Quality, Machining Time, and Productivity Greatly Improved with SPEEDIO

Mizunami Seiki Co., Ltd.

(Headquarters: Mizunami, Gifu)

Founded in 1951, Mizunami Seiki Co., Ltd. is a local company of long standing that has been involved in manufacturing for over 70 years. Although the company started out by producing sewing machine parts, it now has three major businesses. First is the development, design, and manufacture of overlock sewing machines, with a manufacturing factory in Taiwan. Second is the cutting and assembly of metal parts for civil and defense aircrafts, which is handled by the main factory. Third is the machining of parts for automobiles and industrial equipment, which is handled by the Inatsu factory.

Talking about what differentiates the company, President Nagara said, "Working on three different businesses, we can readily establish a system to complement each other. In addition, we have a Development and Design Division, as well as manufacturing areas for cutting, low-cost assembly, and precision assembly. Simply put, our company may be described as 'a shopping mall where a wide range of manufacturing takes place.'" Adding that the company is still growing, he said that one of its strengths is that it can continue to take advantage of the know-how that it has accumulated over the years.

From Size to Ease of Use, SPEEDIO is Just Right

The company has been using the SPEEDIO at its machining floor for about 30 years, since around the time when tapping centers were in use. At present, the Taiwan factory also has an aluminum die-cast machining process, with nearly 30 machines in use. In Japan, the machines are used for machining aircraft parts, which is handled by the main factory (Machining Section of the Mizunami Manufacturing Division). Machining aircraft parts is basically a multi-product low-volume production, and the parts the company undertakes are not that large. Before using Brother's machines, the work was carried out on horizontal machining centers that was more than twice as big.

Mr. Fujiwara, who is involved on the floor, describes the SPEEDIO as just right. Talking of its benefits, President Nagara said, "Not only is it compact in size, but it is also easy to move around, making it possible to change the factory layout flexibly." He also added that setup is easier. Mr. Fujiwara elaborated, saying "Even for jig attachment, we inevitably have to make sure the design is compact and lightweight, so setup is easier." Using user-friendly Brother machines, the company has also been assigning more and more female machining technicians.

Mr. Fujiwara added, "Another attractive feature is that the BT30 spindle ensures that tool costs are low." He said that in areas with major impact, they have been able to reduce costs by 30 to 40 percent.

Along with Reducing Machining Time, Post-Processing Also Improved

In machining aircraft parts, the majority of parts are fully machined. One misconception within the company was that the small BT30 spindle was unsuitable because of the machining load. The S1000X1, adopted in 2016, changed that misconception. It was initially adopted to handle parts for the Mechanism Assembly Division, but when they tried it out for a new machining job they were working on, they did not have any problem with it.

Mr. Adachi, the floor manager, said "Later, I went to an exhibition to see it actually cutting, and that left me with the impression that it was 'quite good.'" This resulted in the introduction of the S500Xd1 in 2023. Now, the SPEEDIO series is occupying a central role as the main equipment.

Asked about the effects of its adoption, Mr. Fujiwara said, "For one part, when we changed the process design to using the S500Xd1 in production, the non-conformity rate dropped to zero. We were able to reduce machining time by about one-fourth, and reduce manual finishing work in post-processing, such as deburring, by about one-tenth." Furthermore, he said that there are now less human error.

With Aircraft Parts as Its Core Business, Aiming to Venture Into Other Areas As Well

Looking ahead, President Nagara said, "First of all, we plan to work on our civil and defense aircraft operations. We have a system in place that can adequately take on more work, so we would like to further expand both our quantity and our quality as we build up our track record." He also added that he would like to leverage the company's core strengths, cutting and assembly work, in other areas.

Mizunami Seiki's strength lies in the wide range of capabilities that it has cultivated across its three businesses. Internally, the company's stated aim is to create a workplace where everyone can thrive and be actively engaged. At this company, female employees can be seen working on operating the SPEEDIO on a daily basis. This had also been an opportunity to watch another value added by SPEEDIO in action.

Related link
Mizunami Seiki Co., Ltd. (Women's Empowerment) "SPEEDIO Is an Extremely User-Friendly Machine with Simple Operations"