RFID Technology Helps Schunk Automatically Grind Mixed Batches of Tools

The Tool manufacturing industry is being automated at an unprecedented rate. This new worldwide trend is primarily driven by a combination of several factors – labor shortages, increasing labor costs, maximizing uptime and the need for 24/7 continuous production, and customer demands for shorter lead times.

With the rapid development of modern numerical control technology, the types of equipment and processing parts are diversified. Due to the actual application needs of production and processing, a large number of tools are frequently used and exchanged between the tool Library and the machine tool. With the sharp increase in the number and types of cutting tools, standard and non-standard cutting tools of various types and specifications coexist in the production workshop, and a large number of cutting tools frequently flow and exchange between the cutting tool warehouse and machine tools and machine tool equipment. Today's tool manufacturers need to be more flexible and responsive than ever before.

Schunk has been manufacturing cutting tools since 2010 under the leadership of Managing Director Christian Schunk and has since continued to develop in this field. Now, the cutting tool business accounts for 60% of the turnover, covering various industries such as automobile, aerospace, mold and medical. In addition, SCHUNK offers professional regrinding services, including edge preparation and tool coating at the in-house SCHUNK professional coating facility.

RFID Technology Allows Schunk to Reduce Costs and Improve Operational Efficiency

To enable the mixing of multiple tool batches and multiple jobs, Christian Schunk developed his own storage system that sorts all the tools ordered by a customer into a common tool tray. The tool tray has a label and a barcode containing all relevant production information such as tool type, tool quantity, shipment date and other relevant data, according to which the tools are resorted after the order is completed.

An RFID system can sort tools according to production needs rather than according to customer orders. Any number and any type of tools from different orders from different customers can be mixed in preparation for regrinding at the dedicated programming workstation. A workstation evaluates each tool, and a skilled operator selects and modifies the desired grinding program. The grinding program is then encoded onto the RFID tool holder, which is then placed in the tray of the grinding machine along with the tools. Each RFID tool carrier has customer name and job number, it is easy to find the original customer order after grinding.

After the tool is sharpened, the RFID industrial-grade reader/writer reads the RFID tag information and returns it to the original customer order. The RFID tool carrier is returned to the storage area for future use in other operations. During the production process, the tool grinding File is loaded by scanning the RFID tag. Automatically execute all grinding parameters, changing required wheel packs or chucks.

Christian Schunk emphasizes maximizing the utilization of grinding machines. The loaded tool pallet optimizes the entire production process, and the use of mixed batch loading increases productivity and reduces cycle times. Mixed batch loading works well, Schunk used to work according to customer order planning, and put all diameters of tools of a customer together for loading - now they have implemented a mixed batch loading system that is completely independent of orders.

Using RFID technology, record the required information in the programming workstation to complete the matching of tools and RFID tags. The tool and the RFID tool holder are loaded onto the grinding machine together. The grinding machine scans the RFID and automatically invokes the grinding program, sets all grinding parameters, and loads the correct grinding wheel set. If the collet needs to be changed, the grinder will automatically perform the collet change. While the tools are being loaded or ground in the grinding machine, the RFIDs are Stored on the exchange station. The RFID solution means that customers can create individual programs for each tool and load mixed tools into pallets. If there is an urgent need, the tools in the tray can be replaced with the required tools immediately.

RFID technology is an ideal process method for tool grinding and manufacturing in small and medium batches. RFID technology increases the flexibility of tool programming and automatic feeding; tools can be produced in mixed batches; RFID technology can also be connected to the ERP system through a work card; no need for the operator to do specific programming for specific tools in the tray.