ADVANCED MANUFACTURING NOW Nicholas Bergmann
Quickly Adapt to Changing Needs with Modular Tooling a I
n today’s just-in-time business environment, shops must quickly respond to product changes and meet extremely tight delivery times, yet continue to achieve increasingly higher quality standards. For these shops, smaller lot sizes of very different products have replaced high-volume long-run- ning production of identical parts. For these reasons, making fast job changeovers is a key factor for success. When it comes to turning operations, many shops signifi - cantly shorten changeover times with modular quick-change tooling systems. Such systems incorporate selections of adapters engineered to hold a variety of cutting tool types and shank designs. The adapters have a common connect- ing feature that locks into standard base units mounted on a turning machine’s turret.
Modular quick-change systems let shops preset tools in adapters offl ine then quickly and easily switch the tool/adapt- er assemblies in and out of the base units. Tool positions repeat exactly. This eliminates the need to re-center, touch off, or make test cuts after a tool exchange. The systems also provide enhanced convenience and
safety. Switching out the cutting tool/adapter assembly saves time and eliminates the need for an operator to lean into the machine to individually change worn tooling. As shops seek ways to reconfi gure operations and achieve lean production, use of modular quick-change tooling systems can signifi cantly increase effi ciency and productivity without the necessity to buy new machines. First of all, tooling costs decrease. For example, if a shop wants to exchange a tool with a 0.375" (9.5-mm) diameter Wel- don shank for one with a 0.750" (19-mm) diameter shell mill shank, it needs only to acquire two different adapters rather than two complete—signifi cantly more costly—toolhold- ers. Modular quick-change tooling also makes it possible to quickly change perishable cutting tools during a process then continue the operation with minimal interruption. When it comes to setup time, modular quick-change tooling can slash turning machine turret changeover times from hours to minutes. Stripping toolholders from a turret, replacing them to produce a new part and touching each tool off to confi rm their positions can consume as much as
12
AdvancedManufacturing.org | July 2015
four to six hours. The same changeover, however, can take as little as 20 minutes when a modular quick-change system is employed. To further illustrate the savings, consider, for example, a shop rate of $250 per hour. A fi ve-hour setup for a single job would then technically cost $1250 while the machine sits idle. Now, if that same setup took only 20 minutes, the savings would equate to over $1000 for that one job alone. Depending on the number of machines and personnel in a shop, modular quick-change tooling can potentially be the difference between completing only one job a day or as many as three. Accordingly, shops that change a turret over more than once a day, or wish to, should consider modular quick-change tooling.
Modular quick-change tooling systems can increase effi ciency and productivity without buying new machines.
Because they involve shorter tool overhangs and pro-
vide increased rigidity as compared with standard tooling, modular quick-change tooling handles higher cutting speeds and feeds without generating chatter or inaccuracy. In addi- tion, the multiple connections in a modular tooling setup help dampen harmonics that can lead to poor surface fi nishes. And while tools may wear somewhat faster at the more aggressive cutting parameters, the ability to quickly change them minimizes that liability. Perishable tooling cost is a small percentage of the overall cost of making a part, and faster speeds and feeds maximize part output per shift. Since their introduction, modular quick-change tooling systems have evolved in utility and effi ciency, and a wide se- lection of tooling is now available. Many shop owners believe that modular quick-change tooling is complex and expen- sive. When in reality, after the base units are installed on the machine turret, toolchanges are simple. And yes, initial investment may be higher than that for traditional toolholders, but the savings in setup time, overall part processing time, and tool costs all contribute to rapid ROIs.
General Manager EXSYS Tool Inc.
www.exsys-tool.com MODERN MANUFACTURING PROCESSES, SOLUTIONS & STRATEGIES
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140 |
Page 141 |
Page 142 |
Page 143 |
Page 144 |
Page 145 |
Page 146 |
Page 147 |
Page 148 |
Page 149 |
Page 150 |
Page 151 |
Page 152 |
Page 153 |
Page 154 |
Page 155 |
Page 156 |
Page 157 |
Page 158 |
Page 159 |
Page 160 |
Page 161 |
Page 162 |
Page 163 |
Page 164 |
Page 165 |
Page 166 |
Page 167 |
Page 168