Tag : cnc manufacturing

roboticsmanufacturing

The Wave of Robotics Manufacturing

It’ll be a long time before we see the rise of Skynet, the global artificial intelligence that controlled an army of robotic automation warriors as depicted in the movie Terminator, but robots are already very much a part of our lives and will be even more so in the very near future.

There are already almost a million robotic machines at work around the world in a variety of automation manufacturing roles, and with rapidly developing technologies, and falling costs, that number is expected to grow almost exponentially over the next two decades.

In the 1980s, almost all robots were used in the auto industry. Today they are used in many different industries for robotic automation including; manufacturing, as well as in warehouses, hospitals, laboratories, nuclear power plants, and more.

Some futurists are predicting that by the year 2055 at least 50% of the manufacturing jobs that are now performed by humans will be done by robots. Ready or not, robots are the future of manufacturing, and the future is here now.

Robots And CNC Manufacturing

Yes, robots can do many things well, and they are constantly improving their skills. One part of the manufacturing process that they have proved particularly effective at is CNC machining. When you need precision parts made to exacting tolerances, over and over again, no human can match the tireless performance of a robot.

Of course, robots could do nothing without humans to program them and tell them what to do. Artificial intelligence may get to the point some day that they’ll be able to do it themselves, but we’re not there yet. That’s why we employ professional machinists with years of experience, who also understand the technology behind the robots they direct. That’s a tall order, and you could say our staff is among the elite in their profession.

Robotics manufacturing not only increases productivity and produces and produces an exacting product every time, it also significantly lowers costs. That’s why we can deliver superior OEM parts at the lowest cost, every time.

Meet Sawyer, The Newest Member Of The Team

Sawyer is a robot, and he has amazing capabilities. Even though he only takes up about four square feet of space, he can accomplish many tasks. Sawyer is a collaborative robot, with a visual interface that allows his fellow workers to communicate with him, and to anticipate his actions. He has seven degrees of freedom, extremely advanced in robotic automation, and he has over a four-foot reach, can lift almost nine pounds, and can be controlled to the most exacting specifications required for high-tech CNC machining. Sawyer can work independently, and requires very little supervision. He is one of the most valuable members of our team, gets along great with his co-workers, and is our leading edge in providing you with the highest quality OEM parts.

To learn more about how Sawyer, robotic automation, and high-technology CNC machining can help your business, contact Tag Team Manufacturing today.

lean manufacturing

Lean Manufacturing at Tag Team

At Tag Team, we believe that “lean” as a concept is more than just a way to streamline and simplify the manufacturing process. It’s a way to shine a powerful light on the areas of manufacturing that add value in a way that lets you support them and strengthen them. It’s a methodology that lets you get the right products into the right places at the right time. Most importantly, it’s a way to guarantee the type of competitive advantage necessary to be able to constantly grow and evolve within the ever-changing demands of the market as a whole.

What is Lean Manufacturing?

At its core, lean manufacturing is a concept built on the idea that if you take steps to identify and eliminate waste and overburden within a system, you immediately identify the core pillars that are truly adding value to your organization. It’s a philosophy that was spearheaded by Toyota during the 1990s and is also directly responsible for that company transitioning from a small, niche company to the largest automaker on planet Earth.

Lean focuses on eliminating three core types of waste from within the manufacturing process:

  • Muda. As a term meaning “futility” in its original Japanese, these are all the steps within your process that may get you the results you want, but in the least efficient way possible.
  • Muri. This is the type of waste generated by overburden. These are decisions that may have seemed great when you made them but that, over time, prevent you and your team from working “smarter, not harder.”
  • Mura. This refers to the waste in your process created by uneven workloads.

By overhauling a manufacturing process with an eye towards these three simple ideas, you don’t just improve the quality of the work you’re doing – you improve costs, delivery times, stability and absolutely everything in between.

The Lean Manufacturing Approach

At Tag Team, lean is the very foundation on which our entire manufacturing process has been built. We use one of the best manufacturing software systems available in the world today – E2 – to track everything from machine and employee efficiencies to material and labor costs. We automate wherever possible, allowing us to not only use technology to do things we couldn’t have dreamed of even 10 years ago but to free up the valuable time of our employees so that they can focus on the things that matter the most.

At the end of the day, lean manufacturing doesn’t just allow us to support our own growth and profitability. It lets us support yours, too.

Tag Team has over 30 years of experience serving customers just like you by way of a highly trained, passionate staff with a commitment to quality that is second to none. If you’d like to find out more information about how lean manufacturing can benefit your organization, or if you’d like to sit down and speak to someone about your situation in a little more detail, please don’t delay – contact Tag Team today.

high speed machining

What Is High-Speed Machining?

When referring to CNC machine tools, the term high speed machining (HSM) usually means making products or prototypes rapidly by using milling machines at higher spindle rates with lighter, shallower cuts to achieve greater metal removal rates and lower operating costs.

How Did HSM Develop?

