Automation: The Next Generation of Workforce

Chris Davala:

Hello, and thank you for joining us for the Automation: The Next Generation of Workforce presentation, today. Today we're going to discuss a few different forms of automation from fairly entry level and easy to implement through more complex custom solutions. So let's jump right into it. My name is Chris Davala, I'm a Principal Engineer with Okuma America in Charlotte, North Carolina, and I'll be your host today. Now, if you have any questions during the presentation, please put them in the chat window. If we have enough time at the end of the presentation, we'll try to answer as many as possible. Anything we don't get to, we'll try to answer by email. So if you'll include your contact info with the question, that'll make it much easier to get you an answer.

Chris Davala:

So why should anyone consider automation? Here we can see a few reasons that I hear in most every shop I've visited. So there's a growing concern among shop owners based on the lack of young workers that will be available to backfill the positions of the aging workforce as they begin to retire, as well as the current skilled labor shortage. The stigma of the manufacturing industry as a dirty, nasty job has been a deterrent for many people for years. For those of us in the industry, we know that's not typically true, but because of that perception, we now face a gap in skilled labor between the older generation and the younger generation. So we'll jump right into the automation piece. So let's get started with some simple automation and work our way through more complex solutions. So one of the simplest forms of automation is a bar puller for a CNC lathe.

Chris Davala:

It's programmed with simple G-code quick, and easy to set up. Some of these units take up a turret station, while others are built into the cutoff tool, saving that space. So if you couple this with a parts catcher and maybe some clever macros, you can easily load a short bar in your spindle. Possibly not have to open the door until that stock has run out. So this frees up your operator to do other tasks while the spindle stays running with very minimal cost and implementation requirements for this. As you can see in this quick video, the bar puller is part of the cutoff tool. So no extra turret space is required. Spring pressure and serrated grippers hold the stock to pull it out of the spindle. So one downside to this type of automation are limitations on how heavy the stock can be and still have enough force for the gripper to pull it consistently. However, it is very quick and easy to set up.

Chris Davala:

Moving onto some simpler automation for machining centers, here's a few basic options. So while this is not automation in the traditional sense, things like sub plates and modular fixturing that have very accurate repeatability can drastically reduce your setup times as well as reduce part exchange times if you're manually loading these machines. Another very common addition to even the most basic machining center is a probe. Spindle probe, tool probe or both, the tool probe can easily automate a tool setting and allows the user to check for broken tools in process without any operator intervention. So for example, if you want to check a drill to make sure it's still there before your tap goes into the hole, you don't need your operator standing there to do so. He can use the tool probe for this. The spindle probe lets the user automatically set work offsets, check features for size while in process, and many other tasks that can be taken out of the hands of the operator.

Chris Davala:

So again, with some macro programming, you can automatically make offset adjustments, recut a feature if it's out of spec. So for example, if you had a bore that you machined, you went in and checked it, it was under size. You can automatically reset the offset, or make an adjustment to the offset, recut the bore, check it again. If you cut the bore oversize, instead of wasting all that time cutting the rest of your park, you can set a user alarm to where it's going to alert the operator that that part is no good anymore. So he needs to do something differently. So that's a pretty basic simple form of automation without actually having any automation. One of the simplest methods of what you would consider maybe true automation is a bar feeder for a CNC lathe. So the bar feeder can typically feed the main or the subspindle if your lathe is equipped with one.

Chris Davala:

Then ideally the finished part would be unloaded through a dedicated part unloader, dropped into a parts catcher or something like that, so the bar feeder can feed in more stock, make another part, without the door ever having to be opened. So the benefit of a bar feed over a bar puller is the capacity of stock that can be handled, as well as the size of the stock. So the bar puller's grip strength is its limitation, while the bar feeder is pushing the stock into the lathe spindle, so it can handle much larger loads. The length of stock for a bar feeder is also greater since you fill the entire lathe spindle as well as the length of the bar feeder. But typically those sizes are going to be a six foot or 12 foot bar feeder and they can also store multiple bars of each stock size.

