Okuma America Corporation and KUKA Robotics, along with a host of other partners, have provided a lights-out solution for manufacturing a valve part. Combining an LB3000-EX500MY horizontal lathe, an MB46-VAE vertical machining center and a KUKA KR30 L16-3 robot enables consistent part movement between operations with no operator intervention.

Parts enter the cell on an automated conveyor, are picked up by the robot using Schunk end-of-arm robot tooling gripper chucks, and loaded into the LB3000-EX where they are cut using Sandvik tooling. After op 10, the robot grabs the part, turns it and loads it back into the LB-3000EX. Once op 20 is complete, the robot moves the part into the MB46-VAE where it is held in place with an SMW Autoblock air chuck and actuator. A Marposs probe is used to verify part placement and zero set. Using THINC® to control a Lyndex Nikken 4th-axis rotary table, the part is milled in a final operation.

Upon completion, the part is removed by the robot, deburred and gaged. An Edmunds Gage checks one ID and provides automatic offset correction, then a second ID is checked with a Marposs gaging station. Lastly the part is marked using a pen engraver and set on an outbound conveyor.

Robotic loading, turning and unloading ensure consistent cycle times and the probing, gaging and auto compensation programming allow for continual quality checks, SPC analysis and offset changes to ensure consistent and acceptable quality.