Implementing Automated Pallet Systems in Small and Medium-Size Shops Can Reduce Labor Costs and Increase Productivity

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System 3R USA System 3R’s WorkMaster Linear flexible manufacturing system. What’s on Your Pallet? Implementing automated pallet systems in small and medium-size shops can reduce labor costs and increase productivity. By Susan Woods, Contributing Editor

ore small and medium-size job to be as efficient or more efficient than ica Corp., Charlotte, N.C., gave this shops are turning to unattended who he is supplying to stay in the game. ROI example: “Say the shop rate is $100 Mmachining to compete effec- A lot of industries, especially the medical an hour and they have a complicated job tively. A key part of many lights-out strat- and aerospace, say, ‘Here is a 5-year con- that takes 10 hours to set up. A 500mm egies is an automated pallet system to tract but we want costs down over that 5 pallet costs around $4,000. If they run load and unload pallets of fixtured parts years.’ How are you going to offer price that job four or five times a year, they into and out of machine tools. By keep- reductions unless you automate in some could save $4,000 to $5,000 worth of ing a machine running through a second way and become more efficient?” setup time.” or third shift without adding personnel, The main obstacle to small and me- shops can increase productivity. dium-size shops taking advantage of auto- A Fit for All Sizes While many consider automated pallet mated pallet systems is the initial up-front Generally, a standard HMC has two systems only suitable for large manufac- investment. “Between the HMC, pallet pallets, which the operator sets up man- turers, lights-out machining is some- system, additional pallets, fixturing and ually. The most common size in the U.S. thing shops with five to 100 employees tooling, it may be overwhelming to some is the 500mm (20") square, followed by can achieve, according to sources inter- shops,” said Cari Vanik, assistant sales 400mm and 630mm square machines. viewed for this article. manager for machine tool builder Kita- The majority of automated pallet systems “A 400mm or 500mm horizontal ma- mura Machinery of USA Inc., Wheeling, are used in conjunction with HMCs with chine center is a big investment for any Ill. “But with proper planning and guid- 3-, 4- or 5-axis motion. job shop, and for a small shop that invest- ance, the return on investment is often Linear-type automated pallet systems ment is magnified,” said Robert Hum- seen sooner than expected because of have a pallet carrier “crane” running on phreys, international sales manager for more efficient practices and unmanned a rail-guided vehicle (RGV). The ma- Fastems LLC, West Chester, Ohio, a machining.” chine tool and load station(s) are on one third-party integrator of flexible manu- Kyle Klaver, product specialist for side with the pallet storage rack on the facturing systems. “So a small shop has machine tool builder Okuma Amer- other. A stacker crane runs in between

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PartsHandling.indd 72 5/20/13 2:20 PM What’s on Your Pallet? (continued) pandable capacity to 300 pallets, 10 machines and four workstations. on a linear rail. In addition to linear systems, “pallet There are also systems where the load pool” systems are available. A typical pal- stations can be opposite the machine. The let pool shape is circular, but other shapes RGV crane can move left and right, and are used. These systems can hold eight to has a pallet handling device that moves 40 pallets or more and are dedicated to a CNC CARBIDE TOOLS forward and back. The system brings the single machine tool. Pallet pool systems 1 tool –1 holder –10 functions pallets to the load station and the system often offer shops vertical storage alter- control informs the operator what actions natives, an option for shops that need to to take, such as load, unload and where conserve floor space. to put finished parts. Most metalworking professionals con- IN STOCK These types of systems are expand- sider automated pallet systems as being Over 1,108 miniature reamers able. For instance, Okuma’s Palletace-M for high-production, repetitive work. From .0078 to .5020 automated system is for one or multiple However, they are also good for small Okuma machining centers. It offers ex- shops because they can use them for short SUPERB SURFACE FINISHES! Call or e-mail for catalog today! Toll Free: 800-665-6734 ● Fax: 866-308-7471 [email protected] ● www.magaforusa.com

