How do manufacturers stay competitive when faced with skilled labor shortages, rapidly rising wages, high interest rates and soaring energy costs? That’s exactly what Dan Janka, president of Mazak Corp., asked at the launch of the company’s “Discover 2023” event, held last week at its North American headquarters in Florence, Ky.. The technology and education event included live demos of Mazak’s machines and facility tours throughout, including its iSmart factory and National Technology Center. Over 2,000 people attended the event, hailing from 47 different states and seven different countries.
“Yesterday’s technology won’t secure tomorrow’s success,” Janka asserted. “Manufacturers must continue to learn more, do more and make more.”
Mazak’s latest machine tool advancements included multi-tasking and full five-axis capability with an additional focus on automation, digital solutions for machine connectivity, and advancements in machine tool technology. The latter included Mazak’s Syncrex Series machines with Mazatrol SmoothSt CNC controls that eliminate the barriers to entry into Swiss-turning work and can handle barstock diameters up to 12.7mm.
Mazak’s hybrid multi-tasking machines combine additive and secondary processes including friction stir welding and hot wire laser deposition.
During a panel discussion on “The Status of the Shop,” participants grappled with how small job shops stay profitable in the current manufacturing climate. “When it comes to the factory of the future, we need three things to make automation successful,” explained Robert Faxon, CEO of Cincinnati-based Faxon Machining Inc. “One, the shop needs to pay its employees better than anyone else in a 20-mile radius; two, the shop needs to provide the best value for customers; and three, the ultimate goal is to return the highest investment to shareholders.” So, when investing in automation, Faxon advises that the shop consider those elements to determine whether the investment will account for the changing skillset of today’s workers. He also stressed the need for shops to get an ROI higher than 5% when buying new equipment. “I’m interested in disruptive manufacturing gains,” Faxon said of the possibility to see ROIs as high as 45%.
What technology constitutes “disruptive manufacturing?” One example is Mazak’s VC-500A/5XAM, which uses the company’s Mezatrol conversational software tool to program the additive or subtractive program that specifies the part being made. The multi-tasking hot wire laser-deposition technology is an additive manufacturing technique that Mazak developed with Lincoln Electric. David Wilson, Mazak’s process development engineer and the only employee currently trained to operate the VC-500A/5XAM, works as a liaison with Oakridge National Laboratories to lead the way in discovering new ways to use hot wire laser deposition to enable greater customizable design functionality. This machine offers a high-speed additive solution and programmable welding automation, along with full five-axis milling capabilities. What makes this technology disruptive is its ability to customize parts for various industries, including aerospace and defense.
“We can drastically reduce the price for some of these parts by using this machine,” Wilson said, adding that, they’ve been able to offer certain parts for one-third of the cost of what these vendors were purchasing them at before. Part of what makes hot wire laser-deposition so exciting to Wilson is having the ability to modify the part as it’s being built. “This machine gives me the option to change the x- or y-axis as it is being created,” Wilson said.
Other featured presentations during the event included “Best Practices for Integrating Automation” with Mike Cicco, president and CEO of FANUC America Corp., and “Preparing Digital Twins for Industry Use Cases” with Tim Shinbara, chief technology officer for AMT - The Association of Manufacturing Technology.
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