Today is May 12, 2020. A very weird and trying time considering the ongoing pandemic of COVID-19. Still, we're grateful to be working.
This time has allowed us to experiment a lot, and today we were able to try something we had been working at for a while.
This is our CNC mega work cell in the photo, and below that is how it works.
So, the work cell is equipped with four CNC machines as you can see. Here is our equipment:
- Two Haas St-15 lathes
- One Omni-Turn GT-75 2 axis lathe
- One Brown & Sharpe CMM (for inspection)
Now, here is where it gets a little more interesting. We can move pieces of equipment in this work cell to optimize efficiency and ease of operation. If you look at the Omni-Turn (blue) and Brown & Sharpe (white), you can see that there are casters and platforms located under the machines. This is going to allow us to move these two machines around - as well as our inspection tables - to optimize this work space on a daily basis. If you have one multi-operation component running here, it may look more like a half circle or a boxed in work area. If multiple different components are all being operated in the mega cell, then it may look similar to the photo above where the operator has different inspection and sub-work areas to keep components separated.
It may still be a work in progress for us, but it could resemble a huge upgrade in our manufacturing process. Thanks for reading!