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PartsHandling.indd 74 5/20/13 2:20 PM runs while changing the tooling for the job that just ran or is going to run. “The real strength of small shops is they can and will do a little bit of every- Rough Around thing, so if someone comes with a rush job and they do a great job, it can lead to other jobs,” Klaver said. “With automated pallets, because all of your setups the Edges? are taken offline, you can fit that rush job and keep the machine running to make other parts. As the shop realizes the benefits, it starts to migrate more work into that cell to take advantage of the spindle utilization.” He added that eight to 10 pallets would be enough capacity for a small to medium-size shop starting with pallet automation. “Most companies have a 1- to 2-hour cycle time on a HMC for a four- sided tombstone on a pallet, so if you load the system with 10 pallets, at even an average of 1 hour machining time per pallet, you would have 10 hours of unattended machining, which could be your unmanned third shift,” Klaver said. In general, a two-pallet system can run unattended for 3 hours, an eight-pallet system can run for 8 to 12 hours, and a 40-pallet system can run an entire weekend. For small shops with short runs, the real benefit to having more pallets is being able to leave complex jobs with long setup times permanently set up to run on demand rather than having to reset them for each run. contributors

Fastems LLC (513) 779-4614 www.fastems.com

Kitamura Machinery of USA Inc. (847) 520-7755 www.kitamura-machinery.com

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PartsHandling.indd 75 5/20/13 2:20 PM What’s on Your Pallet? (continued)

“If you set the job up again, you have to make a new prove out and validate it,” Fastems’ Humphreys said. “Whereas if you have it set up and haven’t changed anything and have all the tools in the magazine, you can load the pallet and be confident that the first-off part will be a good part—the same as the last part from Okuma America the previous batch. When introducing Okuma’s MB-5000H HMC with a base Palletace C1000 10-pallet system. It is expandable to new work to the pallet system and while three MB-5000H machines and two additional C1000 extensions for a 30-pallet system. first-article inspection is happening, you can run another proven part while wait- Super Pallets “The automated system has a huge tool ing. When you get the green light that One smaller shop that is utilizing pallet library on it, so all of the tools you need the new first-off part is good to run, it is automation for unattended machining is to machine a setup pallet are on that ma- easy to release the part for production.” West Valley Precision Inc., San Jose, Calif. chine,” said Dane Madsen, WVPI presi- That is the challenge with a stand- The 35-man shop produces Invar, stain- dent. “Being able to use the same tool on alone machine—proving out parts. While less steel, aluminum and plastic parts for many different jobs is a function of your waiting for the first-article inspection, medical instruments. tool library. Every time that job comes up, typically the machine is just sitting there, WVPI has about 20 machine tools, you just pull that program and it will grab Humphreys added. including a Kitamura HX500i horizon- that pallet with the material on it just like And that is where shops can use a less- tal machining center with 150-tool ca- it was the next part on the machine, even skilled operator. “All the operator has to pacity and eight pallets, which it has had a couple of months later.” do is load and unload the parts in the pal- for about 3 years, and a Kitamura Super- As for unattended machining, the let. They don’t need to be the high-level Cell 400mm 5-axis HMC with 190-tool shop’s longest production time is on the machinist who does prove out and sys- capacity and 40 pallets, which it has had HX500, running eight pallets and having tem validation,” Klaver said. for about 2 years. the machine busy for 56 hours. Clean Parts.