Chris Davala:

So in this video, there's not much to actually see, you can see the bar feeder, pushing the stock out to a predetermined length. So after each previous part is cutoff, it prepares the machine to cut another part without the operator having to do anything. Another benefit to many bar feeders is the ability to retract the remnant, or the small piece of stock left at the end of the bar. So if there's not enough stock to hold onto or not enough to make another part, the bar feeder will retract that. Once that remnant is retracted, the bar feeder then can load a fresh bar, having minimum downtime. And again, the operator doesn't need to do anything. So if you couple the bar feeder with a parts catcher, maybe some tool load monitoring and possibly redundant tooling, this allows the lathe to run unattended for hours with no operator required.

Chris Davala:

Moving on to an APC or automatic pallet changer. So while it is possible to add palletized automation to a vertical machining center, it's not typically a standard feature and it does require a substantial amount of work to make that happen and implement it. An easier way to automate a machining center is by moving to a horizontal machining center platform. So most standard horizontals have at least a two pallet capacity, meaning that the operator can load parts on one pallet outside the machining environment while the other pallet is being machined. So once the machining is complete, the machine tool will swap out the pallets and begin the machining the second pallet while the operator can now swap parts on the first pallet. This allows the spindle to continue running even while the parts are being swapped on the fixture. The horizontal also offers the benefit of greater chip control.

Chris Davala:

So chip control is very important in the automated process to make sure the chips don't get in the way of anything. You could obviously use a chip fan or something like that on a vertical to get some of that stuff out of the way. Maybe still need to do that on a horizontal, but gravity basically is your biggest ally in the horizontal getting the chips out of the work environment and out of the way. So it makes it an easier automated solution. To take that one step further, we can have multiple pallets, called a pallet pool. So pallet pools are very versatile. They can benefit shops with both high mix, low volume, as well as low mix high volume. Every side of the pallet can have completely different parts. They can have the same part, constantly running the same part over and over. Lots of possibilities and flexibility here.

Chris Davala:

So if you couple that with in-process gauging some redundant tooling maybe, a large pallet pool could easily run lights out overnight or possibly for days without the operator required to do anything. Okuma offers a six, 10 or 12 pallet pool option to fit a variety of needs based on space constraints, machining volume required, things like that. And additionally, the Okuma pallet pool is fully integrated and programmed on the OSP control. So there's no third-party integration to make it work. If you know how to navigate your way around the control, you can easily set this up and get it running. For higher production lathe automation, we have the Okuma gantry loader or OGL. So these can be factory kit or fully engineered solutions. So there's many options that'll suit your application. This particular image is a 2 SP-2500H which has two horizontal lathe spindles that's tended by a single gantry arm. But really the sky's the limit with all the configurations you can get in this platform.

Chris Davala:

So what you see here is the turnover station, so the gantry arm would come in and load one spindle. So it takes a workpiece off the incoming stocker, loads the first spindle. After it machines the part, it moves it to the turnover station, flips it to the other side so you can machine the backside of it. Once that finishes machining, puts it on the outbound conveyor and you have a complete part without ever having to touch anything.

Chris Davala:

It's also possible to add a OGL to a more typical horizontal lathe like the Okuma LB3000 EX. This can be done with almost any configurational lathe, can accommodate a shaft type work or chucker type work, depending on what kind of parts you have. This type of setup is probably more typical of higher volume work. Programming the gantry arm is really not much more than teaching a few points and creating a G-code program. It's all done within the OSP control. So again, no third-party integration. If you understand how G-code works, you can very easily understand how to set up this automation and get it running. So it's really not near as intimidating as you might think.

Chris Davala:

Another form of easy automation is the Load & Go available from Gosiger Automation. So the Load & Go is basically a plug and play solution that can be set in front of just about any machine tool using fairly common machine tool options, like auto door and robot loader interface, things like that. With this system, the setup basically is a graphical user interface that walks the operator through some selections when they're getting the parts set up, then you teach the load, unload points, and you're ready to run very quickly. The Gosiger Automation group sells this as a turnkey solution. So it requires a very little from the end user. Although it is a third-party integration in this case, it is very clean and easy solution. So you can also get multiple sizes of this robot and use it on a variety of machine types.

