The first-hand experiences of our Robodrill operators initiated an innovative effort that increased production rates, improved precision and established better repeatability for the tapping operation of this Industrial Automation metal part.
We were using a fixture that allowed only ONE of these metal parts to be placed in the Robodrill at a time. Additionally, this fixture wasn’t consistently holding the part securely in place during tapping; leading to programming and manual adjustments to correct the missed holes. And with a total of 19 holes being tapped in this part, precision and speed were critical factors. It was clear a change needed to be made before costs significantly increased and production rates decreased to unacceptable levels.
Innovation requires a team effort and Ultra’s experienced Die Designer – Ron, designed and built a customized fixture to hold FIVE of these parts in the Robodrill at once. Then a CNC program was created for the Robodrill that matched the layout of this new fixture.
The main goals of this new fixture:
- Improve precision
- Establish better repeatability
- Increase production rates
This new manufacturing fixture delivered as designed!! Alignment pins located on the fixture line up with the Robodrill’s table to ensure installation is secure and correct. Each of the metal parts has an established base in the fixture providing stability during operation so that every hole is tapped in the correct location. This 5-part fixture has reduced set-up and removal times, established a repeatable and precision process for tapping and most importantly improved production rates.