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PartsHandling.indd 76 5/20/13 2:25 PM Builder vs. Integrator WVPI chose to use Kitamura factory-installed pallet pools for DEEP HOLE DRILLS its automated pallet systems, but a third-party automatic pallet system builder that integrates its systems with existing machine DRILLING SYSTEMS tools is another option. A linear-type automatic pallet system is appropriate when a Literature, technical reference, & more: shop plans to expand the system in the future. “Kitamura and www.sterlinggundrills.com our distributors also partner with Fastems,” Vanik said. “So if a customer is looking down the road and knows it is going to need to add more machines, pallets, robotics and so on, our partner- Single flute gun drills from stock ship with Fastems allows us the flexibility to offer a more ex- l Over sizes for same day shipment! pandable-type pallet system.” 635 l One benefit third-party integrators offer is the ability to Diameters from .045" to 1.625" accommodate multiple machine l Solid carbide tip & flute gun drills tool brands. “In our higher level l Gundrill machine accessories MLS systems, we can mix machine l Sharpen & retip any manufacture tool brands in one cell, such as a Makino, Mazak and Okuma,” Humphreys said. Although nearly all cells have the same brand of ma- "Twinmaster" two flute chine, it is useful to know it deep hole drill is possible to mix machine l Kitamura brands or even the same Solid carbide tip, coolant feed Kitamura’s HX400iFTGA with a brand but different ma- l .200" to 1.00" diameter, 21-pallet system stacks upward, chine sizes in one system. to 36" long which is effective for smaller shops “And our systems typi- because it takes up less floor space. cally will outlive the machine tool,” he added. “So if the customer buys our system for an Okuma and, in 7 or 10 years, wants to change to a Mori Seiki of the same size, we can Complete Drilling "Systems" reconfigure that system for the new machine.” l Deep and precision holes on System 3R USA Inc., Elk Grove Village, Ill., is another virtually any machine! third-party integrator of flexible manufacturing systems. “All l Spraymist kits, lubricants of our automation is built around our standard tooling compo- l nents,” said John Roskos, vice president-sales. System 3R offers Toolholders regrind fixtures standardized pallet tooling from 1" in diameter to 16"×16" l Half round deep hole drills (400mm × 400mm) pallets. System 3R does a lot of automation l Sharpen & retip any manufacture for EDMs and milling machines that produce electrodes.

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Toll Free: 888-338-1049 Phone: 802-442-3525 l Fax: 802-442-6225 West Valley Precision 940 Water St., N. Bennington, VT 05257 West Valley Precision Inc.’s Kitamura SuperCell 400mm 5-axis HMC has a 190-tool capacity and 40-pallet stations.

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PartsHandling.indd 77 5/20/13 2:27 PM What’s on Your Pallet? (continued) Fastems’ MMS5 Data Manager automation “But we are seeing demand from peo- software presents ple that make products as well,” Roskos tools for production management. It creates said. “I have a customer that makes aero- job lists for load stations space and automotive turbochargers for and machines, and engines. His workload goes from a HMC decides which tools and to a VMC with a B-axis to a straight verti- materials will be needed cal, and he has two 5-axis machining cen- during the schedule. ters in that cell. All of his parts fit within a 290mm-square pallet, so we built the system around that 290mm cube.” Using Delphin tooling, System 3R was able to provide 48 pallets for the system at a competitive price. How does System 3R do this? “All Fastems HMCs come with a pallet and a load station,” Roskos said. “We take those two A 630mm pallet from a machine tool “In our systems, we use our own cell pallets and build Delphin chucks into builder might cost $9,000. Using Del- controller so the machine is a slave,” Hum- them, essentially converting the OEM phin components can bring the pallet phreys said. “The system tells the ma- pallets into Delphin receivers. Now we costs down to $1,500 or $2,000 each. chine what to machine and the operator can just make very simple, inexpensive Automated pallet systems can manage what to load and unload.” pallets with ground-steel plate or cast- production schedules and loads for ma- System 3R’s Roskos noted that for aluminum fixture plate by adding our chine tools. The automated system con- stand-alone machine tools, the integrator Delphin drawbars, which provide ref- trol typically prioritizes and optimizes runs its system on the machine control. “If erence and clamping. This keeps a cus- the correct pallet order. The machine re- we have a cell with four or five machines, tomer from having to buy more of the sponds to what the pallet system con- we try to implement our WorkShop OEM pallets.” trol—the master—tells it to do. (continued on page 100)

