System proves more versatile than pallet shuttles

With experience of radial and shuttle layouts, Plenty was seeking a more compact and versatile system. A Fastems DMC-MD medium duty pallet handling installation provided the answer.

Given unlimited resources - time, money, people, space - just about anything's possible in production engineering.

In the real world however there are trade-offs and compromises.

For example pallet storage and handling systems will raise productivity - but they take up space.

This was the dilemma facing fluid handling equipment manufacturer Plenty at its Newbury factory.

With experience of radial and shuttle layouts, the company was seeking a more compact and versatile system.

A Fastems DMC-MD medium duty pallet handling installation from Pollard Mori Seiki provided the solution.

The system comprises an SH-630 horizontal machining centre and a twin-level, 8-pallet storage rack; and uses a CNC 3-axis DMC-MD medium duty, double-mast stacker to transfer 630mm square pallets between the two.

To put it into context, prismatic machining at Newbury embraces a large variety of castings and forgings, in highly alloyed and stainless steels, non-ferrous alloys and cast irons.

Workpieces are up to 1000kg, lead times are short and batches typically 6 to 10-off.

Pollard has engineered a number of Mori Seiki/Fastems cells for the company; this latest one - 'just getting up to speed' according to procurement projects manager Rick Winser - will allow Plenty to add on different machines and use different pallet sizes.

Pallet fixtures can be reset alongside the Fastems loading station - for example jobs that require two or three set-ups can be refixtured and put back into the magazine store.

'It saves progress chasing jobs around the machine shop through a number of machines; it also reduces work-in-progress.' The company was already operating a HMC with a pallet pool; this has a radial/ star layout with eight 800mm pallet stations and a twin-pallet hanger.

'The problem is, it takes up a lot of floorspace; also, it is restricted to one pallet size.' The new system accepts 500, 630 or 800mm square pallets.

'The added bonus is that if one of our other 630mm pallet HMCs has problems, we can quickly transfer the tooled pallet from the problem machine into the Fastems, and if necessary, override scheduling priorities to get it machined in the Mori Seiki SH-630.' The cell is linked up through the SH-630's MAPPS CNC into Plenty's DNC system engineered by Seiki Systems.

The Fastems Manufacturing Management System controller is interfaced with the MAPPS and using the basic package for operation, the system will monitor the exact status of each system device, pallet or machine tool.

The Fastems system has been working reliably since it was installed 10 months ago says Winser - on 2 x 12hour shifts over 5.1/2 working days.

After-sales support has been very satisfactory, with Pollard and Fastems attending to any problems well within 24 hours.

Plenty plan to extend the magazine capacity and add on two more machining centres - one with 630mm pallets and one with 800mm pallets.

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