Nypro Mold Inc.
In order to continue growing, Nypro Mold Inc. of Clinton, Massachusetts, required a new building and more capital investment in equipment.
Bill Muldoon, President of Nypro Mold
However, they wanted to remain in the town of Clinton since the majority of their employees lived nearby. The problem was that the only suitable location for a factory was already occupied by the town’s baseball field. After some discussion with the town’s officials, a mutual agreement was reached whereby Nypro Mold would build, at no cost to the town, a new and modern recreational facility at a different location. In return, Nypro Mold would be able to build their factory on their selected location.
Dual “drop tank” Ingersoll die-sink EDM machines are working around-the-clock, while being loaded and unloaded by a WorkMaster.
Ghassan Aswad, Sales and Marketing Coordinator, explained that they broke ground for the new building in 2002, and it took approximately one year to build. Moving in and setting up took six months, and they are now up and running. Visitors to the 104,000 square foot plant can get an overall view of the manufacturing area from above, through a “window wall” in the upper observation deck.
The principals of Nypro Mold, Bill Muldoon and Brian Walker, understood several years ago that the future of mouldmaking was in automation. Early discussions with System 3R, paved the way to the automation principles applied by Nypro Mold today.
By walking the length of the observation deck, it is apparent that the different types of machine tools are strategically located in specific groups for maximum efficiency. It is obvious that a great deal of planning have been done to create an efficient manufacturing flow.
Two Yasda milling machines work in tandem with the aid of a WorkMaster. The mill is shown machining steel components of the injection moulds.
Ghassan Aswad explains: “20 die-sink EDM machines are operated, half of which are controlled by WorkMaster robots and half operator-controlled. We also employ 10 wire EDMs, with two of them controlled by a WorkMaster, and the rest operator-controlled.
Keeping 20 die-sink EDMs supplied with electrodes for around-the-clock operation requires highly efficient machine tools and proper production planning. High-speed milling machines, such as the Makino SNC64 equipped with robotic loading and unloading, are used to manufacture the majority of the electrodes.
Cataloging and storing the electrodes is accomplished using a “Hanel Lean-Lift”, that is centrally located on the shop floor, and is controlled from an inventory access panel. Any group of electrodes can quickly be delivered to the Lean-Lift’s access door for immediate use. This tower-type unit stores and protects thousands of finished electrodes from damage, while taking up very little floor space.
The die-sink EDMs are used to produce virtually all the mould cavities required. Once the electrodes and workpieces have been loaded into the racks and the EDM machine is programmed, an operator is no longer needed. The WorkMaster accomplishes the loading, unloading and replacing the finished parts in the rack. When the last part is completed, it signals that the batch is complete.
A tray of electrodes at the access station of the Lean-Lift is ready for transport and loading into the storage rack of a die-sink EDM cell
When you watch a number of different machine tools, all being tended to by System 3R WorkMasters, the reality of ”around-the-clock-manufacturing” hits home. It is a look into the future of mouldmaking.
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Layout drawings:
WorkMaster with two Yasda YBM 650V
WorkMaster with Makino SNC64
WorkMaster with Ingersoll Gantry 500 & Mitsubishi VX20
Related links:
WorkMaster
Automation in general