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Many part production environments using vertical machining centers have lower spindle utilization than desired. This is primarily due to the downtime experienced during part setup and changeover activities, which on average limits machine utilization to just 34 percent. As a result, part production manufacturers can experience hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost opportunity costs over the life of their machine.
There are many methods available for improving the part production capabilities of a vertical machining center, including simple automation. An automated system, similar to the PS95 with Midaco pallet changer seen here, enables manufacturers to substantially improve utilization rates by decoupling the load/unload procedures from the machine, building a work queue and quickly substituting raw and finished workloads. This capability provides for more cutting time, faster ROI and ultimately greater profitability.
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