International Journal of Advances in Science and Technology, Vol. 4, No.

3, 2012

Productivity Improvement through development of Special Purpose Machine Tool- A Case Study
Sayaji B. Patil1 and Jaydeep S. Bagi2
1

Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kolhapur Institute of Technology, College of Engineering, Kolhapur, Maharashtra , India sayajister@gmail.com 1 Department of Production Engineering, Kolhapur Institute of Technology, College of Engineering, Kolhapur, Maharashtra, India
jaysbagi@gmail.com

Abstract
The ultimate goal of company is to pursue profit. One approach for achieving this goal is via productivity improvement. . High productivity refers to doing work in shortest possible time without sacrificing quality and with minimum use of resources. Competition and the drive for profits are forcing companies to implement various productivity improvements efforts. There are various strategies used by the companies to overcome the hurdle of improving productivity. One such strategy used by a XYZ company is by design and manufacturing of machine for a component named Midship tube shaft of ABC Company. The XYZ Company is located in Kolhapur region. The problem was raised at XYZ companies end of having low production rate, more cycle time, requirement of skilled labor, and not meeting the customer demand for the component monthly. The problem faced resulted in low productivity. The root cause for the problem was studied and analyzed which finally demanded for the designing and manufacturing of special purpose machine which will perform the face milling and counter centering operation with smaller cycle times and achieving the required dimensional accuracy with quality. This paper presents a theory on design and manufacturing aspects of special purpose machine which helped the company to meet the customers requirement.

Keywords: Productivity, Special Purpose Machine Tool, Process Quality 1. Introduction

A Special Purpose Machine can be defined as a mother machine, custom designed to do a specific operation or a combination of some operations on a specific job or on a small variety of similar jobs, in a mass scale, at short cycle times. The special purpose machine are designed and manufactured to improve productivity. Productivity is generally defined as the ratio of aggregate output and aggregate input [1]. In any firm or industry, productivity is a concept that measures the efficiency with which inputs are transformed into valuable output in a production process. Similarly, it can be defined as the combination of efficiency and effectiveness of a production process that aims to maximize output while minimizing the use of inputs.[2]Productivity measures the relationship between outputs such as goods and services produced, and inputs that include labor, capital, material and other resources[3] Some major considerations in developing a special purpose machine Specific operations on the job and produce components at shortest possible time Work automatically, to the extent possible. Involve only the barest minimum of operators involvement. Should set up and run machine in the shortest time. Special purpose machine are aimed at reducing the cycle times and control unnecessary costs thus increasing the profits [4]. Special purpose machine should work automatically, to the extend possible. This sentence reveals the study of Burnham [5] that productivity improvement can be accomplished via. People and technology. Special purpose machine are designed and manufactured keeping in focus that it must have barest minimum of operators involvement. This sentence supports the sentence of Chiang Kao [6] that people will agree that significant increase in productivity in long run cannot be

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International Journal of Advances in Science and Technology, Vol. 4, No.3, 2012 achieved by increasing work effort alone, when the trend in industrialized societies of world is towards ever increasing labor costs; the real growth can come about through capital investment in newer and better machines, equipments and facilities. Harvey [7, 8] in their study has discussed the principle factors which affects productivity. In addition to technology, there are also other means for improving productivity like, re organisation of resources, effective management of human resources [9], improving the quality work, reducing the amount of maintenance needed, making sure that delays do not occur[5] etc. are only some examples. These methods are all within the wide definition of management. Lieberman[ 10] conclude that management effects have a strong influence on productivity. The aim of the paper is to present some of experiences in the implementation of various productivity improvement strategies and methods The productivity improvement strategies and methods in XYZ Company are concerned with designing and manufacturing of special purpose machine which will perform facing and counter centering operation so that the component are processed in short cycle time and with required accuracy, also can meet the planned production rate with barest minimum operators involvement.

