Installation of Deburring Center DG-1 Resulted in More Efficient Deburring and Consistent Quality

Suzuki Iron Works Co., Ltd.

(Headquarters: Fujieda, Shizuoka)

Founded in 1921, Suzuki Iron Works Co., Ltd. is based in Fujieda City, Shizuoka Prefecture, and boasts over 100 years of history. The company originally began as a manufacturer of tea-processing machinery, evolving over time and embracing new challenges to adapt to changing times. Today, it mainly manufactures aluminum die-cast parts.

Suzuki Iron Works operates two production bases—the Fujieda plant and the Omaezaki plant—with approximately 100 staff engaged in production. Its monthly production volume reaches around 500,000 units, spanning a wide range of components of mainly automotive parts, as well as parts for gas appliances, outboard motors, construction machinery, and agricultural machinery.

The company has also developed an integrated production system covering everything from aluminum die-casting to cutting and assembly. Both the Fujieda and Omaezaki plants (casting processes) operate on a 24-hour schedule. Notably, the Fujieda plant has achieved full automation during night hours. This enables Suzuki Iron Works to maintain stable production even with a small workforce—a major strength of the company.

Deburring Center DG-1 Meets the Challenges of Deburring Automation

The company has maintained a long-standing relationship with Brother Industries, dating back to the era of the CNC tapping center, the predecessor of SPEEDIO. In recent years, they have implemented models such as the M140X1, M200X3, R650Xd1, and R450Xd1.

Regarding Brother's machine tools, Mr. Sugimura noted, "We experience very few problems." Executive Director Ikeda also praised Brother for "successfully addressing areas that other companies haven't tackled yet."

Among these, the one that captured the company's attention was the automation of deburring through the Deburring Center DG-1.

"Some products require deburring for over 60 seconds per part," said Executive Director Ikeda. Until recently, the company outsourced about 60% of its deburring processes, while the remaining 40% was handled manually by in-house staff using files and other tools.

"What's more, the more casting we do, the more the mold gets damaged, which increases work for the deburring process. That said, we can't update our molds frequently," explained Mr. Sugimura. As a result, deburring is a process that both costs a lot and requires significant time and effort, making automation a long-standing challenge for the company.

While exploring options for new machinery, they learned about the newly released Deburring Center DG-1 and conducted prototype testing. After confirming the results, the company decided to introduce it.

Easy to Setup, With Enormous Benefits

"Until recently, I had no idea how to create programs. But with the Deburring Center DG-1, I was able to create a program after just two days of hands-on experience with the machine. Since a controller is used, it's intuitive. It feels like playing a game," said Mr. Egawa, who was in charge of the work.

After seeing the specifications, Mr. Sugimura remarked, "I decided to leave everything up to the younger staff." The actual operation, however, is handled by older staff. "All you have to do is set the workpiece and press a button. It doesn't require much physical strength, anyone can operate the machine," he noted.

Naturally, the efficiency of the deburring process has improved dramatically.

"Work that previously required three people can now be done by one. What's more, we've been able to bring previously outsourced work back in-house," said Executive Director Ikeda. The company has set a goal of reducing its outsourcing ratio from the current 60% to between 20% and 30% in the future.

Another major benefit of the machine is its contribution to quality.

Relying on manual deburring inevitably leads to process omissions and inconsistent finishing. "Mechanization can solve that issue," said Mr. Sugimura. However, since burrs vary in size and shape depending on the casting lot, fine adjustments are necessary. "It's nice to be able to make small adjustments onscreen," he added, highlighting the machine's convenience.

Opening up the Future: the Challenge of Automation

Labor shortages are affecting the manufacturing industry as a whole, and the situation is expected to worsen even more in the years ahead. "Deburring is still largely labor-intensive manual work that requires a large number of workers. And because it takes a lot of time and effort, it's hard to find people willing to do the job," said Executive Director Ikeda. The reality is that the aging of the contractor workforce is also accelerating, with some voicing concerns that "the sector has a shaky future."

In this context, he said the benefits of introducing the Deburring Center DG-1 are enormous.

Finally, when asked about the company's outlook for the future, Executive Director Ikeda replied, "We hope to further increase our volume of work." The company is considering expanding its Omaezaki plant, which handles aluminum die-casting, along with the addition of more machines and exploration into new fields in the future.

The deburring process is both time- and labor-intensive, and it is costly as well. The Deburring Center DG-1 has proven to be an ideal solution to this problem.

Suzuki Iron Works is boldly taking on the challenge of further expanding its business while confronting the thorny issue of labor shortages across the industry. Brother Industries' machine tools will continue to strongly support this journey.