INCREASE PRODUCTIVITY WITHOUT ADDITIONAL STAFF
A Japanese manufacturer of compressed air fittings produces around 3,000 different products, from standard fittings and high-pressure solutions
to valves for special applications. This results in around 100 different items being produced each month – a total of around 30,000 components. The company deliberately operates according to the principle of “high variety with small quantities.” For many years, production has been heavily focused on automation. A particularly characteristic feature is the 24-hour operation without a shift system, which enables impressive productivity with only a small number of staff. However, despite all the progress made, one task remained a bottleneck for a long time: the marking of components.
The transition from manual labor to automation
Until a few years ago, part numbers, batch codes, and OEM names still had to be punched manually, which was a time-consuming process. For operators, this meant inserting the part, aligning it, and stamping it with a lever and punch—sometimes for 1,200 to 1,300 parts a day. One employee recalls: “It was extremely inefficient; sometimes you spent four hours at a time just stamping.” Laser engraving initially seemed to be an alternative, but this proved to be too time-consuming and cumbersome to handle. The search for a better solution ultimately led the company to the marking tools from Hommel+Keller, which were introduced in Japan through the tool trading partner Noah.
The solution: Marking directly on the lathe
The marking tools are based on a simple but ingenious principle: a scroll transfers the desired characters directly onto the workpiece as it rotates. The key factor is that the tool can be integrated into the turret or holder of the lathe just like any other tool. This means that the component is embossed during machining—without re-clamping and without additional work steps. “It was revolutionary that the parts came out of the lathe with the markings already applied,” says the production manager, describing the introduction. Instead of manual reworking or separate processes, text embossing is now done fully automatically in a single pass.
EFFICIENCY THAT CREATES ROOM FOR GROWTH
The changeover brought several advantages:
• Significant increase in efficiency due to the elimination of manual punching processes
• Productivity gains, as operators can now operate several machines simultaneously
•Process reliability, because machining and embossing are carried out in a single step
• Long-lasting marking on the workpiece
The result:
Operators have their hands free, machine capacities can be expanded more easily,
and the company has been able to scale up its production significantly –
without additional personnel
Looking ahead
Today, the manufacturer already has more than 20 different scrolls in use and plans to expand the application to high-volume products. The marking process on flat surfaces instead of only on cylindrical components is also being tested. In view of the shortage of skilled workers, the goal is clear:
to further eliminate inefficient tasks and design a production process that achieves even higher performance with fewer personnel. With marking tools from Hommel+Keller, it is possible to realize such efficiency potential in manufacturing and support companies in sustainably increasing their productivity.