2. Component Description
The component is spline shaft of ABC Company used for power transmission. The component is made up of steel forging. The faces of the component are named as A and B for better understanding and two diameter steps are named as C and D as shown in the figure. The component is a steel forging having diameter of 92 mm on side B while the other face is having a diameter of 48 mm on side A. It is required to maintain the length of 148 mm of the component. Raw material supplied will be having a length of 154 mm length. The component is having steps of diameter 68 * length 15 mm and 58 * length 15 mm on C and D respectively as shown in figure. Also the component is having cavity on side B. The component has centre drills of type B on both the faces A and B, where it is required to maintain an accuracy of 147.2mm within a tolerance of 0.2 mm between the centers.

Figure 1 Component Description

3. Problems Involved in present theories and Practices

The practice involves clamping the component in chuck of a lathe and facing one side A by single point cutting tool. This operation is associated with component setup time, tool setup time. The cycle time required is also more. The next operation is counter centering on both the faces of the component. This operation is not possible as one face is located inside the chuck of the lathe. As per the requirement of ABC Company it is very important to maintain a centre distance of 147.2 0.2 mm. This accuracy cannot be maintained on the lathe. This practice involves use of jig and fixture which demand a better skilled operator to perform the operation. Also, it cannot meet the requirement of 26000 components per month. It is having lower rate of production and has a moderate accuracy, hence resulting in low productivity. As far as considering CNC machines to perform these operations, it improves productivity and accuracy as well as it overcomes all shortfalls of traditional approach, but Machine hour rate of a CNC is higher. While performing these operations on CNC turning machine, we face the same problem as

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International Journal of Advances in Science and Technology, Vol. 4, No.3, 2012 on a lathe. Also while processing the component on CNC milling machine, only one of the face can be machined. Considering the above limitations of the lathe, CNC Turning machine and CNC Milling machine, the component cannot be processed in a single setup and it doesnt provide with optimized cycle time. Hence, the best alternative solution is to design a special purpose machine which will provide processing of the component in a single setup and in much lesser cycle time. This will enhance the rate of production. The accuracy of positioning of the cutting tool can be obtained with the incorporation of various electronic sensors so as to achieve the required dimensions within the given tolerances. Hence the quality and accuracy at which the component is produced can be achieved compared to that of a CNC Machine. Another advantage of a special purpose machine is that the scope of operator is only limited to clamping and declamping of the component i.e. no skilled operator is required.

4. Methods to overcome Problem

The component will be clamped firmly and Face milling operation will be performed on one face A having diameter of 48 mm. The face to be milled has a material allowance of 4-5 mm which is done with the help of an Indexable milling cutter. After the face milling operation component slides in forward direction. The next operation that will be performed is counter centering. During this operation the two centre drills will drill the component on both faces A and B at a time and maintain an accuracy of the required dimension i.e. 147.2mm within a tolerance of 0.2 mm between the centers.

Figure 2 Conceptual Schematic layout of Special Purpose Machine

5. DFMA Approach
This concept reveals the fact that design department should work in co-ordination with production department resulting in economic production processes with saving in time and labour enhancing product quality. It can also be simply stated as design for a product with manufacturing and assembly in mind. -The design should be done in least time with minimum cost of development. -Smoothen the phases of transition from design to manufacturing and assembly. -This helps to meet customer demand and achieve competitive position in market. The design was done with minimum or literally no modifications during design and manufacturing. The design was optimised using CAD software and its compatibility was also confirmed.

5.1 DFA
Significant cost of manufacturing is decided at the design stage of assembly. The parts in the assembly were actually questioned and challenged for its being in the assembly. The level of accuracy, the shape and size of the components were in question.

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International Journal of Advances in Science and Technology, Vol. 4, No.3, 2012 Since being a Special Purpose Machine its design norms contradicted with the DFA procedure. Components like base weighed almost half ton, which were questioned by DFA. The justification for the part being so heavy was that, the machines are supposed to work and machine similar component over a long duration with consistent results

5.2 DFM
It is having a manufacturing approach while designing. The designers tried to minimise total number of parts for simplification and cost reduction. Again some contradictions can be seen in DFM. Parts design to be multi functional, modularity in design, minimising part variation. Since being a SPM one could not enforce modularity or variations in parts design, because these machines are specially meant for a purpose. They are designed for a particular method or process of manufacturing

6. Concept and Design

This is based on following factors - Power required for centre drills - Power required for milling cutter - Torque and axial thrust on centre drills - Torque and tangential cutting force on milling spindle -Number of belts for drills -Number of belts for Milling -Design of spindle shafts -Selection of bearings -Selection of Hydraulic power pack

