TOOLMAKER GAINS PRODUCTIVITY WITH INTEGRATED CAD/CAM SOFTWARE

The use of new technology resulted in a 20 percent increase in machining productivity and reduced the need for detailed tool drawings for this precision toolmaker.

Based in the West Midlands, MNB Moulds is a toolmaker that specializes in multi-cavity, highly accurate hardened steel tools primarily for the automotive, medical and electrical markets. Originally established in 1974, MNB has a turnover of approximately £1.2 million and produce 50-70 moulds per year with customers that include Eaton Corporation, Honeywell, MK Electric Co. and Cable Management Group.

Frank Ryan, the managing director and owner since 2000, has always invested in the latest machinery and CADCAM technology and has been using the VISI product suite from Vero Software since 2002. Frank explains, “We have been using the software extensively for 3D tool design and complex machining. However, when machining bolster plates, 2D design information was being passed to the CNC machines for MDI input.” This process was labor intensive and open to manual operator error.

“I have visited a number of toolrooms across Europe, especially Germany where my eyes were opened to what is possible through the use of specialised technology,” says Ryan. “My goal was to make the company more productive so we invited Vero to study our manufacturing processes to see how they could help.”

After a number of internal reviews to better understanding the process bottlenecks, operator skill levels, etc., a plan was put in place to reassess the tooling requirements, fully train the operators on the latest software developments and move towards fully automated 2D machining through the use of Compass Technology. “We have had tremendous success with improving our quality and efficiency over the years with a particularly significant step in productivity in the last twelve months,” notes Ryan. “This is in large part down to the investment we have made in automating our 2D machining and standardising on an integrated CADCAM solution.”

The advantages of the software consolidation can be easily identified in a recent project for an environmentally friendly milk dispenser. With a firm focus now on ways to reduce packaging waste, milk cartons are certainly one item in the spotlight. Britons consume 9.3 billion pints of milk every year – and only one in four plastic milk bottles are actually recycled. The remaining three in four cartons go to landfill, creating unnecessary waste.

The JUGIT project is aimed at those concerned about the associated environmental impact. Consumers need to buy one jug, then bags of milk to fill the unit. This concept is new to Britain, but has been available elsewhere for some time where milk sold in bags is already a regular choice for 60 percent of consumers in Canada, Poland, South Africa and China. The JUGIT milk bags are made from very strong low-density polyethylene and use 75 percent less packaging than standard plastic bottles.

MNB Moulds has manufactured tooling for a number of components, including a two-impression tool for the handle, a two-impression tool for the lid, a four-impression tool for the spout spike and an eight-impression tool for the clamping mechanism. Focusing on the four-impression spike tool, Ryan explains, “The complete tool was designed, cut and built within a 1,000 hour window. Just for this single tool, we have saved approximately 60 hours of machining time alone. If we roll out these productivity improvements throughout a typical year (10,000 machining hours), I would expect to save in excess of £60,000 per annum.”

The complete spike tool project can be broken down into 160 hours for design, 300 hours for CNC milling (bolster, cavities and electrodes) , 250 hours for grinding, 150 hours for spark erosion, 60 hours for wire EDM and 280 hours on the bench. Ryan states, “Moving to an entirely integrated solution has had a very important impact on our business as well as better synergy across personnel. The improvements in 2D machining have also saved the cost of one of the turret mill operators who recently retired and whose work has been absorbed within the CNC milling section with the additional capacity created. Our CADCAM supplier continually develops products that cover the design and manufacturing needs of a toolroom like mine and have firmly established themselves as an integral part of our future.”

www.mnbmoulds.com