The automotive industry is a vast market where in the recent past there has been a high demand for the diesel operated vehicles for their improved efficiency & reduced emissions. Bosch made Hydraulic Gear Pump has very high demand. Bosch Rexroth plant was unable to fulfill the Customer demand due the bottleneck in Grinding process. To overcome this capacity gap, Bosch Rexroth Plant need to invest 80 million. Since ROI is > 5 years, Bosch management rejected the proposal of new investment. Hence Bosch Rexroth (HejP) approached Bosch Bidadi to improve the productivity by 30%, Bosch Bidadi plant discussed, analyzed & decided to support Bosch Rexroth (HejP) by utilizing the surplus machine, without any additional investment with Bosch Bidadi grinding specialist team. To enhance the process performance, we applied Machine Learning (ML- Supervised Learning Model) techniques to optimize the tool life by 25%. Total revenue generation to Bosch Bidadi Plant is 50 Million INR.

Trigger for the project?

Our main Business vision for the year 2021 is to “Lead in Lean process and excellence in operations”. To keep our self as cost competent and gain profitability, Bosch Bidadi taken challenging task of establishing new Product (Gear Shaft) in < 2 Months during COVID Pandemic.

The following were the project key targets to be fulfilled.

1. Establishing Gear shaft grinding process in Conventional grinding machine (20 years old) without OEM Support within 2 months during COVID pandemic situation.
   • Cycle time reduction (152 sec/pc 475 sec/pc) by optimizing the multi-stage grinding to single stage grinding.

2. Gear thickness rejection reduction through Shainin FACTUAL approach.
3. Tool cost optimization using Machine Learning techniques.

Solution generation, Innovation and Complexity :

Task 1: Establishment of Gear shaft (Multi stage to single stage process)

• Boisch-HejP approached Bosch Bidadi plant for establishment of Gear shaft due to high demand from Customer & low plant capacity
• Bosch-BidP had brainstorming with experts internally & finalised to utilise surplus Junker Machines to support Bosch- HejP without any additional investment of Machines within 2months.
• To achieve concave profile of 5p on Gear shaft ,we need to convert from straight grinding to angular wheel head grinding which calls for 3ONC program modification
• Due to key elements like axis, tooling's, fixtures & software modifications to fulfil the grinding requirement of Gear shaft, initial proposal rejected by Management for high cost.
• We took the challenging task of establishing Gear shaft in 20yrs old MAE without OEM support with the stringent time-line <.

Task 2: Reduction of Gear shaft thickness rejection using Shainin - FACTUAL approach:

• After establishment ,we observed gear shaft thickness variation+/-20p against tolerance of 5 p ,with internal rejection of 5%
• Applied Shainin — FACTUAL approach to identify the RED X(Root cause) using WOW vs BOB
• Multi-vari & ISO Plot tools used to analyse the variation & identified the Root cause

Task 3- Adantiya Dynamic Drassmn (ADM to nntimisa ten! Cost-

• During cost analysis, team found 20INR/pc spend only for Grinding wheels ,Avg. 30Iakh rupees spent/yr
• Team decided to optimize the tool cost to achieve benchmark cost/pc,frequent manual dressing leads to high tool cost/pc
• Innovative concept applied using "Machine learning technique" of Adaptive Dynamic Dressing(ADD) in cylindrical grinding
• After dressing, grinding wheel will be sharp, hence vibration signal during grinding will be less. After grinding —250pcs grinding wheel grains will lose its sharpness which leads to high vibration signal during grinding
• Taking this contrast data,ML model designed in such a way machine will automatically calls for dressing based on grinding wheel topography.

Implementation of solution :

Task 1: Establishment of Gear shaft :

• To achieve the 5p thickness toleranceam modified & implemented the existing diameter gauge to thickness measurement gauge without investing 8lakh for new thickness gauge
• Internally designed & manufactured friction centers to drive gear shaft while grinding, this enable us to integrate 3 stages to single stage grinding
• Internally designed & manufactured grippers, loading trays, master samples & loading programs this enable us for auto loading & unloading of parts
•  Quality results are validated through Cm, Cmk study with >1.66 result for all critical

Task 2: Reduction of Gear shaft thickness rejection using Shainin- FACTUAL approach:

• From Regression analysis, we found that T1 value (thickness value of gauge1) has strong positive co-relation with gear thickness value.  Based on this input, supplier wise incoming parts identification introduced.
• NC program(as per above pic) developed in such a way, based on incoming parts mean thickness value, in process gauge automatically set T1 value & thereby gear thickness value controlled & produced with minimum variation.

