"There's no getting away from automation any more!"
Contract manufacturer Maschinenbau & mechanische Werkstätte GmbH has purchased an R-C2 robotic workpiece automation system from Gressel for its DMU 50 5-axis milling centre. Thanks to the expertise of tool and solution provider CERATIZIT, the company's production is now more cost-effective and they can respond to customer enquiries in a more flexible manner.
CERATIZIT automation
"The shortage of skilled workers is affecting small companies like ourselves just as much as the big companies," says Rolf Peter, Managing Director of Maschinenbau & mechanische Werkstätte GmbH (MMW) in Baden-Baden, Germany. "So we're having to automate more and more of our business if we want to stay competitive." MMW is a contract manufacturer with ten employees and a classic range of machinery for turning and milling. This includes two 5-axis milling centres: a G350 from Grob and a DMU 50 from DMG. The company's range of services includes assembly of entire units as well.
MMW also offers a wide range when it comes to materials, with the machining experts processing everything from aluminium, tool steel and stainless steel through to GFRP, CFRP and titanium. In addition to the aerospace and general mechanical engineering industries, its customers mainly work in the automotive industry. Which is why MMW is also certified according to DIN EN ISO 9001:2015.
"Our family company is now in its second generation and is situated in an idyllic location at the foothills of the Black Forest, in the middle of the Rhine Valley. It's so beautiful here, but competition is fierce, including for skilled workers," says Peter, describing the situation. Major automotive suppliers Bosch and Schaeffler are located close by, along with several Mercedes plants. Siemens AG and the Fischer Group are likewise on the lookout for skilled workers here.
Peter believes automation is a must if MMW wants to remain competitive and be flexible enough to accommodate orders with short deadlines. "Automated production processes enable us to reduce our hourly machine costs by using unmanned operation during the late and night shifts," says Peter. "Plus, our new 'ghost shifts' allow us to respond much more flexibly to customer orders at short notice and also supply serial parts."
Automation was the obvious choice – but where to begin?
Mario Baumann, Technical Consulting and Sales Cutting Tools at CERATIZIT, has been advising MMW for several years and had already proven his specialist knowledge and the expertise that tool manufacturer CERATIZIT has to offer in various problematic machining situations. "We had been discussing automation for a long time, and it was during these discussions that we also came across the R-C2 workpiece automation system from Gressel," Baumann recalls. Together, we took a look at the robot solution from Promot and brought in the automation experts from Gressel for further talks about the system design.
"Having the right experts at the table from day one is essential to a project's success in my opinion," says Michael Koch, Area Sales Manager for Baden-Württemberg at CERATIZIT. "After all, our aim is not to sell the customer a tool or a robot, but to offer them a solution for their particular machining situation. This requires that everyone involved be familiar with the specific requirements right from the start, and many years of experience has taught me that this can only be done by discussing it in person." During the course of these discussions, it also became clear that the original idea of the R-C2 solution was exactly the right choice.
Six-axis robot takes on the equipping process
With the R-C2 solution, a six-axis robot loads the machine tool from a rack. This is where Gressel's expertise on workpiece clamping comes into play. The ingenious part is that the robot grips the workpieces directly with the vice – so there's no time wasted on setup or changeover when exchanging workpieces. Both single and serial parts can be produced in a cost-effective manner as a result.
When it comes to user friendliness, special attention was paid to ensuring intuitive processes. This begins with the positioning of the cubic components in the magazine drawer. The worker can place the components into the predefined compartments almost at random. The robot's camera system then detects the correct position and securely grips the workpiece. During a subsequent step, the final position is automatically defined by the robot on another station. This involves the workpiece sliding on an inclined plane with perpendicular seating surfaces into the correct position. From here, the robot grips the component with the pre-programmed clamping force, first taking hold of the workpiece with its clawed jaws. When the workpiece is changed in the machine, the vice is then simply fixed with the zero point clamping system. The workpiece can be fully changed over in less than a minute with this solution.
"It's incredibly easy to program the system, including the robot," beams Peter. "It didn't take long to get everything up and running. The program asks questions to guide you through the process step by step." The machining expert says the system also comes with impressive safety features. If incorrect or incomplete information is entered, the controller reports this and only starts up once all data has been entered correctly and in full. The version installed at MMW can machine components up to a total weight of 50 kg, including the vice. An option for automated 6-sided machining can also be installed.
More than double the machine hours
"With this workpiece automation system, I can have a very expensive 5-axis machining centre run an additional unmanned 16 hours per day on top of its day shift," says Koch. "And the investment is relatively low compared to a new machine tool." Plus, the solution can increase flexibility and drastically slash delivery times.
"We've shared a great and productive partnership with MMW for over six years," says Baumann. "The key factor is that Rolf Peter always gets us on board with any new or difficult machining, right from day one. We always work quickly to try and find the right solution for him." And the tool manufacturer always brings its full wealth of expertise into play – from rapid logistics, which enables orders made before 7 pm to be delivered the following working day, through to digital support with cutting and tool data.
MMW's production hall also has a Tool-O-Mat tool dispensing system to ensure an optimum supply of tools. "I've had nothing but positive experiences with the service and advice from the experts at CERATIZIT," says Peter. This is also reflected in the large number of CERATIZIT tools the company has in use. "Over 90 percent of our tools are from CERATIZIT," says Peter, who is already looking forward to teaming up with CERATIZIT on upcoming projects as the company continues to move towards digitalisation and automation.
"Our customers are under enormous cost and time pressure and need to deliver their products in the best possible quality," adds Koch. "Our job is to supply the optimum machining solution for the conditions in question. We are well equipped to do so thanks to over 100 years of experience in powder metallurgy and tool design."
Source: Kurt Peter Maschinenbau & mechanische Werkstätte GmbH https://www.mmw-cnc.de
Text: Frederick Rindle – Editor at mac specialist magazine
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