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Automation in Production Shops and Job Shops
Machine shop job shops have traditionally relied on manual processes and skilled labor to manage smaller production runs and custom projects. Only a few years ago, it would not have been a consideration for a Job Shop, Machine Shop, or Project Shop to implement robotics and automation. The very nature of the smaller production runs and changing schedules don’t seem conducive to these large investments. Let’s review the differences in operations first before we explore the feasibility of automation in production shops, job shops, and machine shops.
What Type of Shop Do I Have?
Job shops, production machine shops, and other types of shops are all in the business of part manufacturing. These different descriptions detail the path products take through the manufacturing processes, the pulse of the business, or the character of the operation.
If your products move through a consistent path on the same machine on a regular schedule you most likely operate a production machine shop. If your products move from machine to machine in a manner as needed you might have a job shop. But you may have a hybrid or another type of shop entirely. Before we discuss automation, let’s look at some key identifiers of each.
Production Machine Shops
A machine dedicated to one operation in high-volume runs qualifies as a production machine shop. These are advantageous for automotive, electronics, and fastener manufacturing. They require process controls to deliver consistent appearance and tolerances.
Each operation will be run on a different machine, for example, an added slot or threaded hole, as opposed to multiple processes on one machine.
The key advantages of speed and accuracy make the addition of robotics simple and effective. Each stage of production is easy to assess and optimize. Production is a big investment, but once set up processes can run autonomously.
Disadvantages of this type of production include inflexibility. One machine failure can stall a complete production line. Idle machines are costly to a manufacturer, and this is multiplied in a production machine shop. Following this same theme, a part made incorrectly on one machine through design or operator error can run through a full process with subsequent operations adding more errors. This can lead to a large amount of scrap. Production machine shops are difficult to change over and expand without large capital investment.
Robotics and intelligent IoT software add to speed and accuracy in production machine shops. This was the first introduction to robotics with simple, stationary, repetitive processes.
Job Shops
Typically smaller machine shops will operate as job jobs. They will produce a variety of products at lower volumes. Full processes may be completed on one machine, resetting the part, or part turning on a multiple-axis machine.
A shop floor will find machines grouped by machining function. Projects will move through various machines as needed, scheduled for efficiency of course, but not in a rigid manner.
Products do follow a process but each job is loosely planned and a production day rarely stays consistent. This creates a flexible environment where changes can be made quickly and easily.
Initial shop setup is much less expensive with the easy ability to grow, even including some hybrid production. Scheduling can be more difficult, however, depending on the number of projects in-house at any one time. A returning customer may find a different lead-time with each order. This also makes production measures harder to establish and improve.
Job shops rely more on skilled workers due to the higher levels of human intervention required to load parts, clamps, and tools for a variety of projects throughout the production day. While still a good thing to have skilled trades, human error does present more production volatility.
Hybrid Machine Shops
Most CNC machine shops will find themselves in this practice. Some production may run in large batches, while other equipment runs smaller batches and custom orders. Hybrid operations may also include welding or 3D printing operations to serve a variety of needs.
Applying Collaborative Robots
Traditional industrial robots required consistent, repeatable tasks. In the past, this has meant that they were only suitable for highly ordered production machine shops. The initial investment was high and it took a long time to set up the programming. Think of an automotive assembly line as a perfect example.
That has all changed since the introduction of collaborative robots. Collaborative robots, or cobots, can be used in job shops almost as easily as they can in production machine shops. These robots are meant to work interactively with humans, assuming the workload for heavy part management, or repetitive and monotonous work, like feeding raw material. This unique approach offers these benefits:
Collaboration – As the name states, the key to cobots is to encourage flexibility to utilize the talent of people and the efficiencies of robots for maximum benefit.
Ease of Use — Cobots are designed to be easily programmed and repositioned in the shop to serve at a variety of different CNC machines. They are smaller and can work safely beside machine operators.
Repeatability – Performing repetitive movements can prevent error or injury for a machinist. A cobot automates this process for improved safety and consistent production.
Hybrid Manufacturing – The addition of just one cobot can automate a process in a job shop to create a production machine process. When batch processing is complete the robot can be easily re-positioned to other work or left dedicated to a consistent line while the job shop operates around it.
Job shops were traditionally a challenge for robots. But with collaborative robots, automation in production shops and job shops can both increase efficiency. Full production shops may find more cost-savings with the ability to use a cobot to set up several production lines. And simple installation of tools and clamps, or feeding raw material is a standardized task that a robot can provide with precision and consistency in a job shop to allow skilled labour time to focus on other tasks. Robotics is the next level of automation growing machine shops should employ.