METAL PRODUCTS INDUSTRY FOCUS
Cycling specialist reshores production
D21MiA5 to ensure that Superstar Components can complete the pedals in one-hit, without any secondary processes. Wilkinson says the fourth-axis table rotates at such high-speed, the rotation is barely visible. The benefit of this lightening fast rotation speed is a cycle time reduction that is of particular value when producing large batch runs.
AUTOMATING THE PROCESS Alluding to the introduction of a robot loading system, Wilkinson says: “I was originally looking for a robot solution provider to upgrade an existing machine. However, the FANUC solution can do the machine tool, the fourth axis table, the robot and the complete integration, all in-house. The complete solution was delivered as one finished product.” The running cost is another factor that
By moving production in-house and using the new FANUC ROBODRILL for its pedal sets, Superstar Components has reduced its cycle time from over three weeks to just three days
T
en years ago, the Lincoln business that started in a bedroom, selling brake
pads, quickly progressed to sourcing manufactured products from Taiwan for the cycling enthusiast. As the business evolved, the production lead-times from Taiwan became increasingly prolonged. Initially, the company was prototyping
pedal systems using a fourth-axis machining centre with manual loading, which was a two-operation process, and large-scale production was still conducted overseas. However, the aim was to investigate the potential for a fully automated system that would re-shore production from Taiwan. To start with, the cycling specialist moved
some pedal sets to the UK, along with an existing four-axis machine tool. However, this still wasn’t fast enough and the pedal sets were moved to the new FANUC ROBODRILL. As a result, the cycle time for 600 pedals has been reduced from little over three weeks to just three days. Additionally, the labour input has gone from 3.5 weeks of staff time to just one hour per day.
/AUTOMATION
Company owner and director at Superstar Components, Neil Wilkinson, says: “The ROBODRILL has taken Superstar Components from being a niche product manufacturer with a higher price point, to a company that can now manufacture pedals at prices comparable with Taiwan. We can do this whilst achieving significantly better quality levels.” On achieving a productivity improvement
beyond 85 per cent, Wilkinson continues: “My expectation was to streamline the process and get rid of any problems and inconsistencies that arise from manual labour and importing. The upside to the machine is that it has double the spindle speed I was expecting, and this has significantly improved our surface finishes. I have been impressed with everything about the FANUC machine. I presumed that the size of our cuts would be limited by the spindle, but, as we cut aluminium, we really push the cutting tools with big cuts and high feed rates.” The FANUC direct-drive fourth axis table has also been added to the ROBODRILL
has thoroughly impressed the subcontract manufacturer. As Wilkinson recalls: “We knew the FANUC machines were going to be more energy efficient than our existing machines, but when we truly looked at the cost, the ROBODRILL is costing us £0.30 to £0.40 per hour on the spindle. This is less than a third of the cost of our other machine tools. We run this machine 24 hours a day as the pedal sets have a 28 hour cycle time. Sometimes the ROBODRILL can run for weeks without stopping. When you run a machine continuously, the savings definitely add-up. Whilst it isn’t always a deciding factor in a machine purchase, it is something that is already making us consider getting a second machine.”
GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS With the ROBODRILL spindle accelerating up to 24,000rpm, the first process for the pedal set is to have pre-thread holes drilled prior to M4 roll taps, creating multiple threads with a spindle speed of 6,000rpm. Once one pedal is threaded, the fourth axis rotary table spins around to expose the opposite face, where the process is repeated. The reliability of the thread is 100 per
cent guaranteed by a Renishaw laser probing system that will immediately identify broken or damaged tools. The next step is for a 6mm and 12mm diameter end mills to machine the pedal pockets at high speed. The final step is the use of a UFO shaped cutter that chamfers the top and back face of the pedal in a single step. This eliminates any secondary hand finishing operations further down-stream and allows Superstar Components to take the parts straight from the machine for anodising.
FANUC UK T: 02476 639669
www.fanuc.eu
AUTOMATION | SEPTEMBER 2016 15
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