Tokai Carbon
Erowa Zero Point tooling cuts milling set-up times at Tokai Carbon UK
Downward pressure on prices and a need to reduce lead times led their Managing Director, John Diviney, to look at smarter production methods and the Bridgeport VMC 600 was identified as having the best opportunity to increase utilisation by using a quick change zero-point tooling system.
The Erowa MTS modular tooling system was chosen for its' technical integrity, cost and the capability for Tokai to engineer their own pallets to suit the application.
The MTS base plate fitted and aligned quickly to the machine table so creating the "zero-point" or datum. Pallets were manufactured from aluminium tooling plate and the addition of MTS tapered spigots completed the interface to the MTS base.
So what have been the benefits of the Tokai investment in Erowa MTS?
Firstly, the table can now be reconfigured, in just a few minutes, not with one job, but with up to four. A standard vice or an electrode holding base are mounted in seconds ready for a short run or even that "one-off" job. And finally, the measure of an investment, a 25% increase in machine utilisation.
"Our next machine purchase will be specified with Erowa MTS as standard" commented John Diviney.
July 2003
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