HSM grew out of CNC techniques developed in aerospace manufacturing at companies such as McDonnell Douglas (now part of Boeing). Originally, one of the reasons for using HSM was to machine at specific speeds that would avoid what’s known as “chatter” (machine vibration that can become noisy and/or violent) by taking advantage of milling at natural frequencies. By keeping high speeds stable, parts could be more milled more accurately and have less “ribs,” resulting in a lower weight. Lighter parts meant less heavy, more efficient aircraft. The goal for McDonnell Douglas became reducing the weight of many of its sheet metal parts and combining pieces together for even more efficiency. Eventually, so dramatic was the success of HSM that a jet that formerly was built with 14,000 parts now required only half that number. This greatly reduced costs and allowed speedier production of finished airplanes. As such, HSM became an assembly solution for McDonnell Douglas and eventually other aircraft manufacturers.

What Makes HSM Effective?

Although it may seem counter-intuitive, the way high speed machining works is that a higher machine “spindle rate” (measured in rotations per minute of the tool) combined with lighter cutting will actually remove more material faster than slower spindle rates and heavier cutting. Lighter cutting also means more efficiency from a power perspective — some CNC machines may be rated at a high horsepower but can become overloaded if their cuts are too deep.

With HSM, cutting temperatures are actually reduced; surface finish is also improved, and the machines’ spindle and cutter acquire less wear-and-tear over time. This is especially true with harder materials. Cutting becomes more consistent and more reproducible. Often, HSM combines the roughing and finishing passes that are normally separate at lower speeds. This means that throughput generally increases when HSM is applied to process workflows.

What Are the Benefits of HSM?

In mold making, HSM allows for intricate cavity and core geometries and can enable the quick machining of large, complex components out of solid blocks of material. Material walls can be made very thin, and edges can be very sharp. Accuracy and precision are improved, and time spent polishing surfaces can be reduced. Automation can be improved because errors and interruptions are fewer. Molds and dies have more durability because fatigue cracks are lessened, hence there’s less risk of breakage. Assembly of finished products often can go faster. In general, customers are very satisfied with the output of pieces produced with high speed machining.

How Has HSM Helped Tag Team Manufacturing?

At Tag Team Manufacturing, high speed machining has allowed us to boost our capacity and handle more orders in a shorter timeframe. This, combined with our sophisticated MasterCam CAD/CAM programming system, makes us the leading provider of machined components in the Denver, Colorado region.

Source:

https://www.makino.com/about/news/Ramping-Up-To-High-Speed-Machining/204/

http://www.mmsonline.com/zones/hsm

modern manufacturing

The Role Of CNC Automation In Modern Manufacturing

No business can survive without adopting the most advanced technologies, and in manufacturing, there are few devices more important than CNC machines. CNC, or Computer Numerical Control, manufacturing involves operating lathes, mills, drills, and other devices from a single computer. Manufacturers program the computer with precise instructions for the products they want to make; the machines can then manufacture those products without any additional input. CNC devices dramatically improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and have thus become a mainstay of modern manufacturing.

The CNC revolution is only beginning, and with each year manufacturers develop new, more effective ways to use this technology.

Advantages Of CNC Automation

CNC automation has a wide range of benefits for the manufacturing process, including:

• Consistency

    1. – Other than needing occasional downtime for maintenance and repair, CNC machines can perform the same job exactly the same way 24 hours a day, every day of the year.

• Volume

    1. – A CNC machine can produce the same product over and over again, thousands of times. All of the products will be identical to each other, eliminating the chance of mistakes after the programming stage.

• Intricacy

    1. – A CNC machine can follow any programmed instruction down to the most intimate detail. This allows manufacturers to create products with much more precise designs than manual devices or older forms of automation could achieve.

• Efficiency

    1. – The precision of CNC machines also means that they can use every material presented as efficiently as possible, dramatically reducing waste and thus the cost of production.

• Safety

    1. – CNC machines represent complete manufacturing automation; the operator never has to touch the materials being used. As such, it is ideal for manufacturing tasks that involve extreme temperatures, toxic or corrosive materials, or other factors that would place human operators at risk.

• Speed

    1. – CNC devices combine multiple steps in the modern manufacturing process, dramatically reducing the amount of time it takes to finish production.

• Simplicity

    1. – Whereas other forms of manufacturing automation require skilled operators, a CNC machine requires a relatively low level of skill to use. Under ordinary conditions, a single operator can also supervise multiple machines at the same time, leading to lower labor costs.

 

    Compared to these advantages, the only significant disadvantage of CNC automation is the high up-front cost. By improving efficiency, reducing waste, and preventing mistakes, CNC machines quickly make up for their initial prices, providing long-term savings for manufacturers in a wide range of industries.

What Comes Next? The Future Of CNC Automation

The CNC revolution is only beginning, and with each year manufacturers develop new, more effective ways to use this technology. At present, experts are focused on ways to integrate CNC machines with with the robots used to move and pack finished goods. Doing so will streamline the manufacturing process, reducing waste and increasing simplicity. A single control panel may one day be enough to direct an entire manufacturing operation.

Another key development is the advent of the CNC 3D printer, which has made this type of manufacturing available to smaller businesses and even individuals. As these devices fall in price and grow in complexity, CNC manufacturing will become increasingly personalized and decentralized.

To learn more about modern manufacturing, robotics, and other hallmarks of manufacturing automation, contact Tag Team Manufacturing today.