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Fastems to Showcase CNC Automation Innovations at AMB 2024
Fastems will present its latest CNC automation solutions at AMB 2024, taking place from September 10-14…
Do you want to improve the return of your CNC investment? Great – this blog series is for you!
The modern 4 and 5 axis machine technologies are extremely powerful but expensive, aren’t they? Justifying the investment might be challenging compared to (much cheaper) 3-axis machines that could basically do the job. Can you keep your powerful 4 or 5 axis machine fed, or does your machine need to stop and wait for production preparations, re-clamps between the OPs, and tool service? Do you face labor challenges – can you scale your operations easily when the demand changes? Is your new machine dedicated to certain jobs or can it support your changing production needs in long term?
In this blog series we dive into the world of CNC investments. During the past 40 years we have witnessed thousands of successful ones – and many that could have paid off much better. Here are the best practices to get the most out of your machine investment, starting with the obvious one – increasing machine spindle utilization.
How to Maximize CNC Spindle Utilization
An average machine shop can utilize 20-30 percent of their machining capacity (=time when the spindle runs). This is mainly because the CNC machines are constantly waiting for something else to be done, whether it is preparations for the next batch, an operator to load tools, or someone to re-clamp the part for the next operation (OP). Basically, most of the machine tools need constant supervision to be somewhat productive – and even then, the machine waiting times form a significant capacity loss in the long run. As long as machining and operator cycles are not in perfect harmony, the machine waits.
Here are the Fastems tips on how to optimize the three main idle time causers of your shop floor:
1. Minimize your idle during the machining preparation times
Production preparation is typically the most time-consuming part in CNC machining. You need to measure and load the tools, bring raw materials, build fixtures, input the NC program into the machine, make first cut(s) to adjust everything for precise results – this process can take hours, sometimes even days. If your machine tool is waiting (=spindle not running) during this process, you are losing a very significant part of your money-making capacity!
Consider:
DID YOU KNOW? AN AVERAGE CNC MACHINE RUNS ON 20-30 % UTILIZATION, MEANING THAT OVER 6000 OUT OF 8760 YEARLY HOURS ARE LOST.
2. Loading OP10, reloading OP20, loading the next batch – rethink your loading and re-clamping
With 3-axis machine you need to make more re-clamps than with a 4 or 5 axis machining center – however the machining centers are so much more powerful that the machining speed is higher. Basically, this means that no matter what kind of machine tool you use, the need for often re-clamps and next job loading is always there unless your machining times are extremely long and setups extremely fast. Every time you make a re-clamp or load the next job, your machine waits. You might not consider this even a problem during the manned hours but how about when the lights are out, i.e., nights and weekends?
Consider:
3. Make your tool service predictive
The third thing that often causes unnecessary machine tool idle are the cutting tools. Here are questions that help you spot the potential inefficiencies:
Especially in multi-axis machining, tools are often forming a production bottleneck. There are various tools needed for the machining operations and the tools need to be switched often because the machine tool magazine fits only a limited number of tools. It requires a lot of effort to renew and deliver the right tools to the machines timely. And if you don’t know the coming tool needs, you will need to supervise the machines ALL THE TIME to minimize idle time. The other way is to make your tool management predictive.
Consider:
It is simple yet complex – to do the right things at the right time, all the time. The machine idle time is just the tip of the productivity iceberg – unrepeatable machining process and 1-man-1-machine CNC strategy being two other factors pushing down CNC productivity – not to mention the manufacturers with high mix and small volumes who also need to be more competitive in their markets!
How could you get more out of your CNCs? Would you like to learn more about flexible automation technologies that enable job and resource sharing between machine tools?