Leamington Spa-based Mills CNC, the exclusive distributor of Doosan machine tools in the UK and Ireland has, through its recently created automation division — Mills CNC Automation — supplied Irish Manufacturing Research (IMR), a leading independent and not-for-profit research and training organisation (RTO), with a SYNERGi system.

The new, large-capacity SYNERGi Premier automation system was installed at IMR’s 35,000ft² Technology Centre facility in Mullinger, Country Westmeath in November last year, and has been integrated with a Doosan Puma 2600 II multi-tasking lathe, previously acquired by IMR from Mills CNC in August 2020, to create a flexible automated manufacturing cell.

The Technology Centre is intended to help IMR de-mystify, de-risk and deliver new and emerging technologies to enable industry across Ireland to compete and succeed at the cutting edge of advanced manufacturing. IMR’s main research and development efforts are focused on four ‘thematic pillars’: digitisation; design for manufacturing; sustainable manufacturing; and automation and advanced control.

It is intended that the investment in the SYNERGi Premier system and the creation of a high-productivity and high-efficiency manufacturing cell will enable IMR to explore and evaluate the potential of flexible automated manufacturing cell production, provide guidance and direction to individual Irish manufacturers about the application and suitability of automation within their operations and work in partnership with selected Irish manufacturers to help create or improve existing manufacturing processes and systems.

Chris Judge, IMR’s machining applications specialist, said: “Automation can help Irish component manufacturers, irrespective of their size, specialism or sector focus, improve their productivity, efficiency and competitiveness.”

The challenge of Covid-19 has forced manufacturing companies around the world to think on their feet and quickly adapt their business strategy and operations to ensure the health and safety of their workers and keep their organisations alive in a rapidly evolving environment.

The impact of the pandemic have helped put automation, front and centre, in component manufacturers’ minds. No longer a ‘nice’ thing to have — automation is now treated as a ‘necessity’ – and IMR is ideally positioned to help manufacturers make the right choices.

Mr Judge added: “Ongoing skills shortages and the need for some manufacturers to adopt 24/7 operations were already key automation drivers prior to Covid-19. These haven’t gone away but have been further compounded over the last two years by pandemic-led issues, including the need for social distancing and the increase in remote working practices.”

“The pandemic represented a watershed moment for many manufacturers. It has certainly put automation centre stage and enabled it to gain more traction, not just among high-volume, low mix manufacturers — but with high-mix, low volume manufacturers too.”

He continued: “It was always our intention to retrofit an industrial robot-led automation system with the Puma lathe at IMR when the time was right. Because Mills CNC designs its own advanced automation systems exclusively for Doosan machines it was natural that we looked at, and ultimately invested in, a SYNERGi system.”

The SYNERGi Premier system is a rigid, robust and large-capacity automation system comprising a Fanuc six-axis industrial robot (25kg payload) with Schunk three-jaw grippers integrated with a five-drawer, bi-directional part loading and unloading station and laser floor scanner technology. It also features a part inspection conveyor and a 17in touchscreen HMI powered by Mills’ proprietary (SYNERGi) software.

Mr Judge explained: “Being the largest SYNERGi system in Mills’ portfolio, the Premier has a broad application appeal. We particularly liked the system’s five-drawer configuration and capacity, each drawer is 900mm wide x 600mm deep x 200mm high with a 200kg maximum weight per drawer, and its innovative laser floor scanner technology ensures safe operation.”

He concluded: “We are already in discussions with many manufacturers about introducing and integrating automation systems within their operations. We are now designing, developing and proving out automation-led solutions using the SYNERGi Premier automated manufacturing cell with a number of them.”