Handling system runs FMS at 98% efficiency

Machining FMS has been running 24h/day, six days a week since 1997 and has produced thousands of components in small batches for over 90% of available hours.

There are few companies in the UK with more experience of running a Fastems FMS than BAE Samlesbury, or indeed with a larger, more comprehensive system that includes raw material as well as machine pallet storage and integrated tool management.

The system has been running 24 hours a day, six days a week since 1997 and has produced thousands of components in small batches for over 90 per cent of available hours.

Originally, the FMS was purchased to manufacture Eurofighter Typhoon parts.

However, early production volumes meant that there was spare capacity and commercial aircraft components were also produced, including for Airbus.

As the Eurofighter programme was ramped up, requiring the production of around 600 different parts on the FMS, an additional contract was awarded to BAE to produce parts for the Joint Strike Fighter.

These are also put through the FMS and machining of the simpler Airbus components has been transferred to other machines at Samlesbury, so now the Fastems system is deployed solely on fighter aircraft work.

The FMS includes three Mitsui Seiki 5-axis, high-speed, horizontal machining centres, two tilt-and-turn stations for loading and unloading parts, both with conveyors to feed material from the store, one conveyor adjacent to the load stations for input and output of raw material pallets, an integrated washing machine and a central tool store.

The 22.5m long system comprises 136 positions, 96 for raw materials on 800 x 1200mm Europallets and 40 for fixtured parts on 630mm2 machine pallets.

The racking was built to a height of 7.1m to maximise storage space within a limited floor area.

Any machine pallet can be routed to any of the Mitsui Seiki's for complete flexibility of operation, resulting in a recorded 98% system efficiency, in excess of BAE's original objective of 95%.

Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect of the system, which was very advanced when it was installed in 1997, is the 620-station central store for BT40 tools, with an overhead gantry running the length of the FMS to replenish the 120-tool magazines serving each machine tool.

The latter are arranged to have a standard set of 40 tools as a core requirement for all machining operations.

The gantry delivers job-specific tools, specials and sister tooling at the same time as part programs are downloaded to the machines.

Software control facilitates optimum tool movements to provide maximum spindle utilisation.

The original stipulation by BAE when the system went in was that the tool management system should be capable of nine cutter changes per machine per hour.

During acceptance trials, 27 tool exchanges were completed, each involving delivery of a new cutter to a magazine and return of a different cutter to the store.

Although the gantry was set to operate at only 66 per cent of its maximum speed, the test took less than 35 minutes to complete.

For future deliveries, Fastems has developed a new version of the central tool store that utilises an overhead, 6-axis Fanuc robot, giving greater flexibility of integration and utilising the current MMS v3.0 control.

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