To see the latest fiber lasers in action is truly awe-inspiring. Such efficient laser cutting looks like the epitome of productivity—until you see that pile of parts at the offload table. Today's cutting technologies are so fast, few focus solely on the inches-per-minute (IPM) metric. If machines run full-out but parts aren’t flowing, there’s a problem. The solution: Find the flow. It boils down to focusing on what makes money: shipped products, on time and as specified.

This is where the productivity progression (see Figure 1) comes into play, a concept that exemplifies how AMADA grows with its customers in partnerships that often have spanned generations. It’s about advancing technology and the responsive support AMADA is known for. But it’s also about looking at the big picture, seeing how all the pieces of the puzzle fit, and together working toward a common goal: to get more quality parts out the door in less time using fewer resources.

Step 1: Establish Best Practices and Know What Influences Cost

Best practices build the foundation for future success: safe, clean workspaces; standardized and documented processes. They also incorporate a holistic view on part costs, including how certain costs influence other costs. Consider the cost of a typical fabricated part: 5% is the part design, labor is 15%, overhead is 30%, and material is the remaining 50% (see Figure 2). Considering that breakdown, it’s no wonder material is a prime target for cost reduction. Operations obviously should focus on getting every possible inch of material yield … right? Well, not necessarily. That’s because each element of a part’s cost influences other areas of production, and some wield greater influence than others.

Part design is a prime example. The task typically is just 5% of total cost, but elements in design greatly influence other costs. In fact, part design casts the longest shadow in production and influences nearly every value-added step, from order release to shipping. Though material has the greatest direct cost, its influence on other processes is relatively minor.

For instance, what if for one subassembly, five parts could be combined and formed as a single component? Yes, this might require a larger blank size that doesn’t nest as neatly and tightly as five small parts, so you might lose a little on material yield. However, the new design helps minimize or even eliminate welding. And it simplifies scheduling since you’re no longer juggling so many pieces through different routings. Put another way, changing the design helps simplify and enhance the flow.

Design changes needn’t be major to make a huge difference, either: a tab to assist in robotic forming; microtabbing and a “mini-nesting” strategy to allow for automated part removal and streamlined part flow from cutting to bending, be it with a fork truck or an automated guided vehicle; self-fixturing via slots and tabs; streamlining welding and perhaps reducing the need for hardware—the possibilities go on.

Step 2: Automate Part and Information Flow

Automation includes robotics and (perhaps the most overlooked) software. Consider again the savings from better part design. To boost productivity this way can be a balancing act. Five parts can indeed be combined into one, but can that part be formed repeatedly and efficiently? Is the right press brake tooling available, and can operators (or even robots) grasp, position, and reposition the part consistently? Design changes can send productivity through the roof, but it can also lead to designs that can be a bear to fabricate, which in turn can snowball into an avalanche of inefficiency.

What if a shop adopts process simulation software like AMADA VPSS 3i for blanking and bending? Tool choices in bending affect blank sizes in cutting, so any change in one affects the other. Excessive tryout bends and other testing hinder the flow and send variability through the roof. Simulation software removes most if not all of that variability—no 15-minute setups that really take 45 minutes. All this aims to minimize unpredictability and, again, find the flow.

That five-parts-in-one workpiece reduced the number of pieces in the final assembly. To boost flow from here, sequencing matters. No more large batches that lumber slowly downstream, the operation now needs to process small batches that flow downstream in minutes or hours. This means assemblers get the pieces they need right when they need it. And because the overall assembly has fewer pieces, sequencing those smaller-batch jobs gets a lot easier.

Hence the value of the Automatic Tool Changer (ATC) press brake. Visit a precision fabricator with high product mix and complex workflows, and chances are they have an AMADA HRB and HG ATC Series press brake. With brake changeovers complete within minutes, even the most complex parts can be formed and then moved downstream. There’s the flow.

Finding the right flow for a shop begins with identifying areas where best practices can make a difference.

This makes upstream blanking automation all the more effective. Fiber lasers have become so powerful and so effective, having at least some kind of automation has become a given. Machines like the AMADA REGIUS 3015 AJ Linear Fiber Laser, with three linear-drive axes, has advanced adaptive technology to self-correct and run unattended. Today, in fact, the beam itself can be customized to meet the demands of automation. This includes beam parameters—offered, for example, by the AMADA VENTIS 3015 AJ Fiber Laser with Locus Beam Control (LBC)—that produce a wider kerf that’s perfected for AMADA TK 3015L part removal and sorting automation.

The true power of automated part removal—and any automated process, for that matter—is in its consistency. Parts are removed, bent, and welded the same way at the same pace, every time. And thanks to the AMADA 3i software platform, even processing a high-product-mix part flow becomes extremely predictable, and optimization opportunities abound. Programmers might sequence the nesting of a group of jobs so they flow at just the right time to the forming department and beyond. There’s the flow.

Step 3: Optimize through IIoT

On top of all this comes the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT, made possible with the AMADA Influent IIoT platform. This goes beyond connecting a few processes, like cutting and bending, and instead aims to connect machines across the entire operation. When machines report their own uptime as well as job-specific performance data, yet more efficiency opportunities come to light, and the productivity progression heads skyward.

The predictability of automation makes IIoT even more powerful. When software knows that part sorting and stacking (or any other tasks) will take this many minutes, no more and no less, it also can look at other processes across the operation, revealing patterns that would be difficult or outright impossible for a human to see. Will a certain job sequence in one area create better flow in another area? If the answer depends on what operator happens to be working a certain shift, the question might be difficult or impossible to answer. But when the process is automated and predictable, the story changes.

In this way, an IIoT platform like AMADA Influent IIoT takes the productivity progression to the next level, unleashing available capacity and new opportunities. Such technology can make even the most complex, high-product-mix operation poised for growth.

On paper, designing a part typically accounts for just 5% of total cost. In reality, however, elements in design greatly influence other costs. For example, what if a subassembly with five separate parts could be redesigned into a single component? That eliminates extra processing and shrinks production time. That's also finding the type of part flow that makes a shop profitable.

The article is reproduced from:https://www.thefabricator.com/thefabricator/article/automationrobotics/the-right-mix-of-automation-and-software-leads-to-an-optimized-production-flow

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We are FABMAX company!
We offer all kinds of press brake tools: punches and dies for press brakes with various fastening systems,
such as: Amada Promecam, Aliko, Yawei, Durmazlar, Baykal, Accurl, Accurpress, LVD, Darley, Naso, Wila, Trumpf, Rolleri, UKB, Eurostamp, etc...
We are always welcome you to discuss with us about the toolings!