How About Just a Little Lights-Out?
Running 24/7 might not be necessary for your shop. But what if you added a couple extra unmanned hours?
Share
Think “lights-out machining,” and you might imagine machine tools running unattended all through the night. Jeff Estes of Okuma’s Partners in THINC says there is a large class of shops that doesn’t need this much lights-out capacity, but could benefit greatly from running lights-out for just a few hours at a time. Shops such as these are often closer than they think to obtaining this level of unattended operation. For example, he says, what about adding a bar feed? Read more here.
Related Content
-
CNC Machine Shop Honored for Automation, Machine Monitoring
From cobots to machine monitoring, this Top Shop honoree shows that machining technology is about more than the machine tool.
-
Using Jaws as Grippers Enables Flexible, Low-Cost Automation
VersaBuilt’s automation systems significantly boosted Innovative Fabrication’s revenue. In return, the shop has helped VersaBuilt optimize its products.
-
Medical Shop Performs Lights-Out Production in Five-Axes
Moving to five-axis machining enabled this shop to dramatically reduce setup time and increase lights-out capacity, but success relied on the right combination of workholding and automation.