Task 3: Adaptive Dynamic Dressing (ADD) to optimise tool Cost: 

• To capture & analyze vibration signals we used BOSCH designed IoT gateways
• Data are pre-cleaned & converted to structured data using MiT Lab software
• Data categorized using 13time domain parameters & 3 frequency domain parameters
• These parameters are analyzed & ranked using ANOVA(analysis of variance)
• Top2 ranked parameters, vibration peek amplitude & vibration standard deviation where taken for model building
• Degradation model keeps on tracking the grinding cycle in-real time & decision for dressing will be taken by machine learning model based on grinding wheel topography.

Results / Impact:

Resource impact:

Business metrics :

To improve the competitiveness of the business in a changing BS-IV to BSVI regulation on Two wheeler & Four wheeler business, through

• Innovative cost effective alternate product design to FI (Fuel Injection System).
• To completely reengineering process from procurement to delivery.
• To inculcate set of new work ethos in the plant
• To adapt World Class Manufacturing Methodologies

Product

Innovative, Creative e-carburetor patented and approved from ARAI and customer

• Quality function deployment (QFD )
• Multiple Environment Over Stress Testing (MEOST)
• Short- Term & Long- Term Endurance Test
• Reliability Engineering
• Customer field proving and approval

Process

Through technology mapping and adaptation of World Class Manufacturing Methodology.

• Quality function deployment (QFD)
• Single Piece Flow
• Multi Machine Manning
• Built in Poka Yoke
• TPM Basics and Jishu Hozen
• Quality Planning, QA Matrix
• Online Quality Control
• Computer Aided SOP
• Levelled Production and Inventory Management Through KANBAN
• Visual Management/ DRM
• Continuous Improvements (kaizen)

People

• Build zero defect product - Operator responsibility for built in Quality
• Skill building – OJT, OFJT
• Total employee involvement

Trigger for the project - To compete with FI Technology in cost effective manner meeting adequately BS-VI norms

Brief explanation of e- Carburetor:

Carburetor having four main circuits,

1. Inlet Circuit
2. Pilot circuit
3. Main circuit
4. Starter circuit

This four circuits control the fuel consumption and life of the vehicle.

Main parts of e-Carburetor & Its function :

1. Mixing body: It is used to connect between engine and fuel tank. Fuel and Air passing through mixing body circuits to control the ratio to meet vehicle speed and emission requirements.
2. Main jet: Passage of fuel from the carburetor. Main jet is an important part in vehicle while we are driving at higher speed.
3. Pilot jet: Passage of fuel from the carburetor. Important contribution part for lower speed and idle vehicle condition.
4. Air solenoid assembly: Solenoid is incorporated in the main air circuit and pilot air circuit to control the air fuel ratio. Air fuel ratio is maintained at the required level with the help of ECU.
5. Starter solenoid assembly: Solenoid is incorporated in the starter circuit to control the air fuel ratio. Air fuel ratio is maintained at the required level with the help of ECU.
6. TPS (Throttle Position Sensor): For throttle opening with variation ignition time. % of throttle valve opening. 

Advantages of e-Carb from  M-Carb and Competitive with Fuel injection system:

• BS-IV norms requirements - M-carb
• BS-VI norms requirements - e-Carb
• e-Carb meet BS-VI norms competetive with Fuel injection system
• FI systems cost is 30% higher than e-Carb system.
• Easily servicable compared to FI system Since,Carburetor is used for a  very long period of time so knowledge about carburetor is user friendly.
• Additional electronic sensors used in FI, so its very complicated for servicing comparing to carburetor.

Solution generation, Innovation and Complexity.

