Industry Update

MACHINING CENTRES

Broadening the sphere of application

It is an undisputed fact that the strength of the machine tool industry holds the reign of a countrys progress. And post meltdown phase, the industry is not just back on track but the country is also moving towards becoming one of the world leaders in this industry. Moving towards this surging growth, the demand for machining centres has reached new heights. Although, the import figures for the country are high, the in-house production is trying to catch up with demand. Sieving itself through challenging times, there is no looking back for this industry now.

Debarati Basu

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he machine tool industry is known for its cyclic nature. According to industry experts, the progression in this nature of industry is now becoming more frequent. While earlier the industry used to feel the change at intervals of five to six years, the shifts

now occur almost every three years. This has only toughened the industry to endure risks. Being driven in a major way by the automotive industry has also had a direct impact on the rise and fall of this industry. With lessons learnt from the past, the industry

MODERN MACHINE TOOLS - July 2011

Courtesy: Ace Manufacturing Systems Ltd

Industry Update
is now broadening its base-newer sectors are being encompassed. The rising sectors like energy, aviation, construction and die & mould industry are now becoming the pillars for the machining centre industry. Major investments are also being targeted at the growing medical industry for machining small components which require high precision. Flexibility, versatility, adaptability and cost reduction will be the watchwords in this highly competitive market. It is evident that there will be increased need for machining centres that can perform complex tasks. In order to keep up with increasing complexity and competition, machine manufacturers will have to keep their products modular and serviceable, while providing for technologically advanced, flexible solutions and clever automation concepts, says Eswari Prasad, President, MAG India Industrial Automation Systems Pvt Ltd. In the next five years this industry will be very bullish. We are presently the 13th largest machine tool producer of the world and 7th largest user of machine tools in terms of consumption. But in the next five years we are affirmative to become the fifth largest producer of machine tools and the third largest consumer. We are capable of achieving that.

P Ramadas, Managing Director, Ace Manufacturing Systems Ltd

Changing times
From simple lathe machines to multiaxis machining centres, the industry has certainly undergone a complete face lift to keep up with technological advancements of modern times. The demand from this sector is ever growing. While the overall production in the country is only able to meet 40 per cent of the domestic demand, around 60 per cent of the countrys need is still dependent on imports. It is becoming an inevitable factor to increase the production so as to reduce dependence on imports. The Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers Association (IMTMA) had recently made an observation that even if the Indian machine tool industry has a Compounded Annual Growth (CAG) rate of 25 per cent, it would still not be able to reach the demand by 2020. The requirement is so high that we have a long way to go before we bridge the demand-supply gap, avers S Raju Sagi, Vice President - Machining Centre Division, Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd

Recent innovations are helping manufacturers to keep up with demand. Even today, three-axis machining centre rule the market, where major machining in almost all sectors are dependent on them. However, multiaxis machining centres are making a grand entry. P Ramadas, Managing Director, Ace Manufacturing Systems Ltd, explains that the components of auto and energy sector are still in a major way machined in three-axis machining centres, which has almost 80 per cent usage in total machining in the machine tool industry. However, the use of four-axis machining centres is increasing rapidly now and caters to almost 20 per cent of the industry needs especially in the horizontal machine sector. This is followed by the need for the fifth axis which only caters to five per cent of the requirement.

This is because of the constraint in unavailability of sophisticated CNC systems from countries like Germany and Japan. While India has the capability to make multi-axis machines, importing the supporting CNCs comes as a major setback. However, the five-axis machining centres are slowly picking up pace in the industry given the increased need for accuracy, economy of space, time and manpower. While mid-size machining centres sell like hot cakes, the need for big size machining centres are increasing as well. The sector is also focussing on small sized machines for sectors like medical equipment and watch making industry. Better machining centres result in better products for the user industry. Requirement of manpower is reduced

A five-axis machine used for high precision machining of a component

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Courtesy: Ace Manufacturing Systems Ltd

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Flexibility, versatility, adaptability and cost reduction will be the watchwords in this highly competitive market. In order to keep up with increasing complexity and competition, machine manufacturers will have to keep their products modular and serviceable while providing for technologically advanced, flexible solutions and clever automation concepts manufacturing capacities, which is the backbone of every successful economy, points out Prasad.

