Product category:
Flexible machining cells and systems (FMS)
News Release from: Fastems Divisions, Helvar | Subject: Automated pallet storage and retrieval system
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 05 November 2004
FMS retrofit boosts machining centre
output by 70%
An automated pallet storage and retrieval system serving two horizontal machining centres will increase the productivity by 70% and will be the equivalent of 3.4 machines, says the user.
A Fastems automated pallet storage and retrieval system serving two Mazak horizontal machining centres will increase the productivity to the equivalent of 3.4 machines Automating production helps to keep work in the UK, as it cuts labour costs and so reduces the advantage of low-wage economies
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 14 Jul 2000 at 8.00am (UK)
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As the production manager in any jobbing shop will tell you, some components take so long to set up that a whole day can go by without metal being cut, until you set up an FMS.
Robot-loaded machine tools and multi-function machines for one-hit production are two solutions, while a third is the creation of a flexible manufacturing system (FMS) using an automated storage and handling system for machine pallets.
The Finnish company, Fastems, whose UK base is in Dartford, Kent, is a leader in this technology, supplying a range of ?open-integration options suitable for automating any type of machining centre and linking any combination of them.
In one of its latest projects, for hydraulic valve manifold block manufacturer, British Engineering Productions (BEP), an FMS has been set up based on two pre-existing Mazak FH-4800 four-axis, horizontal machining centres of nominal half-metre-cube capacity.
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Retrofitted and commissioned in July 2004, a Fastems automated store for 36 pallets sends work to either machine, while high level software called MMS v3.0 (Manufacturing Management Software) determines the most efficient method of scheduling work through the system.
Said BEPs Managing Director, Steve Bryant, "We progressed from vertical- to horizontal-spindle machining centres in 2000 to increase our production capacity in response to a greater amount and variety of work we were receiving.
It proved to be a good decision, as the horizontals are twice as productive as the verticals they replaced.
At the outset, we had in mind to install an FMS to increase productivity further, as there would not have been room for a third horizontal on our 8,000 sq ft shop floor, so we asked Mazak to spec the two FH-4800s accordingly.
"The Fastems FMS cost about the same as a third machining centre would have done, but the multi-level pallet store was easier for us to accommodate as it sits in front of the machine pallet changers and has a narrow footprint.
It has already increased the productivity of both Mazaks by 46 per cent by making work available more quickly to whichever machine is best placed to handle the job at any given time, so we are currently achieving the output of nearly three machining centres.
"We calculate that when the system is fully loaded, the increased productivity will be 70 per cent per machine, so production output from the FMS will be equivalent to 3.4 machining centres, ie we will be getting nearly half a machine for free." Lower running costs is another advantage of opting for the FMS solution.
Labour cost is reduced, as there is no need for another machine operator over three shifts, including weekends.
In addition, power consumption and maintenance costs of the Fastems equipment is less than those for a machining centre, and the expense of buying extra toolholders for a third machine is avoided.
Furthermore, there is a big cost saving resulting from inventory reduction.
Whereas BEP used to run off, say, 500 components to get the price right for a customer, but deliver only a proportion of them while storing the remainder, now a batch as low as 10-off is economic and lead time is faster too.
"Lean and hungry" is how Mr Bryant describes his new FMS.
He points out that it lends itself to the adoption of lean manufacturing principles; and its appetite for work is voracious.
It is also more versatile than fitting each machine with its own pallet pool, which supplies components to its respective spindle sequentially rather than allowing scheduling of work to either machine.
The FMS majors on the production of a handful of BEPs ?runners ? key parts that are frequently repeated, accounting for 60 per cent of turnover ? which also happen to have the longest pallet times.
When it came to choosing which FMS to install, BEP also considered solutions offered by other manufacturers, but concluded that due to Fastems specialisation it had developed a high level of functionality within its hardware and software.
The Finnish system was also most cost-effective.
A reasonable payback period is expected on the total investment, of which the FMS accounted for less than half; the remainder was spent on a complete factory reorganisation, machine relocations, and extra fixtures and tooling.
