Optimising Your Machine Park
In modern manufacturing, the performance of an individual CNC machine is no longer the only factor that matters. What is equally important is the efficiency of the entire machine park. Machines can lose a significant amount of available production time due to workpiece changes, setup operations, waiting for operators or poorly coordinated production planning.
By implementing a Flexible Manufacturing Concept (FMC) and a centralised Job Management System (JMS), machines, robots, workholding systems and production orders can be connected into one coordinated manufacturing system.
The objective is to make better use of existing equipment, reduce downtime and increase production flexibility.
Four Pillars of Flexible Manufacturing
The FMC concept is based on four interconnected areas:
- Standardisation of workholding systems and pallets
- Organisation of production information and processes
- Automation of CNC machine tending
- Integration and coordinated operation of the entire machine park
Automation should not be seen simply as adding a robot to an individual machine. The entire manufacturing process needs to be organised in a way that allows it to respond quickly to different orders and changing production requirements.
Standardised Workholding as the Foundation
An important part of flexible manufacturing is the use of modular and standardised workholding systems. These include zero-point clamping systems, pallets, adapter pallets, grippers and various workpiece carriers.
Standardisation allows workpieces to be prepared outside the CNC machine and then transferred quickly and repeatably between individual manufacturing operations.
This reduces setup times and machine downtime. At the same time, the same workholding concept can be used across different machines and at different stages of the production process.
Centralised Production Management with JMS
As the number of machines and production orders increases, efficient information management becomes increasingly important.
The JMS (Job Management System) provides a central platform for planning, scheduling and monitoring production orders. It provides an overview of machine status, current jobs and production progress.
A technological process can be defined for each product, while the system can allocate individual production operations to available machines that meet the required conditions.
Production is therefore no longer organised around a single machine. Instead, the available capacity of the entire machine park can be utilised in a more coordinated and efficient way.
Automated CNC Machine Tending
The next step is robotic automation. A robot can handle the loading and unloading of workpieces or pallets and serve one or multiple machines.
Such a solution enables CNC machines to operate autonomously for longer periods while reducing the need for manual machine tending.
Automation becomes particularly effective when a single robotic system connects several different machine tools. Depending on the required production process, a workpiece can then move between different machines and manufacturing operations.
From an Automated Machine to an Automated Workshop
Traditional automation generally focuses on an individual CNC machine, with a robot primarily responsible for loading and unloading it.
Centrally managed automation expands this concept to the entire machine park. JMS coordinates production orders, robotic systems handle the transport and exchange of workpieces, while CNC machines perform the individual machining operations.
The system can also be connected to higher-level information systems such as ERP.
This creates an integrated production structure:
ERP → JMS → Automation → CNC Machines
Such an approach provides greater flexibility when production priorities change and gives manufacturers a better overview of the entire production process.
Better Machine Utilisation and Higher OEE
One of the most important indicators of manufacturing equipment efficiency is OEE (Overall Equipment Effectiveness).
OEE is influenced by machine availability, performance and production quality.
Automation and centralised production management can reduce the amount of time machines spend waiting for workpieces or operators. Better organisation of production orders also helps minimise unnecessary interruptions and improve the utilisation of available production capacity.
Real-time production monitoring also makes it easier to identify bottlenecks and other issues within the manufacturing process.
Who Can Benefit from This Approach?
FMC and centralised production management are not limited to large-scale manufacturing.
This approach can be particularly valuable for companies producing small and medium-sized batches with a wide variety of products. Production requirements often change frequently in these environments, making flexibility and efficient production scheduling especially important.
These solutions are suitable for various manufacturing sectors, including tool and mould making, precision machining, the automotive and aerospace industries, medical manufacturing and subcontract production.
They are also suitable for manufacturers of prototypes and customised components that regularly need to manage a wide variety of production orders.
Step-by-Step Automation of the Machine Park
Optimising a machine park does not have to be completed in a single step. One of the main advantages of a modular approach is that the system can be developed gradually.
The first step can be the standardisation of workholding and the organisation of production processes. This can be followed by the automation of an individual CNC machine or manufacturing cell. Later, several machines can be connected and centralised production management can be introduced.
In this way, automation can grow together with the company’s requirements and gradually connect an increasing share of the manufacturing process.
From Individual Machines to Connected Manufacturing
Optimising a machine park means more than simply purchasing a faster machine or adding a robot. The greatest potential lies in connecting machines, automation, workholding systems and production information into one coordinated manufacturing process.
The FMC concept and JMS enable a better overview of production, more efficient use of available capacity and faster adaptation to changing production requirements.
The result is a machine park that can operate in a more connected, flexible and efficient way, while making better use of existing manufacturing capacity.