Phillips is deeply committed to expanding automation technology across all areas of its manufacturing floor. Most recently, John Phillips, president of our implants and instrumentation division, and his team have advanced the company’s efforts to expand automation technology in a brand-new way.
It began by assessing the existing capabilities of the manufacturing floor and understanding the types of automation technology available in the marketplace. PPM maintains a large number of high-end HASS 5Axis machining centers used to manufacture implants, instrumentation, and orthopedic component parts of varying sizes and complexity. Over the past two years, the company has introduced and developed two Makino DA300 machining centers with EROWA 80 pallet changers. This experience and newfound expertise is what drove the vision to apply the palletized technology to PPM’s existing HAAS 5-Axis systems.
5-axis machining enables the production of complex parts with fewer setups without the need for human/manual intervention. By adding the EROWA 80 pallet changer technology, PPM has created a novel way to dramatically increase capacity within the same footprint by integrating and configuring these two systems to work together. For the first time, HAAS and EROWA came together to realize the company’s vision.
This initiative has increased machine uptime and throughput. The automation also removes the potential for errors caused by manual intervention. Every single part, even those with high tolerance, is exactly the same quality from the first part to the last. This technology package will be duplicated early in the 3rd quarter of 2021.
PPM has the unique ability to design and manufacture the fixtures required for the automation to operate smoothly and efficiently. This custom fabrication is another critical aspect of successfully launching the integrated systems.
After in-depth analysis, engineering, and cooperation from our two suppliers, the system is running flawlessly. We’re grateful to everyone involved who worked tirelessly and closely as a team in a partnership that exceeded our expectations.