automated equipment and systems into the following phases: “1.Startup”, “2.Operation”, “3.Changeover”, and “4.Maintenance”, and introduce the challenges and solutions for each phase.

Automated equipment requires advanced know-how for setup, such as teaching the robot how to attach and remove workpieces, and linking the NC operation of the machining center with external devices.

It is not uncommon for equipment for each process to be made up of multiple manufacturers, and connecting to external devices and exchanging electrical signals can take a lot of time and effort. Therefore, one effective option is to outsource the setup to a specialist company or equipment manufacturer that can handle all of this.

In the past, the prerequisite for automation was to accurately mass-produce products. Nowadays, the priorities have changed, and the ability to handle multi-product production has become an important point for automation.

The widespread use of industrial robots has improved their versatility in a variety of processes, but the functions and performance of the main processing machines, as well as jigs and programs, must also be able to handle multi-product production. When there are significant changes to the workpiece shape or size, processing content, or process, it becomes complicated to modify jigs and change programs, so it is important to make detailed plans at an early stage.

From the perspective of safety and quality assurance, machining centers require that the machine be stopped without delay if an abnormality occurs in the equipment. For example, by creating a program that measures the tool before and after processing and immediately stops the machine if an abnormality is detected, the production of defective products can be prevented.

However, once equipment stops, human intervention is required to restart it, and if conditions where human intervention is not possible continue for long periods of time, such as at night, productivity drops significantly. To achieve long-term continuous operation, in addition to setup skills and appropriate equipment selection, it is necessary to eliminate causes of equipment stoppages in advance by taking various considerations, such as setting conditions to prevent cutting chips from accumulating and cutting tools from suddenly breaking.

By selecting tools with durability in mind and introducing a coolant purification system, the frequency of replacing consumables can be reduced, minimizing production line downtime.

Machines for producing a wide variety of products, in which the products to be processed change frequently, need to be equipped with a large number of tools to match the number of processes. If the number of tools that can be installed is limited, manual changes to the tool layout are required every time the product changes, increasing machine downtime and reducing productivity.

Tool length correction is often done manually, requiring skilled work such as test cutting, measurement, and inputting the data into the NC device, with the device stopped.

By introducing an automatic tool length measurement system, the measured tool length can be fed back to the NC device and the tool length can be automatically corrected, realizing long-term automatic operation. It also makes it possible to prevent defective products caused by setting errors.

It is important that machining centers and automated equipment are designed to allow for easy and quick maintenance, from daily inspections to responding to abnormalities.

The operation panel and accessible parts are clearly arranged, making it easier to perform routine inspections and maintain the equipment in its normal operating condition.

Equipping your machine with an efficient chip disposal system, such as a chip conveyor, not only improves product quality but also makes maintenance work more efficient.

Additionally, preventing coolant and cutting chips from entering the machine room of a machining center is an important factor that is directly linked to maintainability. Preventive maintenance can prevent equipment from being shut down for long periods of time.

Sugino Machine manufactures and sells automation systems for machining centers.

Sugino Machine can handle all the complicated and wide-ranging setup of automation systems, from manufacturing our own machining centers to teaching the robots that load and unload workpieces, and setting up workpiece transport devices such as conveyors. Utilizing the experience and know-how we have gained from providing automation systems for machining centers over many years, we provide customers with the optimal automation system.

Furthermore, poor machining accuracy and equipment stoppages, which are major obstacles to the introduction of automation, are often caused by cutting chips. Sugino Machine’s machining center, the SC-V40a, is equipped with thorough measures to prevent cutting chips and was developed to be the ideal machining center for automation, without equipment stoppages. Furthermore, with a width of 1,440 mm, it is one of the smallest in the industry for a #40 machining center, yet has a wide machining area, allowing a wide range of machining to be performed with just one machine. This machining center is truly ideal for automation, as it can achieve both high-mix production and long-term automatic operation.

Click here for details on the “SC-V40a” machining center, which is ideal for automation.

Sugino Machine not only manufactures and sells automated machining centers, but also a variety of other equipment that solves the problems associated with automation and labor saving.

When a machining center continues to operate, fine cutting chips and lubricant oil carried over from the previous process accumulate in the coolant, causing various adverse effects.

Regular cleaning and coolant replacement are required, which requires manual work. By installing the JCC-HM, a micro-contaminant and oil removal unit in a machining center, it is possible to keep the coolant clean, reducing the maintenance work and enabling stable, long-term unmanned operation. It also reduces the frequency of coolant replacement, significantly reducing the cost of replacing coolant.

When machining die-cast or cast parts, the intersection of the machining surface and the casting surface is determined by the precision of the casting, so there is a large variation in dimensions and deburring must be done by hand. The floating mechanism of the clipper makes it possible to follow the cutter along the workpiece, making it possible to remove burrs uniformly even with machines or robots.

In parts processing, cleaning is carried out before and after each process to remove processing oil, cutting chips, dust, scale, etc.

The modular parts washing machine “JCC-Module” uses “swing targeted cleaning” to perform overwhelmingly high-precision cleaning and deburring in a short amount of time. In addition, by simply selecting and combining the modules required by function, from cleaning and drying to transport, you can create the optimal automated line for your needs.

After cleaning, moisture remaining on workpieces is often dried manually using air blowers. However, it is difficult to completely dry the workpieces using air blowers, and the working environment is poor due to moisture scattering and noise generation.

The “EVADRY” vacuum dryer uses a vacuum to evaporate moisture at room temperature, completely drying even moisture deep inside the workpiece. Not only does it eliminate the need for manual drying, it also improves the work environment. In addition, vacuum drying consumes much less power than air blowing, so by replacing air blowing with vacuum drying, power consumption and labor costs can be significantly reduced.