Product category:
Flexible machining cells and systems (FMS)
News Release from: Heller Machine Tools | Subject: Modular machining systems
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 22 January 2007
Modular, variable system to oust
transfer lines
A networked and fully integrated system is composed of flexible machine tools, linked together in an almost-infinitely variable pattern, to give maximum versatility in production.
Many companies claim to be thinking 'outside the box' The new MLS ModuleLineSystem from Heller Machine Tools has been developed by viewing production from a completely different perspective and applying ingenious, inventive engineering to create an entirely new concept
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 27 Feb 2002 at 8.00am (UK)
Related stories
Fast HMC to get through automotive volumes
a fast, versatile HMC, developed primarily for higher volumes, typically the automotive industry, features 90m/min fast traverse, acceleration of 12mm/sec2 and and 1.8sec chip-to-chip ATC.
Machining centre machines to close tolerances
A small family-owned business will increase its turnover by 35.2% this year and, on new M-Cs, consistently machines to tolerances which would frighten the majority of engineers.
Using the MLS ModuleLineSystem, manufacturing solutions which combine a high degree of flexibility with optimised piece part cost can now be implemented.
The tempo of progress has changed, most particularly for the automotive manufacturers.
Instant gratification is now the expectation.
Further reading
Productivity doubled on twin spindle HMC
A twin-spindle HMC offers double the productivity for less than double the investment, virtually halves the floor space requirement and minimizes operator involvement.
Subcontractor gets machine in just three weeks
A machining centre was customised and built in just three weeks for J L French, a first tier subcontractor to the automotive industry.
Narrow footprint twin spindle M-C doubles output
Productivity is doubled and costs almost halved by the new, true twin spindle horizontal machining centres that can operate on two separate fixtures simultaneously.
It was 120 years after the Mississippi was found to be navigable that commercial steamboats first travelled it with freight and paying passengers.
It was almost forty years after the first powered flight that the first jet engine flew successfully and a further 26 before the first successful supersonic passenger jet flight .
The car, once a status symbol of the wealthy and the adventurer, has become virtually a disposable fashion item.
In doing so, it has rendered obsolete the technology which first made mass production possible, the transfer line.
The automotive manufacturer has been faced with a dilemma.
It must pre-empt the fashion trend, offer a variety of models, meet the emissions regulations of tomorrow.
If it cannot also bring a new engine to market within a minimal time-scale and at a low price, it is quite simply dead in the water.
To achieve this, it must have a production system which provides a minimum time to market at the same time as allowing frequent changes in production volume, changes in component design, different process sequences and different part flow without incurring a piece part cost penalty.
The transfer line cannot achieve that: first developed as an inexpensive way to produce millions of identical components, its very success as a means of cheap volume production has killed it.
Highly successful in the context of 'lower' volumes, machining centres alone are not the choice.
The ideal manufacturing system would be one which gives high productivity, high volumes, high flexibility in the process, and low cost.
The MLS ModuleLineSystem brilliantly meets all these requirements.
Heller, a company with its roots intertwined with the automotive industry, has combined its profound understanding of transfer line and machining centre technology and its intimate knowledge of the automotive industry and taken the proven best of both transfer line and machining centre technology to create an inspired new production system which easily meets the demand for maximum versatility and minimum piece part cost.
The MLS is a cleverly networked and fully integrated system composed of flexible machines, linked together in an almost-infinitely variable pattern to give maximum versatility in production, even allowing the production facility to be built while the engine design is still fluid.
Each machine forms one independent, but fully integrated, module, linked by a fully automated parts and tool handling system and a single integrated system controller.
This allows the greatest possible yield to be achieved at the least possible expense by increased machine running times, reduced idle times, flexible component flow, optimal machine utilisation, and high output even in a reconfigured or only partially utilised operation.
The MLS control combines the capability of each machine with the process sequence for each component to create the perfect match.
Using adaptable machining modules, components are conveyed from station to station by centrally automated traction-less carriages.
Components can skip stations as the machining sequence dictates.
Tools are not necessarily tied to a specific machine because they are handled by the central control system.
A component buffer is integrated into the MLS and intelligent component logistics ensure that each machines gets the next component while machining the current one.
The machine is able to determine when to call up the next component itself.
The optimal combination of tool change and tool magazine operation gives minimal idle time penalty: an extremely fast chip-to-chip times of 2.4s is combined with zero tool waiting time because the tool changes directly into operating area.
There is no spindle waiting time.
Flexible production modules machine the components on five sides in one clamping.
In addition, the MLS can be reconfigured easily and inexpensively for batch components or extended to increase volumes.
Floor space saving is more than a third compared with a machining centre system.
The success of the MLS lies in the approach Heller took to the concept of high volume low cost production.
Rather than continuing the over-worked notion of 'faster is always better', its engineers sought a completely new perspective, appreciating that 'balls out running' can create at least as many problems as it solves without necessarily providing any meaningful reduction in cycle time.
By optimising the performance of each element within the production process - tool handling for example - a significant decrease in overall cycle time is achieved.
Geoff Lloyd, managing director of Heller Machine Tools in Redditch, UK, said: "The MLS ModuleLineSystem is typical of all Heller machines - fast, productive, powerful, designed and built for purpose. Request a free brochure from Heller Machine Tools ...
It is the latest in a line of significant innovations, which we have brought to market and which have revolutionized the production processes of their time.".
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