Aerospace: Manufacturing Solutions
there is enough material in stock, the RoboFMS is designed for a high level of autonomous production over a long period of time. “Our aim is to be able to produce for an entire weekend unmanned, even in batch sizes of 1. The prerequisite for this is that there are enough clamped workpieces and unclamped semi-finished parts in the system storage unit so that all stations in the RoboFMS can be operated at any time. We are currently working on enabling the system to produce all the rolling bearing components in a highly automated process, without manual set-up by operators”, says Jakob. One of the essential components of the project, according to Cédric Vandevoir, is athe FastemsManufacturing Management Software (MMS): “We will soon be connecting the MMS to our ERP system so that we can directly plan production on it. The software will then also control and monitor the entire automated production. The MMS also enables us to map the overall efficiency of the RoboFMS so that we can react quickly when required, for example by specifically optimizing individual processes. The software offers all the prerequisites for this.” The cooperation between SKF Aeroengine and Fastems can already be considered a success, as Vandevoir says: “With the RoboFMS we can
produce even the most sophisticated bearing components in the required quantities and the highest quality, and can thus supply our customers with customized rolling bearings within the agreed deadlines. The automation system makes a key contribution to this. The FMS has become an essential part of our production and therefore our competitiveness and our success. “ Gilles Ofcard, Factory Manager at SKF Aeroengine France, adds: “With this automation project, we are ideally prepared for major changes in our industry. That’s because our sector is characterized by an increasing variety of products with ever smaller production batches. Naturally, some of us have reservations about such changes, which are due to the very high level of technical skills and the requirements for quality and performance in a competitive market. But we cannot resist this fundamental change, which is all the more reason for us to show that the technology helps us to further improve our quality level, to increase our flexibility, to stabilize our processes and to make
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our production safer.” n www.fastems.com
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Machinery & Manufacturing
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