We recently visited the MAZAK factories in Japan — a company founded by the Yamazaki family. At this year’s EMO exhibition, MAZAK’s central theme was Industry 4.0. Among other things, they presented the iSmart Factory concept, which we were able to see in person at the Oguchi plant. We also visited the company’s technology centre and the Minokamo and Seiko plant units, where additive manufacturing was showcased alongside multi-tasking machines (INTEGREX) and the latest generation of CNC machining and turning centres. We also visited the Optonics plant, where laser cutting machines are manufactured underground.

The MAZAK factory was founded by Sadakichi Yamazaki in 1919 in Nagoya. It started out making straw mat weaving machines, then moved to industrial wood-cutting machinery before beginning the production of machine tools, lathes, and drilling machines in 1928. This foundation has driven the continuous development of the MAZAK manufacturing company we know today. MAZAK is one of the world’s leading machine tool manufacturers, selling approximately 30% of its machines in Europe.

But how does one actually get to the point of designing and building an iSmart factory?

MAZAK launched its first flexible manufacturing system in 1981, at which point robots were already delivering raw material to the machining centres. Between 1983 and 1986, manufacturing underwent huge development. The groundwork was laid for machine-to-machine (m2m) communication, production began using computers, and the computer system communicated with production — at that point, only one way. By 1998, two-way computer communication had been achieved. From 2006, the eFactory concept was developed, in which manufacturing cells worked autonomously and chuck changes were also performed by robots. The iSmart factory followed in 2017.

What is the iSmart factory?

The Mazak iSmart Factory is built on three core pillars: SMOOTH Technology; the new SmartBox, which provides faster data analysis with enhanced security; and the MT Connect standard communication protocol. The components are interconnected to enable real-time sharing of production data between the shop floor and the offices — resulting in shorter lead times, reduced in-process inventory, and lower indirect machining costs for manufacturers. SMOOTH Technology — which includes the world’s fastest CNC controller and the Smooth Process Support (SPS) factory management software — is at the heart of Mazak’s Industry 4.0 infrastructure. SPS contains software modules that can provide management with valuable information. Through functions such as machining programme generation, centralised tool management, production scheduling, and real-time remote monitoring of machine status, networked data sharing delivers the highest efficiency for plant and system managers. According to their experience, this can reduce machining time by 30%, while also connecting the complete machine status and providing real-time monitoring and analysis capabilities.

During the week-long visit, in addition to the latest technology, the Yamazaki family, MAZAK President and CEO Tomohisa Yamazaki, and the company’s senior management and Hungarian representatives also took care to share traditional Japanese values — something that impressed not only the Hungarian team but all the other international guests as well.

Source: MAZAK, MIMTA2017