Flexible Manufacturing System
Alliance Machine, Inc., has invested in a PALLETACE flexible manufacturing system (FMS) integrated with three Okuma MB-4000H horizontal machining centers (HMCs). As a busy CNC shop serving the defense and aerospace industries, we handle a wide variety of jobs that involve complex, tight-tolerance parts cut from exotic and difficult-to-machine metals. The integrated machining center and FMS system provide flexibility that enables the shop to be more proactive and reactive to customer needs.
•3 Okuma MB-4000H Horizontal Machining Centers
•Complex, tight-tolerance, multi-op. parts made from nearly any material
•Offers the flexibility for today’s need to improve the time to market
Room To Expand Without Increasing Overhead
The FMS is designed to reduce set-up time and changeovers, allowing AMI to take on repeat orders while accommodating schedule and quantity changes. This advanced CNC machining technology also enables shorter lead times, competitive pricing and lights-out manufacturing for increased productivity. Since acquiring the PALLETACE, AMI has more than doubled its manufacturing square footage and increased our measurable efficiencies by an average of 40%.
•Reduced Set-Up Time and Changeovers
•Shorter Lead Times, Better Pricing = Increased Productivity
•Doubled Footprint ~ Reduced Overhead ~ Better Through Put
Lights-Out Manufacturing
We have implemented this FMS to better meet our customers’ needs for shorter lead times and volume pricing on medium and larger batch sizes. For parts most effectively run on horizontals the system can practically eliminate set-up times by leaving the fixtures in place on the pallets for repeat orders. The Okuma Control can intuitively schedule production 24/7 while adjusting for break-in jobs as needed on the three identically configured Okuma MB 4000H HMCs. Our current system configuration is 55 feet long, 35 feet wide and has a high-speed stacker crane, two levels of pallet storage, two loading stations and the Okuma Cell Controller.
•24/7 production scheduling
•High Speed Stacker Crane
•2 levels of Pallet Storage
•2 loading stations w/Cell Controller
Accommodating And Advanced Through Cutting-Edge Technology
It is expandable to four loading stations with up to 10 machines to accommodate future growth. We integrated three Okuma MB 4000H HMCs. They are identical to more easily accommodate production scheduling, and features include 15,000 RPM spindles, 400 mm tables, full fourth-axis indexing capabilities, 1,000 PSI through the spindle coolant, 22 x 22 x 24.5-inch travels and 146-capacity tool changers. Additional options we’ve added to increase productivity include turn-cut, heat-shrink tooling with a tool presetter and onboard monitoring of tool life, tool breakage, TMac spindle load and auto-gauging Renishaw probing.
•Room to Accommodate Future Growth ~ Tool Life Monitoring
•Renishaw Probing ~ Tool Presetter ~Tool Breakage
•Turn-Cut Capabilities ~ 146 Capacity Tool Changers