Tool management for flexible manufacturing

Abstract

Overall production efficiency is not only dependent on the capacity and capability of machining centres, but also on a well developed tool management system; the latter is almost a prerequisite for effective FMS operations for every manufacturer. In Hong Kong, there are not many competitors that can afford an FMS in their production and thus research in this topic is almost overlooked. Developed in-house to monitor and to smooth out the flow of tools on the shop floor and in the tool-room, our tool management system is capable of managing the tooling inventory, standardizing the setup of tooling and workholders, selecting the optimal cutting conditions for each machining tool of each operation as well as planning the tools for scheduled FMS operations.