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16 MoldMaking Technology November 2014 Case Study / Automation Case Study / Automation In today's competitive manufacturing environment, every operation has to find ways to maximize production in order to be successful. This is especially true in the case of a company that is hoping to grow its business. Custom Mold & Design (CMD), a manufacturer of com- plex, multi-cavity, high-precision molds, found its solution in advanced modular automation, which it has used to capture huge blocks of extra production time that previously went untapped and significantly increase machine utilization rates. Automation has enabled the company to reduce necessary human intervention and decrease overtime costs associated with running non-automated machines at night and over the weekends. In the past, during weekend hours, operators would come into the shop intermittently to keep jobs run- ning. Today, at least three of the shop's sinker EDMs can run unmanned during that time. Plus, with the machines also operating unattended during the week, the shop's highly skilled machinists are free to attend to more hands-on opera- tions on other machines with shorter burn times. Adding Automation Increased business and the acquisition of advanced manufacturing technol- ogy drove the need for automation at CMD, which was founded more than 50 years ago in New Hope, Minnesota, by Duane Treiber and is now owned by Ray Newkirk. In 2014 CMD moved to Forest Lake, Minnesota. When the shop needed to expand capacity and boost equipment output in 2011, it acquired an additional sinker EDM. In the same year, CMD formed its first automated cell when it teamed the two machines with a new Compact standalone robot from Arlington Heights, Illinois-based Erowa Technology Inc. This system worked so well that earlier this year the shop purchased another sinker EDM and a second Erowa robotic system with the intention of eventually adding a second EDM to this new cell. Erowa Compact robots are pick-and-place systems that serve one or two machines for milling and/or EDM applica- tions. According to CMD, they integrate seamlessly into the controls of its sinker EDMs and provide storage for as many as 108 electrodes and 20 workpiece pallet stations. The robot's arm travels 47.244 inches in the X axis and accommodates maximum weights (workpiece and pallet) of more than 66 pounds and workpieces as large as 8 × 8 inches. Another key aspect of each of the automated cells is an Erowa modular integrated workholding system. With it, raw For us, automation not only boosts the output of our existing workforce, it motivates employees to work with and master higher levels of technology. Untapped Production Automation allows this mold manufacturer to run its EDMs nonstop for months. Erowa Compact robots at CMD are pick-and-place systems that signifcantly increase the shop's EDM utilization rates. This modular integrated workholding system is used in tandem with robots for seamless workpiece transfer.