Product category:
Control systems, DROs, etc, for machine tools
News Release from: Seiki Systems | Subject: Networked DNC package
Edited by the Manufacturingtalk Editorial
Team on 11 April 2006
Networked DNC also maintains
traceability
Networked DNC effectively controls, monitors and regulates the creation, distribution and modification of 18,000 CNC part programs to 28 machine tools, while maintaining security and traceability.
How do you effectively control, monitor and regulate the creation, distribution and modification of 18,000 CNC part programs to 28 machine tools in a busy production machining environment and at the same time maintain the security and traceability demanded by the medical industry? B Braun Medical, a producer of a wide range of ultra-high precision surgical instruments and orthopaedic implants knows how, having absolute control over all its part programs in terms of accuracy, security, and traceability, following the introduction of Networked DNC supplied by manufacturing software specialists Seiki Systems of Brighton, UK The Sheffield, UK-based business is one of the world's leading healthcare companies employing more than 29,000 people
This article was originally published on Manufacturingtalk on 13 Feb 2001 at 8.00am (UK)
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As part of the drive towards order-driven lean manufacturing, the Seiki Systems DNC system at Parker Hannifin of Rotherham has speeded up CNC program downloading considerably.
Machine monitoring repays many times over
For Colin Smith at HPC Engineering, a relatively modest investment in a Seiki Systems machine monitoring system, for 46 CNC machine tools, has been repaid many times over.
As a result of the Seiki Systems installation it is now able to manage all the program demands at its two UK machine shops.
The two sites house sliding head CNC autos, fixed headstock CNC lathes and vertical machining centres, most of which are equipped with a fourth-axis capability used to produce a wide variety of components, many of which involve complex profiling of stainless steel stampings and forgings.
While most programs are generated off-line on its CAM system, any lower complexity parts tend to be produced by shopfloor generated routines at the machine.
Further reading
Wireless DNC avoids cabling, adds flexibility
A totally independent method of communicating between the control systems of CNC machine tools and a centralised remote PC has been developed for distribution and control of machining programs.
Software ensures program control and traceability
Software enables strict control and traceability of computer programs transferred to CNC machine tools and processing equipment, thus assuring users full compliance with quality standards.
Software gives dynamic real time production status
Software packages that give a dynamic live display of production status provide CNC machine tools users with total control and awareness in 'real time' of what is happening on the shopfloor.
All in all, having more than 18,000 different part programs to be effectively managed, validated and distributed to the right machine tool, prior to the installation of Networked DNC, the chances of error were compounded.
As CNC technician Andrew Bradford explained: "We have been able to optimise all our manufacturing routines since we installed the Seiki Systems software giving near absolute control of program generation and distribution to individual machine tools.
So important today is that we now have complete security, traceability and are more efficient in all aspects of program management which has without doubt helped boost confidence and improve team working." He followed on to to explain that because the system handles many of the programming tasks automatically, this has boosted productivity and helped with standardisation of the whole engineering department.
As an example he said: "Solid model type 3D data is transferred from our CAD system in the design office to our CAM system and the part programs can be easily edited at a shopfloor terminal before being finally downloaded to the designated machine work centre." Seiki System's Networked DNC package is a mid-range system providing total control over NC program access, recording and reporting current status, any revisions, editing, transfer and usage records which enables all important audit records to be maintained in the production environment.
Most important It will prevent unauthorised use and warn of unproven program requests while being able to automatically communicate in 'real time' the status, changes and operator actions as required by production supervision, production control, the programming office, design and quality control.
The software can be installed either through a wired or wireless environment to provide 24h records with full traceability of program usage, machines involved and batch details - a very important and often forgotten factor in complying with stringent ISO and other high level quality standards.
B Braun Medical has five shopfloor terminals referred to as nodes, by the company.
These are installed in the two separate machine shops and each PC can support up to eight CNC machine tools.
Each node serves one of five different cells/machines broken down as - all CNC turning machines, Fanuc controlled machines, Haas vertical machining centres, a special multi-machine production cell which manufactures Marchetti flexible nails and administration/service in the production engineering department.
At B Braun Medical there are eight levels of access to the Seiki Systems software drawn from setters, programmer/setters and CNC administration staff.
Programs can be up and down loaded to each terminal from the main server and the system is backed-up twice a day on site and once each day by way of a remote link to the company's headquarters in Thorncliffe Park, Sheffield.
For General Surgical Instruments, B Braun Medical produces a wide range of equipment including scissors, forceps, organ and tissue grasping forceps, bulldog clamps, vessel clips, approximators, dissecting/ligature forceps, surgical needles, wound retractors, intestinal/rectal instruments and gall bladder/liver instruments.
Taking a product such as a standard forcep, these are machined in just two operations from stainless steel stampings on Haas vertical machining centres equipped with a fourth-axis in batch quantities of around 300 pairs.
A pair is made up of left- and right-hand components.
More complicated, retractors can be made up of up to eight separate parts which include racks, screws and springs which taken as a single product assembly demands numerous part programs.
Within the Aesculap Division of the company a range of products and services are provided for use in operating theatres covering all surgical interventions and techniques, wound closure and instrument reprocessing.
It also supplies an impressive range of orthopaedic implants, spinal systems and trauma devices.
Surgical Instruments are produced under the Downs Surgical banner and these range from general surgery to ENT surgery and from cardio vascular instrumentation to obstetrics and gynaecology.
In terms of implants, Downs Surgical manufactures and distributes total hip replacement systems for both trauma and elective indications.
According to Bradford, there can be no doubt that the Seiki Systems software has made a big impact on the efficiency, accuracy and security of all program generation, but most important with regard to modification, revision and distribution of programs.
He maintained: "We can see immediately what a difference Networked DNC has made to our whole programming regime." And based on its experience gained so far, the company is already thinking about upgrading the system quite substantially by going to Seiki System's very latest manufacturing software package iMES which stands for 'Integrated Manufacturing Execution System'.
With iMES software, B Braun Medical will be able to easily graphically schedule and monitor in real time the workloads of its CNC machines following direct integration with its existing MRP system or by using the ERP capability within the software.
Within the fully integrated system full machine monitoring, the co-ordination of tooling and fixturing data, production of performance reports and downtime records will be performed in conjunction with the secure, traceable and efficient transfer of the correct part program.
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