Page 39 - Fall 2024 EDM Today

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The ABC’s of Automation for Manufacturing

Automation is a widely used term that has become ubiquitous with advanced technology but
has little to no context behind it. In the realm of manufacturing, the goal and application of
automation are to streamline a process to improve productivity, and this can include a single or
multiple-machine process. Ideally, implementing automation will boost machine utilization and
throughput, but this alone does not mean more parts fl ow out your door! A shop is still only as
fast as its slowest process, so careful and deliberate planning must be considered that includes
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all processes needed to fully complete a part. While gains in manufacturing effi ciency are
always welcome, the sizeable investment and implementation of automation may only shift
your bottleneck area under your roof and may not yield greater part shipments.
In terms of EDM, the fundamental core foundation of the process is to maximize unattended
machining time, as this is where the hidden productivity of the EDM process resides! As simple
as this may sound, many companies do a poor job tracking machine utilization, meaning how many hours a day/
week/month is the machine actually in operation adding value to a part over 24/7? It is through this unattended
machine operation that a shop’s labor cost is effectively $0 while parts are machined like clockwork with no human
intervention.
A shop’s most valuable asset is their working billable hourly shop rate time, but this money-generating potential
is zero if a machine sits idle doing nothing! Operating an EDM so that multiple part features or parts are being
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machined unattended also allows the operator to focus on other equipment or other value-added tasks, which
further lowers the overall labor cost. Regardless, EDM operations need to be designed and executed to maximize
unattended operation, and this is where robotic automation can be deployed as a strategic tool to boost productivity.
Simply adding robotic automation to a machine may do nothing to improve your bottom line, but pairing it with
programming and scheduling software to drive a carefully planned system will result in signifi cant improvement!
There does exist a paradigm shift in process planning when integrating automation into your operations. Using
automation with an existing manual one-piece process fl ow methodology will limit automation’s potential benefi ts.
Automation technology is a tool and an extension of the operator, so be sure to utilize this enhanced capability to
generate greater throughput.
Before implementing automation, a shop must have optics over what their machine utilization is using in its
current process methods, as this establishes the baseline performance level that will be used for comparison to
measure improvement(s). A machine’s utilization can be improved by changing the process or programming
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methods, such as processing multiple parts overnight or over a weekend, or even by changing work holding
methods to reduce setup time.
Understanding your current machine utilization rate is a
critical step in identifying areas for improvement, as this is
the required foundation to direct an effi cient data driven
system or process. Some EDM machines may report on ma-
chine utilization, and some shops use special ERP (Enterprise
Resource Planning) tracking software to collect and calcu-
late this data. Awareness of your current machine utilization
rate(s) is essential information that identifi es how you apply
labor to your work and how effi cient your operations are; this
data should help you identify and make decisions on where
improvements are needed.
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Are you Ready to Automate?

Robots and automation are, again, just tools…it still requires a skilled and competent operator to program and set up
the job(s) so that the system can take over and machine it unattended. When implementing automation, an industrial-
ization exercise review is needed to ensure you are automating a suitably stable and reliable process. If there are little
to no process standards or controls in-place, automation will provide little benefi t, like spinning your wheels and going
nowhere fast!

The focus with automation is again about achieving greater productivity, and a key part of automation is the planning
and standardization of your process methods that allow the automation tools to achieve the desired outcome. A full
and documented understanding of your existing process methods is critical when looking to automate. Many shops
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struggle with their internal process mapping, as parts are commonly routed to other internal departments where they
just get “done” and all oversight is lost.
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EDM Today, Fall 2024 Issue