6.1 Design Highlights

1. Power required for centre drills P1 = 0.320308158 Kw 0.5 HP Power required at one spindle is 0.5 HP So power required at two spindle is 0.5 * 2 = 1 HP 2. Power required for milling cutter Pz = 2.077 HP 3. Torque and axial thrust on centre drills Ts = 4390.185 N.mm Th = 1622.3778 N 4. Torque and tangential cutting force on milling spindle Pz = 1950.20 N Ts =78077.79 N.mm 5. Number of belts for drills Number of belts = P * Fa / Pr * Fc * Fd Bd =0.375*1.3/2.41*1*1.08 Bd = 0.1872 1 belt 6. Number of belts for Milling Bm= P * Fa / Pr * Fc * Fd Bm= 1.3 * 1.549 / 1.21 * 0.85 * 0.99 Bm= 2.0137 / 1.0182

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International Journal of Advances in Science and Technology, Vol. 4, No.3, 2012 Bm= 1.9776 2 7. Design of Shaft -Vertical loading -Horizontal loading -Calculation of diameter of shaft for equivalent bending & twisting 8. Selection of Bearing -Bearing reactions. -Selection of bearing life. -Equivalent dynamic load. -Dynamic load carrying capacity. -Selection from bearing catalogue (SKF) 9. Selection of hydraulic power pack - Thrust force on spindle drilling spindle = 162.24 * 2 (2 drilling spindle counter) - Bore diameter = d = 40 mm - Rod diameter = 26.67 mm; 28 mm. - Flow rate requirements - 4.647 11 litre per minute (lpm) - Pump selection - 32 bar - Vane Pump - Electric Motor capacity-0.5 HP - Oil Reservoir Size =40 liters - Nominal sizes of lines = 4.054 mm

7. Manufacturing and Assembly

The total manufacturing process can be elaborated by following steps: Full proof planning of all activities related to designing, manufacturing, assembly, inspection and Testing of machine as per design and Customer Requirement. Also critical planning is done to meet the customer delivery time. Procuring of all raw materials as specified in drawing and customer requirement. Procuring of all bought outs such as hydraulic power pack, bearings, motors, wipers, limit switches, Programmable logic controller etc. Manufacturing different individual components such as base, bed, slide ways, height pieces, quill, spindle, spindle housing, motor mounting plate, cylinder bracket, Angle plate, fixture etc All components and mating parts dimensions are verified and confirmed according to the drawing specification. All sharp corners were removed by deburring tools All the components were washed in kerosene so as to remove the metallic chips, dust and other foreign particles. After washing pressurized air from the compressor was blown over all the components. Scraping work is that of scraping off very fine depressions on the polished surface using a tool called a "scraper". Such scraping operation is done on the sliding surface of the bed of a machine or on the surfaces of moving machine parts. The purposes of scraping operations are to make the lubricating oil stay evenly on the surface. To reduce the friction resistance by making the contact area small. To reduce the generation of friction heat by making the contact area small thereby reducing the friction resistance. To suppress thermal expansion by reducing the generation of friction heat. To suppress the increase in friction resistance due to thermal expansion. When carrying out scraping work, it is very important to maintain a clean environment in the work place. It is essential to remove all the time any dust, cutting shreds, sand, etc., using a vacuum cleaner, etc. In addition, when carrying out scraping work, appropriate cutting oil should be selected, and the work should be carried out while applying it in suitable quantities. Scraping work is a precision finishing operation that is to be made mandatorily on the sliding surface, etc., of a precision metal working machine

