Rotating Workpieces with a Robotic Lathe

Intro­duc­tion to Auto­mat­ed Lathes

In the world of machin­ing, the lathe stands out as a piv­otal tool, essen­tial for shap­ing mate­ri­als. Automat­ing this process with a robot­ic lathe not only stream­lines oper­a­tions but also leads to sig­nif­i­cant sav­ings in time and cost.

The Essence of a Lathe

A lathe is a machine tool which rotates the work­piece on its axis to per­form var­i­ous oper­a­tions. When this process is auto­mat­ed, it saves both time and money.

Case Study: GKN Driveline’s Enhanced Pro­duc­tion with Robot­ic Lathe

GKN Dri­v­e­line, a notable play­er in the auto­mo­tive indus­try, expe­ri­enced remark­able improve­ments in vehi­cle com­po­nent pro­duc­tion by inte­grat­ing a robot­ic lathe. A robot­ic lathe has boost­ed vehi­cle com­po­nent pro­duc­tion by half at GKN Dri­v­e­line. Instead of using angle-approach grinders, hard-trun­ing lath­es have been used for machin­ing crit­i­cal fea­tures on an extrud­ed steel com­po­nent at this auto­mo­tive sup­pli­er. They expe­ri­enced an increase of 55% and a reduc­tion of oper­a­tors to run the auto­mat­ed lathe cell.

Advan­tages of Robot­ic Lathe in Auto­mo­tive Manufacturing

The adop­tion of auto­mat­ed lath­ing in auto­mo­tive man­u­fac­tur­ing is not just about scal­ing pro­duc­tion. It’s also about achiev­ing high­er pre­ci­sion, bet­ter qual­i­ty con­trol, and reduced labor costs.

Fuji’s Advanced Auto­mat­ed Lathe Sys­tems with Fanuc Controls

Fuji’s inte­gra­tion of Fanuc con­trols into their auto­mat­ed lathe sys­tems exem­pli­fies the advance­ments in this technology.

Diverse Range of Fuji Auto­mat­ed Lathes

• ANS-Series: Com­bines a sin­gle-spin­dle machine with options for turn­ing, milling, or cut­off lathe oper­a­tions, enhanc­ing throughput.
• TN-Series: Offers a mod­u­lar approach with a spin­dle, a tur­ret, and a gantry robot, ide­al for line integration.
• CS-Series: Fea­tures two spin­dle CNC lath­es with slides for heavy cut­ting, ensur­ing supe­ri­or sur­face fin­ish­es and extend­ed tool life.
• ANW-Series: Capa­ble of per­form­ing mul­ti­ple oper­a­tions includ­ing turn­ing, fac­ing, thread­ing, and bor­ing in a sin­gle set­up, rev­o­lu­tion­iz­ing unmanned machining.

Spe­cial­ized Mod­els for Spe­cif­ic Needs

• VN-Series with Fanuc 18i-TA Con­trol: Opti­mizes prof­its while min­i­miz­ing floor space, per­fect for large and heavy parts.
• FS4-Series with Fanuc 21i-TB: Achieves the fastest high-vol­ume automa­tion in its class with remark­ably quick load/​unload times.
• TNW-Series 6‑Axis Twin: Inte­grates a gantry loader for com­pre­hen­sive oper­a­tions includ­ing turn­ing, milling, drilling, and tap­ping – trans­form­ing raw mate­ri­als into fin­ished parts.

Fuji uses Fanuc con­trols as com­po­nents in their auto­mat­ed lathe sys­tems. The Fuji ANS-series, TN-series, CS-series, and ANW-series use Fanuc 0i-TD Con­trol. The ANS-series inte­grates a mod­u­lar sin­gle-spin­dle machine with a turn­ing, milling, or cut­off lathe to increase through­put. The TN-series offers a mod­u­lar machine with a spin­dle, a tur­ret, and a gantry robot, suit­able for line inte­gra­tion. The CS-series of two spin­dle CNC lath­es fea­ture slides for heavy cut­ting, supe­ri­or sur­face fin­ish, and longer tool life. Final­ly, the ANW-series can machine a work­piece front and back with turn­ing, fac­ing, thread­ing, groov­ing, and bor­ing in a sin­gle unmanned set-up.

The Fuji VN-series uses Fanuc 18i-TA Con­trol to increase prof­its while decreas­ing machine floor space. Large and heavy parts are eas­i­ly handled.

The FS4-series uses Fanuc 21i-TB to achieve the fastest high-vol­ume lathe automa­tion in its class with 2.5 sec­onds load/​unload time.

The TNW-series 6‑axis twin with an inte­grat­ed gantry loader com­pletes turn­ing, milling, drilling, and tap­ping oper­a­tions all on one machine. Mate­ri­als in a raw state are trans­formed into com­plete­ly fin­ished parts with Fanuc control.

The Ben­e­fits of Auto­mat­ed Lath­ing in Var­i­ous Industries

Auto­mat­ed lath­ing tech­nol­o­gy is not lim­it­ed to the auto­mo­tive sec­tor. Its ver­sa­til­i­ty and pre­ci­sion make it suit­able for a wide range of indus­tries, includ­ing aero­space, med­ical, and manufacturing.

Effi­cien­cy and Pre­ci­sion: The Hall­marks of Robot­ic Lathing

Auto­mat­ed lath­es ensure high lev­els of effi­cien­cy and pre­ci­sion, crit­i­cal in indus­tries where qual­i­ty and speed are para­mount. The inte­gra­tion of advanced con­trols and automa­tion soft­ware has fur­ther ele­vat­ed the capa­bil­i­ties of these machines.

Robots​.com: Your Part­ner in Advanced Lath­ing Solutions

At Robots​.com, we offer a com­pre­hen­sive range of auto­mat­ed lath­es from indus­try lead­ers. Whether you’re look­ing to upgrade your exist­ing set­up or inte­grate a new auto­mat­ed lathe sys­tem, we have the exper­tise and options to meet your spe­cif­ic needs.

Explore Auto­mat­ed Lath­ing Options with Us

If you are inter­est­ed in manip­u­lat­ing your parts with a lathe, con­tact us at Robots​.com to dis­cuss mul­ti­ple options that are avail­able online or at 877−762−6881.