Chris Davala:

When you get done with it in front of the lathe, if you want to pick it up and put in front of a mill, you have the ability to do so. So it's very flexible and versatile. For shops requiring a more process specific automation. There's a lot more options out there as well. So here you see an automated cell that has a dedicated inbound and outbound conveyor. With more customized automation solutions like this, there's virtually no limit to what you can do. Part marking, inspection stations, vision systems, all these things can be added and incorporated to allow full control of your process.

Chris Davala:

The newest automation on the market is the Okuma ARMROID. So ARMROID is really the first of its kind, in-machine robot. So it's great for small to medium lot sizes with multiple workpiece stocker configurations. There's no third-party integration or robot programming experience needed here because it is a fully integrated solution programmed with the Okuma OSP control. Multiple end effectors are available. So it gives the user some added benefits. So what you see here is the robot going and grabbing the part gripper. So this is what will load and unload parts out of the spindle. There's also a coolant wash nozzle and a steady rest roller. So as we mentioned earlier, chip control is very critical in an automated environment. So things like the coolant nozzle can help keep the machine tool environment clean and free of chips, as well as act as a secondary coolant nozzle during cutting. What you see right there is a steady rest roller. So if you're having any chatter issues or just need a little work support, it also can change to that end effector, support your work piece, change back to the gripper and then unload your parts.

Chris Davala:

There's a single pendant to control both the machine and the robot with the ARMROID, as well as intuitive setup screen. So it just makes it very user-friendly for the less experienced operator. There's no third-party integrator needed. No prior robot programming knowledge is required. The motion path is automatically generated. So the OSP control takes that burden off the operator and does all the work basically for you. Okuma also incorporates its onboard Collision Avoidance Software, so CAS, to add an additional layer of protection to your machine tool. So this helps prevent crashes by monitoring all machine tool and robot motion while looking for interference. Another fully factory automated solution from Okuma is the STANDROID. So the STANDROID utilizes Yaskawa robot, but it's fully controlled through the OSP control pendant. So like the ARMROID, no prior programming of robots is needed to be understood. So that experience that you might not have on your shop floor is not near as critical to get this solution up and running. Again, with the help of the Collision Avoidance Software from Okuma, the robot motion path is automatically generated. So you're only really required to teach your points of where you're going to load or unload your parts and what kind of stocker you have to make sure the robot knows where to go get the new parts to put in.

Chris Davala:

So the final, and one of the more sophisticated forms of automation we'll discuss today is the FMS or flexible manufacturing system. This modular system can tend many machine tools with a single stacker crane. Material handling, part load stations, all that can be configured as needed as well as other accessories, like part washing stations. The FMS has a large amount of built-in intelligence so it reduces the dependency on skilled labor and the way this works, is you just keep stacking modules on top of each other, so the system is ultimately configurable. So it is also possible to allow the FMS software to do all of the machine tool scheduling based on due dates from your ERP system. So the FMS can look at available material, it can look at available cutting tools in each machine and look at the due dates for parts, and it will make intelligent data-driven decisions that doesn't really require anything from the operator after it's set up. Pallet storage is modular, so you can in theory have enough capacity to run 24/7/365, as long as there's enough people to swap out parts and tools at some point.

Chris Davala:

This type of automation is good for both high mix, low volume and low mix high volume. For the high mix, low volume, basically your employees can get the machines set up and proved out during the day and then just let it run parts at night. So it can run all night long, no operator required, drastically reducing your labor costs while you're making parts. So that's one of the added benefits of the FMS system.

So that wraps up the forms of automation that we'll be discussing today. So I hope that you found something valuable in what we've covered and we'll open it up to answer a few questions now. As mentioned earlier, anything that we don't get to, if you'll please leave your contact info along with your question in the chat, we'll be sure to reply by email. And I would like to thank you for your time and attention today.