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Figure 3 Scrap Pattern

a. Base was fabricated with mild steel as per drawings and after fabrication it was stress relived.
After reliving base surfaces where machined on planno miller followed by grinding and scrapping action. b. Drilling, Milling spindle housing along with bed where fitted to fabricated base with Allen screws firmly. c. Drilling spindle holding drill was supported in bearings and locked with help of lock nut. The total assembly was placed in quill and quill is mounted in drilling spindle housing. The same was also inspected for accuracy. d. Milling spindle having miller cutter drill was supported in bearings and locked with help of lock nut. The total assembly was placed in milling spindle housing. It was also inspected for accuracy. e. Oil seal flanges were fitted over the bearing to prevent oil leakages from the bearings. f. The pulleys of specified dimensions on each side were press fitted with the help of keys. g. The height pieces are mounted at respective positions on base with locating cylindrical dowel pins h .Slide is fitted on cast bed with help of keeper plate. The tension is adjusted with wedges and bolts provided. i. The hydraulic slide cylinder with head mounting flange is screwed to the bed with rod screwed in slide plate. j. On top of slide, fixture is mounted so that component can be positioned and clamped firmly. Clamping is effected with hydraulic cylinder. k. The motors are mounted on mounting height pieces & pulley was fitted on motors shaft. The V belts are then connected to motor pulley & main spindle pulley the tension & centre distance is adjusted by screwed rod l. The adjustable adapter was fitted in spindle & adjusted by grub screw provided on spindle. m. The adjustable adapter holds the HSS drilling tool properly n. All electrical connections & hydraulic connection to respective cylinder & power pack are then made as per the requirements. Then all controls are given to PLC unit. The machine is safe guarded by outside frame.

8. Testing
The component was placed on the fixture and the clamping was actuated with help of actuating cylinder. The component had to undergo face milling and counter centering drilling operation. The cycle time noted for this machining operation was approximately 80 seconds including loading, machining and unloading. The cycle time noted was done with help of stop watch. The component after machining was taken for checking of positional as well as dimensional accuracies. The component was than taken for inspection. The component was placed with face B resting on surface plate. A 10 mm ball was placed on to the centre drill cavity of face A Figure (1). With the help of calibrated height gauge the ball height on the component was measured and was found to be in required dimension that is 6.5 mm. The centre distance 147.2mm 0.2 mm between the two centers for the counter centering operation was maintained by placing the component on the fixture and making the required settings on the limit switches which controlled the travel of drilling centers in the component. It was also inspected and the dimensions found were within the required tolerances.

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9. Improved Productivity
1. New machine developed saves a considerable amount of time 11 minutes which ultimately results in production of more components per shifts. 2. Reduced cycle time has resulted the company in manufacturing of components at a rate of 300350 per shift. Previously only 35 components were manufactured per shifts 3. Previously the component was machined on conventional setups which where associated with more cycle time, handling, skilled labor, inspection of components. In newly manufactured machine the component is machined and finished to required dimensional accuracies with an unskilled labor. The direct labor cost for component has been reduced with saving in time. 4. Loading and unloading of the component on the machine does not require skill. An unskilled labor can do the loading and unloading of component. Clamping of the job is taken care by hydraulic cylinder effected by a press button.

9. Future Scope
This machine has an provision to use long shafts having length up to 200-250 mm (existing length of component is 150 mm).Also, by making new fixture designs, the machine can be utilized to mill and counter centre large diameter components up to 60-65 mm (existing diameter is 48 mm).Undergoing these changes will not affect the machining accuracy of the machine.

10. Conclusion
In this paper, an attempt has been made to present the implementation process of productivity improvement strategies in a small company. To conclude for such a work which is responsible to teach and allow exploring the understanding of engineering hands on, is an altogether a different experience. The project of making a SPM for a component with dimensions that were not a part of routine manufacturing was no less than a challenge. Some of the points, which can be summarized as a conclusion, are: Improved cycle time by 89.74 % Improved Production rate 88.23 % Component accuracy maintained with quality Customer satisfaction and target achieved

11. Comparative Statement

METHOD MACHINING TIME / COMPONENT NO. OF JOBS / HOUR NO. OF JOBS PER SHIFT LABOUR REQUIRED PREVIOUS METHOD IMPROVED METHOD 1 Minutes 20 seconds

13 Minutes

5 35-40 1 skilled Table 1

45 325-340 1 (Unskilled)

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12. Acknowledgement
I take this opportunity to express my deep sense of obligation to my guide Prof. J.S.Bagi, Department of Production Engineering for his guidance and co-operation extended by him during project. I also take this opportunity to thank Department of Production Engineering and Department of Mechanical Engineering of K.I.Ts, College of Engineering for providing all the necessary catalogues, Library and internet facilities.

