Variation in unmanned milling

Edumar Metaalbewerking is the pilot customer for the new Infinity platform, a flexible, customizable automation platform from BMO Automation that grows with the machining company. The two founders and owners of Edumar Metaalbewerking, Eduard and Marius Wijlaars, can look back on a career at Philips. "We would like to pass on our own experience to our customers and show them how they can further optimize the production of their workpieces," explains Eudard Wijlaars. Socially responsible entrepreneurship is a matter of course for the two brothers from Someren, the Netherlands. "We try to do as much as possible for the community in Someren." This ranges from offering internships to participating in vocational training, where experienced professionals from Edumar offer weekly lessons, to providing lunch for the employees.

Experience with automation

The two brothers bought their first robot back in 2006. Eduard Wijlaars remembers the early days of automatic loading of a CNC machine. The milling machine processed the products on the 12 pallets within two hours. "I drove back to the company from home to clamp new workpieces. That's why I wasn't quite so happy with this solution after just a few weeks." Within a year, a robot with 30 pallet positions was purchased. And in 2012, Edumar bought the first BMO robot system. Today, Edumar uses several robot cells from BMO Automation. "We produce the contract products at weekends and overnight so that they don't clash with other orders. Our machines always run overnight and at weekends. We are processing more and more small quantities in a large variety, what is known as 'low volume high mix'."

At the beginning of 2022, Edumar received a large order to mill aluminum plates for a production hall in the semiconductor industry. It involved a large number of pieces measuring more than 600 mm square. Due to their size, they were therefore not suitable for use in BMO's Titanium cell. The two brothers realized that automation was required for an order of this size. Eduard Wijlaars: "Frank Biemans promised to find a solution. But we didn't just want to load the large panels, we also wanted to be able to mill smaller components unmanned in the new cell later on." A few months later, the supplier became a pilot customer for BMO's Infinity platform, which was unveiled at EMO 2023. The cell is characterized by its modular design. The height of the standardized carriers for products and tools is adjustable. This dynamic storage is controlled by intelligent algorithms: In the Infinity storage modules, the height for the carriers can be adjusted fully automatically in steps of 5 cm - based on the measured height during feeding. In this way, the storage modules adapt dynamically to the orders to be processed. "This makes it even easier for us to manufacture a wide variety of products unmanned," says Eduard Wijlaars.

Growing together with the company

The modular design makes the Infinity platform a sustainable investment. Storage modules can be added as required. Or you can start with one variant and then add another. Edumar, for example, only started with pallet loading because they wanted to use the cell quickly. Adding product handling took barely a day's work. The next CNC machine can be added to the platform just as easily. Originally, the Infinity platform at Edumar was coupled with a Hedelius Forte 65 3-axis machining center. A few months later, the Hedelius Acura 85 5-axis machining center was added. "This also resulted in the need for product handling," explains Eduard Wijlaars. "We manufacture many products on the five-axis machine." For the future, Edumar is planning to expand the Inifinity cell to include automatic loading using an AMR - an option that has already been prepared.

The Infinity software

BMO Automation controls production in the cell using its own job management software. With the Tool Life Management option, the software uses the operating hours to automatically assess whether the tool life is still sufficient for the planned production. If this is not the case, the operator is automatically warned during set-up. "The smaller the batches to be milled, the more important this Tool Life Management software is," says Eduard Wijlaars. "The software helps to avoid machine downtime. Once the operators have ticked off the entire list, they can switch on the machines with confidence." For him, the ease of use of the software is an essential requirement. "The software should be as simple as possible for the operator. They don't necessarily want to program 9 axes or program a robot with a teach panel."

The Infinity platform can easily be set up to operate more than two CNC machines. Edumar has deliberately left it at two CNC machines. According to Eduard Wijlaars, this is efficient enough. "If you weigh up the cost of the robot against the cost of one machine, a cell with two CNC machines is a good solution, especially if we soon start working with the AMR." As soon as the new hall is finished, there will be a large rack for storage and a robot in front of it that will load the AMR to automatically supply the Infinity platform with materials, workpieces and soon also tools.

With a solution like the Infinity platform, automation is extremely flexible. "We don't encourage our employees to work harder, but rather motivate them to work smarter. I would prefer to have lazy people, because they let the machines and robots do the work," laughs the metal entrepreneur from the Netherlands.