* Technical specification - the Fastems MLS system installed at BEPs Waterlooville factory is based on a modular, 36-position, three-level store for 400mm x 400mm pallets of 700kg total load weight including component(s) and fixturing.
Running along the 13.3 metre length of the store is a 3-axis CNC stacker crane travelling on rails at up to 2.5 m/sec.
The mast of the crane carries a patented parallelogram load handling device which docks to a repeatability of +/-2mm to effect pallet transfer into and out of each storage position and the machine tool pallet changers.
Entry of workpieces to the system and their subsequent exit after machining is carried out at two load/unload stations equipped with a pallet table capable of being indexed in 45 degree increments.
An operator removes completed components as a pallet emerges and fixtures the next parts, which are taken away by the stacker crane into the store to await processing.
In terms of software, the Fastems MMS v3.0 installed at BEP is top of the range and as advanced as anything currently available.
Running on a standard, Windows-based PC and provided with various licenses including an Oracle database, its main tasks are scheduling automatic pallet transfers between the load stations, store and machine tools, plus control of the stacker crane.
A manufacturing route defines the progress through the FMS of a pallet with parts fixtured on it.
The route contains information about the NC program(s) to be used as well as the components and fixtures.
If the intended location in the route is not free, for example a machine tool already has work waiting, the pallet is transported into store until the destination device becomes available.
This creates a buffer for unattended running, which was one of the main criteria for BEPs investment.
Scheduling of orders is dynamic, rather than using the first-in/first-out principle.
The MMS software continuously performs adaptive priority calculation, re-scheduling orders so that they are always fulfilled in optimal order according to a downloaded schedule.
Crane activity is also optimised to ensure efficient production.
Operation of the load/unload station can be under the supervision of Autopilot, which continuously monitors the pallets in the system and tries to find a suitable pallet.
When it finds such a pallet, it is automatically ordered to the load station and an on-screen display specifies what actions the operator must take.
A production order consists of order ID, part ID, quantity to be manufactured, due date and order status.
Prior to its release into the FMS, a resource check is made to ensure that the preconditions for starting the order are met, ie NC programs, material, pallets, fixtures and tools are all available.
To manage available machining time, a factory calendar is used containing information about each day's working hours, both manned and unmanned, as well as holidays and downtimes needed for maintenance.
Capacity simulation evaluates whether the available machining capacity is sufficient for the planned production.
The supervisor is able to run different ?what-if scenarios by including, excluding and modifying the due date, status of the orders and product ion hours.
Results are displayed in a bar graph and Gantt chart, from which it is possible to make management decisions that affect production of orders to suit customers changing requirements.
To automate the often difficult and time-consuming task of managing tools, a mirror image of the Mazak machine tool magazines is held in the MMS control, which includes data on the lifetime and condition of the cutters.
Available tools as well as those that need to be added and removed for any given job or series of jobs can be evaluated.
Even tools stored outside the magazines are included.
Utilisation reporting provides performance data and statistics of the stacker crane, while the production reporting user interface generates information such as total machining time of a particular order.
The operational modes of the machine tools are also tracked in a database, providing on-line/off-line, cycle on, feed on, and error/alarm data.
These are used to calculate key figures about the machine tools, such as utilisation, availability, MTBF (mean time between failures), and top ten errors sorted by frequency or by duration.
System alarms, either all or some, are automatically sent to relevant people s mobile phones as text messages.
The module also allows system data to be requested remotely.
So, for example, BEPs production manager, wherever he is, can receive a pallet summary, the status of an individual pallet, or the status of a particular system device.
A virtual private network troubleshooting service operated from the Fastems HQ allows Finnish engineers to intervene at the Waterlooville factory and correct any system errors.
Bryant describes this as like having a personal cyber-assistant and at first found it " revolutionary" watching the FMS move on its own.
It is also possible to incorporate web reporting, which is new functionality within MMS 3.0.
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