13. References
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Bitran GR and Chang L (1984) Productivity measurement at the firm level. Interfaces 14, No.3 29-40 Philippine Institute of development studies Economic Issue of the day, Vol. VI No. 7 (October 2006) Hill, T (1993) Manufacturing Strategy: The Strategic management of the manufacturing function, 2nd ed. Open university , Macmillan, London Leslie kren, Thomas Tyson Using cycle time to measure performance and control costs in focused factories , January 2002. Burnham DC (1982) Productivity: an overview. In Handbook of Industrial Engineering (Edited by Salvendy G), pp. 1.4.1. 1.4.12. Wiley, New York Chiang Kao, Liang Hsuan chen, Tai yue wang, Shyanjaw Kuo, Productivity Improvement : Efficiency Approach vs. Effective Approach, Omega, Int.Journal Mgmt Sci. Vol.23, No.2, pp. 197-204, 1995 Harvey RA and Morris SE (1981) Pathways to productivity improvement, Omega 9, 143153. Hayes RH and Clark KB (1986) Why some factories are more productive than others. Harvard Bus. Rev. 64, No.5, 66-73 Cleveland DI and Kocaoglu DF (1981) Engineering Management. McGraw-Hill, New York. Lieberman MB, Lau LJ and Williams MD (1990) Firm level productivity and management influence: a comparison of U.S and Japenese automobile producers. Mgmt Sci. 36, 1193- 1215 D.Merkle, B.Schrader,M.Thomes, Basic level Hydraulics by FESTO Matt H. Evans, Process Improvement Philippine Institute for development studies Productivity: putting the used of resources at their best in their Economic Issue of the day Volume VI No. 7 (October 2006), Machine tool Design handbook, CMTI, Tata Mc-graw Hill.

7. 8. 9. 10.

11. 12. 13. 14.

Figure 4. Special Purpose Machine for Face Milling and Counter Centering Operation

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International Journal of Advances in Science and Technology, Vol. 4, No.3, 2012 Notations D N K P1 S Ts Th V t Ts DFM DFM A Diameter of Rod Constant 3.14 Diameter of shaft Speed, rpm Material Factor Power required drilling spindle Feed , mm/rev Torque at spindle drilling Axial thrust on drilling spindle Cutting speed Depth of cut Torque at milling spindle Design for manufacture Design for manufacturing and Assembly C L Fa i K Fc Fd T Ts1 Pz1 Bd Bm DFA Centre distance Length of belt Correction factor for service Speed ratio Correction factor for rake angle Correction factor Correction factor for arc of contact Torque Torque at Milling spindle Power required for milling cutter Number of belts for drilling Number of belts for milling Design for assembly

Authors Profile

Sayaji B. Patil has received the Bachelors Engineering degrees from Shivaji University, Maharashtra, India in 2007. From 2007-2009 he worked as Project Engineer. In 2009 he applied for Master of Engineering (Mechanical- Production) and is post graduate student and also working as Assistant Professor in Department of Mechanical Engineering, Kolhapur Institute of Technology, and Kolhapur. His research interests include manufacturing and automation in shop floor.

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Prof. Jaydeep S. Bagi has received his Masters degree from Shivaji University, India with first rank with distinction in 1993. This author is a recipient of Rotary Foundations prestigious Group Study Exchange Program to U.S.A. in 1997. He is an active life member of professional bodies including The Institution of Engineers (India); Indian Society for Technical Education, New Delhi; Wipro Mission 10X Program. At present, he is working as an Associate Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering, K.I.T.s College of Engineering, Kolhapur, India. He has also worked as elected member of Board of Studies for Production Engineering at Shivaji University, Kolhapur and Member, Local Management Council, K.I.T., Kolhapur. He is having overall 22 years of academic & consulting work experience, including 2 years of industrial experience. His major research Interests are Quality Engineering & Management, Industrial Engineering, Operations Management. He is pursuing his Ph. D. research in the area of Quality Engineering & Management Systems at Shivaji University, Kolhapur. He has guided around 7 Masters level dissertations and published many research articles in International journals, Conferences & Magazines.

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