Does moving towards the smart factory mean scrapping existing CNC grinding machines and having to invest in a whole new set of machinery? Not at all. But it does mean upgrading some of your technology and changing the way you think about how you operate.
Change the Way You Think About Tool Manufacturing
In the factory of the future, running a factory will not require you to be as hands-on with what you produce. Instead of a manual production line, you will have an integrated network of machines that is more efficient in manufacturing processes, intellectual property generation, tool design, customer responsiveness, cycle time, profitability-and the list goes on. Across your business, automated machines will take care of more of the laborious tasks before work begins.
Do not let the enormity of what you can achieve with a smart factory cause you to stick to what you have always done because it is easier. With a bit of investment to upgrade existing technology and facilities, you can reap the benefits of automation.
It is about working with a CNC grinding machine that is smarter. Of course, this will need some investment, but it is also about understanding how the new infrastructure will work. The benefit is that instead of needing to manufacture products with manual intervention, your team will be able to program machines ahead of time, so they are free to do what needs to be done throughout the day. And not only will your CNC machines manage the production, but they will also collect and analyze data and make automatic adjustments to production in real time.
All a CNC Grinding Machine Needs is to be Connected
While you will be able to make use of existing CNC machines, it will require you to embrace some new technology. To work effectively with other machines and maximize the benefits of a smart factory, each CNC grinding machine will need to be connected to a communication network.
Having a machine connected to a network may seem daunting, but the benefits are unparalleled. The CNC machine becomes part of a smart, connected set of tools working together to make your work easier.
Depending on the age of your machine, you can connect machines using either Wi-Fi (the best option to avoid messy cabling) or a cabled LAN connection. While newer machines come Wi-Fi enabled, older machines can be retrofitted with a Wi-Fi adaptor and software drivers. Check with your vendor first to make sure the driver software is supported.
Exploit Your Niche, Finesse Your Offering, Charge Accordingly
As a small company, you are able to offer a personalized service bigger business cannot. You understand your customers' needs. You sell the precise product they need to keep their operation running. They need you as much as you need them.
So being small can be your greatest selling point. You can adapt to the market as it changes and respond to demand. Where potential customers may be frustrated by businesses with long lead times, you have the ability to turn things around quickly and with more flexibility. Customers wanting something you do not yet manufacture can even be an advantage. With the tools and flexibility to make it happen, you can easily expand your offerings and show them how well you understand your niche.
This kind of specialization is hugely valuable to a business. You are not only providing labor and materials, but access to years of knowledge and refinement. It has been shown that customers will pay more for specialized products that offer this level of added value.
Embrace Automation
Most CNC machines, including those produced by ANCA, already come equipped with comprehensive, advanced software that allows flexibility in everything from configuring set-up to adaptive processes like product gauging and automatic compensations, freeing your team to work on more valuable tasks.
By creating automated systems and processes, you will immediately have access to more information than ever before-a huge benefit for you and your customers. Your machines will be able to alert you when you are running low on materials. They will predict maintenance needs required to keep them operating so you avoid lengthy and expensive disruptions.
Better still, they can become part of a wider network of machines. Integrating with other factories will reinvent your supply chain process. Suddenly, your factory can integrate with your customers and your machines can speak to one another. Is your customer running out of a product you manufacture? The machine at your end can find out and start the production process without any intervention from you.
Move Forward One Step at a Time
Shops do not need to do all of this at once. There are easy ways to add automation functionality:
- Add after-market software or hardware accessories, such as lasers to measure tools in production and make sure they are meeting required design and tolerances.
- Retrofit with automation robotic loaders for lower costs and greater volumes. You can have a new robotic loader at a reasonable price installed into your machine to achieve the benefits of lights-out or unattended machine production.
- Enable machine connectivity on older machines through Wi-Fi adaptors and software drivers to connect machines to each other and the wider factory.
- Store tool files centrally with tools and wheel servers. Maintaining a database of each tool file that a machine can use for set-up is a great place to start with software. A factory can store a whole range of files centrally, so each machine can access what it needs to get the process going.
Plan Ahead for Future Success
This might be brand new for your factory, and there are tricks you will need to learn. For example, did you know that if you are moving jobs between machines, you will need to have the same version of software on each? And again this is an investment, but the efficiencies will outweigh the costs in a few months-it is about knowing what will be required to make your factory smart.
If scaled manufacturing is not your background, you might need more information before you scope out your strategy. ANCA can help customers understand the specific requirements and how to incorporate them into the supply chain.
Whatever approach you take, you will need to invest in some degree of technology to keep your machines up to date and your operation functioning effectively. Without this, other companies will move ahead of you as they can produce more complex tools more efficiently.
There are many ways to bring your CNC grinding machines up to speed for your smart factory. The most important thing is that you start.
Authored by Lucas Hale, Global Marketing Manager, ANCA CNC Machines
For more information contact:
ANCA Inc.
31129 Century Drive
Wixom, MI 48393
248-926-4466
usainfo@anca.com
www.anca.com