High-Quality, High-Efficiency, and Short-Delivery-Time Production of High-Mix, Small-Lot Products

Taiyo Co., Ltd.

(Headquarters: Hamamatsu, Shizuoka)

Taiyo Co., Ltd., based in Shizuoka Prefecture and led by President Nobuharu Miyaji, machines high-mix, small-lot products with high-quality, high-efficiency, and short-delivery-time, handling anywhere from a few products per lot to several thousand items. With its highly efficient machining of over 600 items, the company has earned the utmost trust of major transportation equipment manufacturers.

The company was founded in 1939 and established in 1961. It got its start with machining motorcycle parts, part of Hamamatsu's renowned motorcycle industry. Thereafter, the company entered the outboard motor parts industry, and today Taiyo is contracted to machine mainly marine products, such as outboard motors and personal watercraft, as well as motorcycle and automotive parts, and it is expanding its comprehensive cutting operations. The strength of the company lies in its ability to use its strong collaborative network to provide one-stop services, including casting, machining, surface treatment, and assembly.

Using the BT30 for High-Speed and High-Accuracy Machining

Unique Machining Expertise and Innovation to Realize Machining That Exceeds Manufacturer's Recommended Values

The Brother tapping center demonstrates its absolute capabilities in high-speed drilling and tapping. However, at the time of its installation, there was an issue with the machining capability. Chairman Ryoji Miyaji said "Our machining workpiece sizes range from 20 mm (0.8 inch) to 600 mm (23.6 inch). The machining process not only entails drilling and tapping but also milling, but the milling of early tapping centers was weak. There were some workpieces that we wanted to machine in one go with 300 mm (11.8 inch) diameter milling cutter due to factors such as machined surface, but at the time, we could only mill up to 120 mm (4.7 inch) in diameter."
Therefore, Taiyo asked a machinery tool trading company to make a milling cutter with a 300 mm (11.8 inch) diameter that was lightweight due to hole punching and featured a unique cutting edge shape. This enabled the company to achieve efficient machining. To handle chips, the company designed a twisted burnishing drill, which proved effective.
Another feature of Taiyo is its pursuit of simple setup and setup-free operations through off-line setup. On the factory floor, once machining of a part is completed in tens of seconds to a few minutes, the next part is immediately loaded for machining, so jigs are frequently changed. To speed up with off-line setup, the company drills reference holes in the bases of all rotary tables equipped with the machine, enabling easy and highly accurate positioning simply by lining them up with the reference holes on the jig. Also, in the event of a machine breakdown, the jig can be simply moved to another machine as a quick measure. Taiyo has a system to reduce setup by using a rotary stocker to store jigs and holders.

Combining Robots With Lathes and Machining Centers to Achieve Unmanned Machining

Looking Forward to Expertise and Proposals From Manufacturers

Going forward, President Nobuharu Miyaji believes domestic production requires companies to be forward-thinking with differentiated technology, and one example is the use of robots and IT. He also believes there will be an increasing demand for multifunction machines. He explained that Taiyo is exploring areas where they can secure high profits with slightly higher accuracy while focusing on high-mix, low-volume aluminum parts, such as prototypes. The company is looking forward to the challenge of taking on more customer orders for precision machining and machining of difficult-to-cut materials.
The president had this to say about the company's future outlook. "Management using robots and IoT will continue to advance, and if the robot is from the same manufacturer as the machine, it will enable easier system integration. I hope Brother also explores this possibility. In addition, multifunction machines will be essential to high-mix, low-volume production. The manufacturer should provide more technical expertise and proposals so that we can reap the benefits of these machines. We look forward to growing together with Brother and realizing a digitization of know-how through IoT."