SPEEDIO Raises Machining Efficiency by 30% Intuitive Operations Also Make Training Easy

Sacra-Tech Co., Ltd.

(Headquarters: Shirakawa, Fukushima)

Founded in 1947, Sacra-Tech Co., Ltd. has a history going over 70 years. The company specializes in machining metal parts for a wide range of industries, including semiconductors, space defense, medical, and industrial equipment. Their core strength is on machining complex configurations, and they are known for production with variable types and quantities.

President Sakuraoka said the company's strength lies in its technical prowess. This technical prowess is supported by numerous pieces equipment, up to about 60, lined up in their two factories. "In our company, almost no machine stands alone. We have at least two machines for each type, so we can flexibly accommodate production increases."

Recently, the company has also started cutting resin in response to weight reduction needs.

U500Xd1 Works with Robots for Automation

The company first introduced a Brother machine, a tapping center TC-32BN, in 2017.
President Sakuraoka gave three reasons for introducing it. First, their customers and other manufacturing companies have become more cost-conscious. Second, they have developed the human resources who can create non-interactive programs. Third, they felt that the machine enabled a streamlined workflow depending on the workpiece, and was user-friendly as a dedicated machine. And because demand for such workpieces increased, he said they introduced it on a trial basis. In 2019, they brought in the SPEEDIO R650X2 with a 40-tool magazine. And in 2023, they added the SPEEDIO U500Xd1.

The U500Xd1 was suggested by Mr. Kawake of Yamazen Corporation, who provides support for the company's production facilities. Mr. Kawake explained the reason for this, "The BT30 5-axis machining center has in-house manufacturing for everything from hardware to software with numerical control, and it has a wide machining range of up to 500 mm in diameter. It is hard to find a machine from other companies with such good value for money. Another advantage is that all after-sales services can be done with Brother Industry. The U500Xd1 came out at about the same time as when President Sakuraoka consulted us about automation. We suggested this, believing that we could fulfill their needs by docking it to Sanwa Robotics' NEXSRT pallet changer system, which comes as a package."

President Sakuraoka said, "With the worsening manpower shortage, we need to increase our awareness of automation within the company. We also decided to introduce the U500Xd1 because we needed to keep our total investment price down and because we already had experience with Brother products." In addition, he said that after the introduction, the company staff have gained more experience on its use, and that the introduction had been extremely successful in terms of future manufacturing prospects.

High Speed and Improving Machining Efficiency by Around 30%

Mr. Sato, the production floor supervisor, commended Brother machines and said, "Compared to BT40 machines, which we have a lot of, BT30 is compact and space saving, and it is designed with a spindle that is easy to see, so setup is easy, which is a big advantage." He also said that machining speed is fast, and by his estimation, it improves machining efficiency by around 30% compared to horizontal machining centers.

Currently, the company produces 3,000 to 4,000 pieces a month using three Brother machines. Before that, it took them five to six machines. Moreover, he said that the latest controller, the CNC-D00, seemed to have become much easier to use. He added, "With this, it should be easy to learn for staff who are new to the machine." In fact, the company has already started training junior staff to learn the new setup. He said, "It is now easier to teach."

"Our company's style is to complete the finishing of products using one machine. With the 40-tool SPEEDIO, we can keep working with this machining style, just like with horizontal machining centers. We can cut with a face mill of about 50 mm diameter, then use a solid end mill of about 20 mm diameter to perform deeper machining. We can perform such machining without any problem, which would have been difficult with a BT30."