Automation
Makino’s system includes its Makino Advanced System-A5 (MAS-A5) cell control software that helps job shops maximize production while effectively monitoring multimachine produc- tion requires. “We see it less in automotive, which is low-mix, high-flow. But there are plenty of other industries that have the mix, that are making a wider variety of parts. It’s likely to go into a job shop,” Brown said. “It’s the combination of the pallet delivery system and the software.”
The MAS-A5 software tracks tool management and does dynamic schedule, Brown said, to reshuffle jobs according to availability of tooling and other factors, which helps the system hit 95% spindle utilization rates. “In a practical sense, that’s probably as high as you’re ever going to achieve,” Brown said. “We actually have built into the cell control software what we call unattended mode, for lights-out machining. MMC2 cells use a single-rail system for material trans- port with its RGVs that draw power from an overhead power rack, Brown said. “It has a computer on the vehicle ready
to receive commands that are transmitted to the vehicle by an infrared optical link,” Brown said. “In previous designs, these types of systems had a cable system, and they’d wear down over time. It’s a very well-proven system in which we’ve kept the vehicle simple and located the smarts in the software—there’s nothing complicated about it.” Using automation lowers manufacturers’ costs and de- creases setup times, noted Mike Kerscher, product manager, machining centers and Palletech, Mazak Corp. (Florence, KY). With Palletech’s pallet-based automation system, one of four levels of automation offered by Mazak, multitasking machining centers help manufacturers cut costs and boost machining efficiencies.
The Palletech system allows using multiple types of ma- chining centers and lathes in the same cell, including systems like Mazak’s Orbitec aimed at larger parts. “The reason you use Palletech is to minimize your downtime and decrease your setup,” said Kerscher. “That’s what separates North
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ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | August 2013
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