Getting by with a little help from friends: when faced with an increase in demand, a machine-tool manufacturer bought another brand to fill a need its own tools weren't meeting.

Even machine-tool manufacturers don't always have the right machine or the most efficient process in their own factories. Some will admit this and find a machine to suit its need. The most enterprising, after buying an outsider's machine, will work to design its own, tweaking it just so, and eventually replacing the external machine as well as selling its take to others who face the similar problem.

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The one-million [ft.sup.2] facility in Oxnard, CA, owned by Haas Automation, Inc., makes extensive use of automated lights-out manufacturing, employing flexible manufacturing systems to streamline production capabilities and control cost. Of the 275 chip-making machines in its machine shop, 186 are Haas machines--more than 67 percent--a number that continues to rise. As Haas develops new machines with greater capacities and capabilities, it puts them to use in the company's shop, often replacing equipment from other manufacturers.

When Haas Automation introduced its new EC Series of twin-pallet horizontal machining centers--the EC-400, EC-500, and EC-630, 400mm, 500mm, and 630mm pallet machines respectively--it filled an immediate need in the Haas shop. The twin-pallet machines, however, did not have the capability to run multiple jobs without performing a setup each time. This became a limitation when the company needed to increase milling capacity to meet growing demands for its products.

At the time, Haas did not offer a pallet-pool system for its HMCs. It found the answer to increasing capacity in a 10-pallet Flexible Pallet Container--FPC--system from Fastems LLC, West Chester, OH.

System in a Box

The Fastems FPC provided a flexible manufacturing system in a box. It was configured specifically for Haas' then-newly developed EC-400 HMC. Each FPC contained the equipment required for an automated pallet storage and handling system. Haas has two FPC750 units: one with an EC-400, the other with an EC-500. Both units have been in operation for more than two years.

"We connected one 10-pallet container to one of our EC-400s: one machine, one load station and one 10-pallet," Jeff Law, product manager of Haas' HMC and rotary products, said. "We had other multiple-pallet cells in the shop, so we were familiar with the benefits of setup elimination and unattended running. It was no surprise that the whole thing worked out well."

According to Law, the Fastems system was straightforward and self-contained.

"The interface was easy, and a cost-effective solution," he said, referring to the Windows-based manufacturing management system controller the FPC uses for standard and unmanned operation. The system controls the stacker crane and schedules automatic pallet transfers between storage positions, loading stations, and machines.

Haas recently installed a third Fastems FPC system to replace an aging Hitachi Seiki two-machine system. It incorporated an FPC1500 double cell with two load stations, two integrated Haas EC-630 machines, and 20 pallet places.

"With a Haas machine and a Fastems FPC together, we're going to be double-digit percentage points below a comparable system that comes complete with both interactive units from traditional machine tool manufacturers," Law said.

"There is a little bit of integration required, however."

Along with the benefits of setup reduction and unattended running of the machines, the primary benefit of one is a secondary benefit for the other.

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"The typical shop can benefit from either," Law said, "but I think that our production shop places a higher value on unattended running. If we have 10 pallets connected to one machine, we can run a couple of pallets on that machine, depending on the size of the parts--or we may run all 10. We also have the ability to leave work loaded up in the pallets, so those pallets will cycle through the machine unattended at night."

Another big benefit, according to Law, is setup reduction. If a Haas machinist in the job shop has a short list of parts that are repeat jobs, he is likely to prefer a one-time setup of those jobs. After running that batch of parts, he then sends the pallet back to the rack. If the job comes back again in six months or so, he can recall the pallet and run the job without having to setup anything again. The fixtures are still bolted to the pallet, Law said.

Building from a Good Idea

Introduction of the Haas EC-400 quickly spurred requests from customers for multi-pallet solutions. Haas responded by designing its own six-pallet rotary-style system, in which six pallets are arranged in a rotary configuration.

Like the Fastems FPC, the Haas pallet pool provides a flexible manufacturing environment. But, unlike the Fastems system, it does not have the capability of linking two machines together. Both offer lights-out machining capability to small- and medium-sized manufacturers and production shops. A similar system is under development for the Haas EC-630 as well. Fastems LLC

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RELATED ARTICLE: A MATCH MADE IN SOUTH AFRICA

Forming relationships with customers is key to moving a business forward. During a recent machine tool show, Fastems found a way of partnering with the Haas distributor in South Africa by integrating an FPC750 with a Haas EC-500 machine. This type of partnering let both companies endorse the other's technology, while projecting how Haas machine tools could operate in the kind of FMS environment Fastems provides.

On another front, Fastems sold an FPC750 system to an end user of Haas--C & D Zodiac, Huntington Beach, CA, an aerospace subcontractor and a leader in the manufacture of aircraft cabin interiors.