Machine Technology: Automating one machine

Automation isn’t just a boon to complex, multiple-machine manufacturing processes. It can also give a major boost to processes that involve only a single machine.

As the name implies, a single-machine automation system is an automated feeding system specifically designed for one machine tool. That means it’s not right for situations where the user might want to add equipment later on that performs peripheral operations, such as inspection or deburring. For applications that may eventually grow beyond a single machine tool, “you would have to look at a custom, articulated robot that has the ability to feed to peripheral devices outside the machine,” said Paul Robinson, an engineering manager at Mazak Corp., Florence, Ky.

With robotic machines, production can be automated to run uninterrupted with minimal supervision for hours at a time. Image courtesy of FANUC America.

Single-machine automation systems can be a particularly good fit in small machine shops, where they take up less floor space than big linear systems that have rail-guided robots to move parts among several machines.

Consider Mazak’s Multi Pallet Pool single-machine automation system. The MPP can be configured with six, 12 or 18 pallets to meet different manufacturing needs. During manufacturing operations, a servodriven, pick-and-place robot moves pallets between the pool and the machine tool it attends.

As an example of the space savings that are possible, Mazak claims that its MPP six-pallet changer for the company’s Variaxis i-600 5-axis vertical machining center consumes about 30 percent less floor space than linear automation systems with the same capacity.

What’s more, single-machine automation systems like the MPP are easier to run and require a smaller up-front investment than their larger counterparts, according to Robinson.