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PartsHandling.indd 78 5/20/13 2:20 PM Clean Living (continued from 70) keeping and operate the cleaning equipment,” Tripepi said. “Or, if a person can emulsified oils, tramp oils, corrosion re- do it, is his time better spent machin- sistance and biological contamination. ing parts?” Companies that offer fluid man- According to Tripepi, there is no rule of agement programs to metalworking thumb on when to outsource coolant sys- shops include PRAB, Kalamazoo, Mich., tem maintenance. Often, medium-sized a manufacturer of coolant recycling shops are likely to outsource this type of equipment. The company’s Managed program, but even this comes in fits and Maintenance Program starts with a top- starts, where some shops choose to run to-bottom equipment inspection, said the program in-house for a couple years, Thomas Tripepi, technical director for find it is too much trouble or too costly PRAB. The program includes a detailed and then outsource it. Another option

report with yearly warnings of part wear PRAB is to contract with a company such as or impending component failures. “The Filters can remove fines down to 1µm. PRAB to do shared maintenance. For in- initial inspection puts a company on stance, tracking concentration levels can track,” he said, “but it must be main- ing process begins with the initial mix- be done in-house, and equipment clean- tained to reap savings.” ing of the machine coolant. Then, the ing can be outsourced. The heart of any coolant management pH and coolant concentration are mea- Whatever the decision, well-main- program includes detailed information on sured and recorded. This provides a base- tained coolants can provide significant each machine tool’s operation. The data line from which to work and compare benefits—despite the daily challenges should include physical observations of against future results. they face. CTE the MWF’s condition and its supporting For fluid maintenance, a shop should components. The data should be tabu- first identify a person responsible for www.ctemag.com lated so relationships and trends can be filtration and make sure he has the For more information, visit “Resources,” spotted and used to improve fluid man- proper training and instruction. “However, click on “Article Archive” and select the agement techniques. some companies do not have a person “Coolant” category. According to Tripepi, the record-keep- on staff that can accomplish the record

What’s on Your Pallet? (continued from page 78) when it can expect an ROI. A shop also needs to consider its long- Manager software,” he said. “And the soft- have probes on the machine so we can term investments in machine tools and ware can be up to 20 percent of the cost inspect the part.” equipment. “It is interesting that so many of an automated pallet system, but that An option Okuma’s Klaver recom- job shops don’t have an investment strat- investment makes a serious difference in mends is a tool monitor adaptive con- egy, and that is a weakness,” Humphreys the machine utilization for a small shop. trol to measure the load on the tool and said. “Many companies with a new con- But if the cycle times are long and there stop the machine before the tool breaks. tract need a new HMC on short notice. are a lot of repetitive parts, we run the au- Also, make sure the machine has a This normally leads the company to in- tomation on the machine control.” high-quality chip-removal system because vest in whatever machine is available in chips can quickly accumulate in an unat- the market regardless of machine control Machine Needs tended environment. or similarities with what it already has.” The key to any machining operation Lastly, because a machine is running There is also the mentality of using is the machine tool itself. The automated additional hours, consider preventive older machines as long as possible, even pallet system is simply a way of moving maintenance to keep the machine run- though they might frequently break down the work into place—not making parts. ning, Fastem’s Humphreys emphasized. and run at half the speed of modern ma- There are some features the machine Unattended machining is obviously chines, Humphreys added. “If you don’t should have to make lights-out machin- not as simple as setting up a job and let- change and invest and evolve your com- ing effective with a pallet system. ting it run. It requires careful planning pany, you are standing still, and standing The machine must have a large tool and the right equipment. A shop needs still is moving backward compared to ev- magazine or one that can be upgraded to plan for the types of jobs it is going to eryone else,” he said. CTE in the field when needs change. A typi- run, the volume of work anticipated, how cal tool magazine for an automated pal- it will affect the shop’s configuration, and About the Author: let system starts at 150 positions. Susan Woods is a Another feature is tool breakage de- www.ctemag.com contributing editor for tection. “When running lights out with For more information, visit “Resources,” CTE. Contact her at (224) a tough material, you want a probe that click on “Article Archive” and select the 225-6120 or susanw@ can check the cutting tool to see if it has “Part Handling” category. jwr.com. broken,” WVPI’s Madsen said. “We also

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Coolant.indd 100 5/20/13 3:10 PM