As workshops take on the new challenges of digitalization, material science and automation, shop floor managers are considering not just the configuration of their facilities for today’s demand but also how their workshops will take shape in a decade.
For example, the rapid pace of digitalization is shifting the way workshop managers boost production as they take on more complex and demanding order specifications. And with the help of new technology, operations are becoming faster and leaner than ever.
Customers are demanding more flexibility in design, often requiring engineered, nonstandard options. In the auto industry, the rise in electric vehicles (EVs) has amped up the need for custom steering parts. As the EV market is far from standardized, particularly with regard to chassis design and battery placement, suppliers with bespoke manufacturing capabilities have a competitive advantage.
Similarly, batch sizes have shrunk, with smaller production runs becoming more commonplace in workshops. To put this in context, Sandvik Coromant’s machine tool factory in Gimo, Sweden, had an average batch size of 102 pieces per order in 2004. This compares with just 25 pieces per order at the end of 2019.
Smaller batches inevitably result in additional machine setups and changeovers, which may lead to bottlenecks in many workshops. What were once considered time killers—such as removing chips, setting the tool and measuring the component—may now completely kill a business when the queues of complex, small batch orders begin to accumulate.
Designs are also becoming more complex. With demand for new features, materials and machining types, workshops now need machines and machine tools that can do more through effective cooling capabilities, smaller diameters, improved rigidness, tighter tolerances and more cutting edges.
The Internet of Things (IoT) combines intelligent sensors with machine-to-machine and machine-to-device communications. The adoption of this technology has already played a major role in more autonomous production processes, enabling businesses to boost productivity and reduce human error.
Working closely with machine tool builders, cloud suppliers and network companies, Sandvik Coromant developed CoroPlus, a platform of connected tools and software. Using sensor-equipped tools, production managers can adjust, control and monitor machining performance in real time to optimize processes and decision making. For example, the platform monitors and controls sensor-equipped tools—cross-referenced with tool data and process data—to prevent tool breakage. Machining processes can also be monitored remotely. Using cloud storage, managers can gain insight into every step of their processes just by looking at a visualized dashboard on their phone or tablet.
Computer-aided-manufacturing (CAM) installations also are increasing, combining software and computer-controlled machinery to automate a process. Demand for easy access to tool, process and product data has followed, further reinforcing the need for IoT infrastructure in workshops.
Materials are also changing, becoming lighter, stronger and more sustainable. Nickel-based superalloys, for example, provide excellent mechanical strength and resistance to thermal creep deformation. So these new alloys are lengthening the lifespan of these key energy sector parts such as gas turbine blades.
The switch to higher-strength materials presents new challenges to machinery, particularly legacy equipment, which was designed to work with standard materials. The machine tool industry has responded with ultra-strong tools to cut new materials and more advanced programming options to create geometrically complex products. High-tech programming functions, such as tool data integration, full-machine simulation and automatic spare tool setup, are giving workshops more capabilities to work with more challenging materials.
The workshops of tomorrow will have fewer machines but more capabilities. As single-purpose machines are removed, workshop managers can consider what should take the newly empty space. Some key considerations include:
Five-axis machining makes it possible to produce more complex 3D geometries, such as turbine blades or cutting tools. Going further than the standard X, Y and Z axes, operators can produce parts with interior cuts that would be otherwise inaccessible with a simple three-axis setup. Built-in, high-pressure coolant is another important feature to consider at the buying stage. Modern turning tools feature nozzles that deliver precision coolant directed precisely to the cutting zone at high pressures to optimize effectiveness.
In addition to reducing machine footprint, hybrid systems can cut and build metals on the same work surface. These next-generation machines may look like a five-axis mill at first glance, but they contain a built-in cladding head to carry out additive machining. This combination of both additive and subtractive processes in one machine gives more cost flexibility. While 3D printing was once restricted to polymers, today’s AM machines can use steel, stainless steel, nickel, cobalt and copper-based alloys. These different materials can be combined to create a single product, using more costly materials only where required.
Whereas, operators previously had to rely on experience and instinct to improve processes and detect machining issues, digitalization is now available at every step—planning, preparation, production, monitoring and service. Smart software and sensors can be the virtual eyes and ears inside the machine, making optimal process recommendations.
Many workshops opt for automation at the time of purchase, even if it takes a year to fully integrate and achieve its potential. Most promising, automation enables one machine setup to carry out multiple applications without human input, such as grinding, broaching, welding and measuring. Working with machine tool builders, workshop managers can request custom automation to exact requirements.
Energy consumption can be lowered by implementing optimal machining strategies, such as reducing cutting speeds. In many cases, manufacturers can maintain productivity by proportionally increasing feed rate and depth of cut.
Given the rapid rate of digitalization, manufacturers need to consider how their workshops will shape up now and in the next decade. Demands such as personalization and small batch production are placing greater reliance on automated technologies, and machine shop owners must consider the investments needed to succeed in an increasingly competitive environment. Having a machine tool partner that can advise the best strategies, software and tools for the job can be the difference between getting ahead and falling behind the curve.
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