Latest trends
Innovation in this sector is on a roll. Various new types of machining centres are being introduced in the market to meet customer needs. However, all machines aim at high precision and lower production cost. There was a time when customers would accept nothing but three-axis machining centres. A few years back we made a customised nine-axis machining centre. We have observed that over the years, customers too are showing interest in multi-axis machining centres, as they have started to understand the advantages, says Sagi. Combination machines are also in high demand where different types of operations are combined in one single machine. So, drilling, boring, milling, turning, chamfering etc can all be done in one machine itself, instead of using different setups. Machines like twin spindle vertical machining centre and front mounted automatic tool changer machines are also setting a trend. These machines target at machining two components in the same machining centre bringing down the cost of production by half. We have also come up with some low cost small machining centres for training centre but it has been welcomed even by small component manufacturers, explains Ramdas. Among the other techniques, there are newly integrated technologies like honing on machining centres, cryogenic machining with liquid nitrogen, complete gear manufacturing for workpieces of all sizes, and hydraulic-free machines. There is also an increasing need for machining of exotic materials like alloys or composites. Machining, application and coolant strategies need to be developed for these materials. For this, the machines need to be more customised for specific solution to provide maximum performance.

Eswari Prasad, President, MAG India Industrial Automation Systems Pvt Ltd
by 70 per cent, power consumption is reduced by 50 per cent and space requirement is dropped down to half. Thus productivity increases reducing the cost. Multi-axis machining centre are becoming a key for better productivity, reflects Sagi. treading towards providing the same quality. For this we need to imbibe the Japanese way of doing things and adopting similar consciousness for quality and perfection. And this needs to be adopted by not just one industry but by the entire country itself. The trend has already started. People now know that quality is the future. In the next five years we will be there, giving similar quality and service. There is no apprehension about it, avers Ramdas. Nevertheless, given its manufacturing capabilities, there is no doubt that India holds an important position in the global market. India has a unique perspective as a manufacturer of complex products. In order to place ourselves favourably in the global market place, we have to increase and secure our

Global outreach
With the rise in demand from various industries, the country is yet to bridge the demand-supply gap in the domestic market itself. To meet the demand, most shop-floors are in a capacity expansion mode where latest technology is being adopted on the shop-floors to increase productivity and to deliver in least possible lead time. There is a vast difference between a product made in Japan and that made in India. But we are

Courtesy: Ace Manufacturing Systems Ltd

Automatic tool changer displays the course of how machining has changed with time

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Better machining centres result in better products for the user industry. Requirement of manpower is reduced by 70 per cent, power consumption is reduced by 50 per cent and space requirement is dropped down to half. Thus productivity increases reducing the cost. Multi-axis machining centres are becoming a key for better productivity. production processes and machining operations can be optimised to provide for minimum use of electric energy. Also, our new product lines have all been analysed thoroughly from a resource efficiency perspective. By optimising the structure of machines, applying new components that save or reuse energy and by making best use of the latest drive and control technology, we were able to reduce the overall energy consumption significantly, informs Prasad. Most companies are also doing away with coolants. While Minimum Quantity Lubrication (MQL) is the new trend, where a combination of oil and air does the trick, many companies are also replacing oil with grease for its lubrication. Grease is preferred for its viscosity which helps lowering wastage. These measures also help in reducing the disposal of effluents during the process.

S Raju Sagi, Vice President-Machining Centre Division, Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd
Prasad adds, India being the potential market space for global suppliers, they will see upward trends for machining aerospace parts with limited batch quantity, less manual intervention and high productive challenges. to come up with innovative and new technologies to drive the sector. Also, with high dependence on imports, unavailability of supply chain and various components like precision components, controllers, CNCs etc deter the growth of the industry On one hand, while the price of raw material is going up every year, the cost of machines is coming down to meet customer demand of getting higher accuracy machines at lower cost.

Facing challenges
The machine tools industry, as most people from the industry agree, is not a glamorous profession. It is the passion for machines that drives the industry. But the industry also laments on the dearth of skilled manpower. The young and fresh minds are taking a detour to the IT sector leaving the machine tool sector in a lurch. It is difficult to find people who really understand machines, states Sagi. The industry is in dire need for young minds for research and development,

Going green
Moving in the direction of being eco-friendly, saving on power is a major area of focus. With the latest advancements, most models are crafted to lower the energy consumption by almost 30 per cent and more. By applying MAGs Delta 4 intelligent software solutions,

Future outlook
The country might not be in the position to fend its own domestic demands, but the technological advancements in this field are leaving an indelible mark in surging towards its global outreach. Success in the world market is inevitable. In the next five years this industry will become very bullish. We are travelling in the direction towards the global circuit. We are presently the 13 th largest machine tool producer of the world and 7th largest user of machine tools in terms of consumption. But in the next five years we are affirmative to become the fifth largest producer of machine tools and the third largest consumer. We are capable of achieving this, says Ramdas. The country is not just gearing up with the state-of-the-art technologies but is also revving itself to provide quality, which is at par with global standards. Hence, the fact remains undeterred that India is paving its path towards providing world-class precision products and services.

Courtesy: Bharat Fritz Werner Ltd

Machining of a component in progress

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