Retrofitting automation at Optimal Manufacturing

The 70kg payload-capacity robot picking up a fresh billet fixtured it in a vice from the top drawer of the Tezmaksan cell for transportation to the VMC

Redditch-based Optimal Manufacturing, a sub-contract machinist that was established in December 2022, recently retrofitted a bespoke robotic handling cell to a DMG Mori five-axis vertical machining centre (VMC). The Tezmaksan CubeBOX — supplied by Kenilworth-based Whitehouse Machine Tools Ltd ) (WMT) — is ‘unusual’ for a six-axis robot cell in that it is designed to exchange components mounted in vices on pallets, rather than the billets, castings or forgings themselves.

Will Cooper and Tom Slimm, the joint owners and directors of Optimal, decided to adopt this manner of automation, which requires a robot of 70kg capacity due to the frequent need to hold tolerances of less than 10µm. They say that in their opinion, it would not be possible to achieve the required level of repeatability if the individual components were to be handled, especially if they need to visit a turnover station prior to a second operation, and deemed that workpieces need to be fixtured in vices mounted on zero-point pallets that locate into a pneumatically actuated clamping station on the table of the DMG Mori CMX 70 U machining centre, one of two five-axis models on-site.

Pictured left: Tom Slimm (left) and Will Cooper in front of the Tezmaksan pallet and component handling cell serving a DMG Mori five-axis VMC on the shopfloor at Optimal Manufacturing’s Redditch factory

In this instance, the workholding and location equipment was sourced from Ceratizit, while Tezmaksan — the Turkish manufacturer of the robotic machine tending cell — undertook the necessary major adjustments to the CubeBOX Blues DR MAX, one of the more-heavy-duty plug-and-play configurations in its product portfolio. The three storage shelves, which would normally be stationary and holding unclamped workpieces, were fitted with actuators so that they can slide horizontally towards the robot, and back again to facilitate manual loading and unloading of fixtured parts. Four are stored on each shelf.

If the drawers could not move, the robot gripper would not have enough space to gain access to the two lower shelves to pick up any of the four vice-mounted billets or return machined component afterwards, because the shelf separation is small relative to the nominal 300mm-cube profile of the payload.

‘Round-the-clock’ working
Six months after the machine-tending cell was commissioned in August 2025, Mr Cooper said: “Robot handling has enabled us to automate the production of high-precision prismatic components to match the way our bar-fed lathe allows unattended, round-the-clock turn-milling of rotational parts up to 80mm in diameter; and shortly after Brown & Holmes Automation had finished configuring the turnkey installation on behalf of Whitehouse, we received an order for a large quantity of stainless-steel valve manifolds from one of our oil and gas industry customers.

“This order was ideal for automation, and we ran the cell 24/7 for three months, including over Christmas and unattended every night. Such working allowed us to produce the parts economically while at the same time enhancing our reputation for short lead-time deliveries.

Pictured right: The robot about to place a billet into the machine

“The choice of the Tezmaksan handling solution was down to system flexibility and price, as well as our confidence in Whitehouse as a machine tool and production equipment supplier. During the time the two of us previously worked together at an engineering firm in Birmingham, WMT delivered a Brother 30-taper machining centre, which proved to be a significant asset on the shopfloor and one that received exemplary service backup. In February 2024 we purchased a Taiwanese Leadwell five-axis VMC with a compound rotary table from WMT, and again this proved to be a seamless experience.”

Some six months after installing the automated prismatic machining cell, they decided that for more-open-tolerance machining it would be expedient to load and unload some raw material individually, rather than in the zero-point pallet-mounted vices. For this purpose, three thin plates were machined in-house and permanently mounted on each shelf. Large holes in the plates accommodate the zero-point locations and a grid of small holes drilled at 50 mm centres facilitate fixturing multiple components, typically up to 36, sometimes more.

Automation software
As with all CubeBOX installations, the Blues DR MAX was supplied with Tezmaksan’s RoboCAM ‘intelligent automation software’, thereby eliminating the need for ‘expensive third-party robot integrators’, as the system allows an operator without any robot programming experience to set up a new part in 2-3min.

It is possible to load a DXF file directly, from which the software reads the part geometry and automatically calculates grip points and the positioning cycle. The system also tracks where workpieces are in real-time, enabling built-in collision protection. Moreover, the software calculates and reports on cycle duration to establish production efficiency, including during lights-out manufacturing.

Pictured left: Close-up of the Ceratizit pneumatic zero-point clamping station

In addition to serving the oil and gas industry, and keen to diversify its client portfolio as much as possible, Optimal regularly supplies OEMs in the automotive, aerospace, and medical sectors, as well as elsewhere. Prototyping to high-volume production is catered for, although generally batch size is in the range 20- to 50-off.

Mr Slimm concluded: “With some machining cycles lasting well over 2hr and our ability to gain 14hrs’ production overnight virtually for free, we are not chasing small reductions in cycle times. The over-riding need here is for high levels of machining accuracy and the bespoke Tezmaksan cell supplied by WMT meets that need precisely.

“Particularly in view of its simplicity of integration, compatibility with any brand of machining centre and the difficulty in finding and recruiting skilled shopfloor staff, this type of easy-to-use automation is a big asset for any manufacturing organisation, and particularly for sub-contractors.”