| Advanced Manufacturing Technology At Asahi Sunac, we use the latest multi-face machining centers to machine the main components of our cold formers. Here's what it means. Progressive cold forging machines are used extensively in the automobile and computer hardware industries as well as other fields. These industries are demanding that their cold formers be delivered as quickly as possible, so we are under pressure to put our cold formers into the customer's hands as quickly as possible. In addition, we are refining the "net shape" forging process in which the blank comes out of the former as a finished or near-finished product. Today's increasingly competitive industrial environment demands that we make cold formers that cost less, incorporate a higher level of mechanical precision, and offer the customer more quality and value than ever before. As means of improving the quality of our cold formers, a Yamazaki-Mazak HV-630 multi-plane machining center is lately installed to make components for our main products, 2-die 2-blow AT series and 3 and 4-die AQ series. We are now able to machine rams, connecting rods, feed boxes, and various levers to a high level of precision in a very short time. The cutting head on this large-scale machining center can travel 1,000mm on the horizontal X-axis, 800mm on the vertical Y-axis, and 1,050mm on the fore-aft Z-axis. The machine features automatic tool loading from a 120 piece tool magazine, six palette tables, automatic scheduling functions, and automatic workpiece centering system. This amazing machine uses a universal cutting head that provides the capabilities of both a vertical and horizontal machining center. One quick changeover operation is all it takes to switch the head from horizontal to vertical cutting mode for multi-face machining of complex levers, rams, connecting rods, and other cold former components that demand a high level of dimensional precision. Machining errors, a problem that often results from transferring the workpiece between multiple machines, are eliminated because cutting operations on multiple faces can now be done by a single machining center. The multi-face palette changer, scheduling operation function, and automatic centering system allow the machining center to run for long periods of time without the need for attending personnel. This ability further decreases the time it takes for us to manufacture machine components and deliver a finished former. In June of this year, A-O Co., Ltd., an engineering firm of the Asahi Sunac group, installed a new Toshiba Machine BTD-110 large-scale horizontal machining center. This machine provides an extremely rigid cutting platform that makes possible high-speed machining of rams, frames, and other cold former components that demand a high degree of dimensional precision.
Last year we installed Okuma cylindrical and internal grinding machines as part of our ongoing machine investment program. This program means that we are committed to continual investment in the latest metal working technology in an effort to assure our customers that they will always get the highest levels of quality and value from their Asahi Sunac formers. |