1. In current scenario the price of FI system per product is very high which will increase the price of two wheelers in Indian market. In order to overcome this we need an alternate product.
2. In collaboration with Bajaj R&D and Our R&D team came up with an Idea of developing modified carburetor from the existing model with addition of electronics components like solenoids & innovated a new product (e- Carburetor).
3. To transform our manufacturing setup from Traditional to ‘state of the art’ Technology e-carburetor.Machining

1. From individual Drilling (SPM) stations to CNC (Multi Operation) - To improve process capability
2. Multi loading setup to Single loading setup – Productivity with wrong loading prevention
3. Cutting Tools - Carbide cutting tools to PCD tools – Tool life improvement and accuracy
4. Manual checking to Online dimension checking – To avoid manual error
5. Machine interlock - To avoid defects passing through to next stage

Assembly

1. Part traceability and Online data capturing with barcode
2. Multi Station Operations (Rotary) – To improve productivity
3. Auto feeding setup for child parts (e.g., Ball, Plug, Jets) – To improve productivity and avoid manual error
4. Machine interlocks – To avoid defects passing through to next stage
5. Poka- Yoke – To avoid wrong loading, double part missing operation (Preventive Poka- yoke)
6. Tightening and torque with feedback setup – To avoid customer complaints
7. Manual judgment in carburetor performance (G-Test) to Auto Judgment – Consistency in quality
8. Packing setup – From cotton box to reusable pallets –Environment/ Cost reduction
9. All stations ok part verification before packing – To avoid customer complaints

Results / Impact.

Resource impact.

Business metrics.

Title : Execution of Radar-X for Export (Armenia)

Team : Military Radars -Strategic Business Unit (MR-SBU), BEL

To successfully execute the Radar-X for Export (Armenia), quantity 4 No., in the stipulated timeline of 8 months as against the current timeline of 18 months and overcoming the challenges of post delivery maintenance hurdles, a new foreign language requirement for communication & documentation and production related issues due to reliability, obsolescence and lack of support from OEM for critical parts of the system.

Trigger for the project

What is Radar-X: The Radar-X is a prestigious project for Military Radars SBU , contributing to more than 53% of the turnover for MR SBU for last few years.

Radar-X is a mobile radar system designed for automatic first-round location of artillery weapons. In-flight track data is used to extrapolate hostile projectile trajectories to the firing point. Also, friendly projectile trajectories can be tracked for registration of friendly fire. Thus, RADAR-X acts as a force multiplier in the battle field. The main types of weapon against which Radar-X is designed are Mortars, Rocket Launchers and Guns. The Radar-X is a two vehicle configuration consisting of the Radar Vehicle and Power Source cum BITE vehicle.

Business need: BEL Bagged the order for manufacturing 30 Radars. After successful trials, the Radar-X was inducted into the Indian armed forces. During the period 2017-2019 BEL has delivered 30 Radars at various field locations of India. As the execution for Indian Armed forces was drawing to a close, BEL was on the lookout for new orders for the equipment. The MR SBU was particularly looking for an avenue to tap into the export business potential for its sustenance. For this the product was exhibited in various international defence exhibitions.

Customer requirement: During 2018, an Armenian Team having seen the product in one of the defence expos, later witnessed the firing trials of Radar-X and showed interest in the product. In a major breakthrough for BEL and MR SBU, Armenia signed a contract with BEL for the supply of 4 RADAR-X on 25th May 2019. BEL had won the contract against global competitors. Armenia was the first European country to procure Defence equipment worth 40 million from India. A proud moment for India, who was once upon a time searching for a solution to equip its armed forces, was now capable of exporting it to a foreign nation.

The Challenges: The crucial challenge of bagging of an export order for an indigenously developed defence equipment was met. However, many challenges lay ahead. Involvement of various external providers and various units of Bharat electronics in providing parts for the system and the involvement of various customer agencies in the validation process makes the execution of the project in time a challenge.

The major challenges seen in the execution of RADAR-X -Export are as follows—

1. Realization in Short Cycle time: The standard cycle time for manufacturing of 4 units of Radar-X was 18 months. The contract called for 18 months of lead time. Customer requested for further reduction in lead time. Considering the geopolitical scenario in and across the Customer’s location, the request was honoured. Manufacturing of 4 units of RADAR-X in a record time of 8 months was in itself a major challenge considering the changes required to be carried out to suit the export, the procurement process time, long lead times from partners and the integration cycle time.

2. Breaking the Language Barrier: As the equipment had to be deployed on a foreign land, that too a non-English speaking nation, language of communication and operation was a barrier. Also, Armenia wanted documentation in Russian. This being a project of national interest and security, the liberty to trust a third party for translation of manuals from English to Russian was ruled out.

3. Crossing Post Delivery Support Hurdles: The equipment already deployed at various locations of the nation had to undergo preventive maintenance for up keeping of the RADAR operation. Extending the same frequency of preventive maintenance on a foreign land was neither feasible to BEL nor was acceptable by the customer.

4. Over Coming Production Issues: RADAR-X has evolved to the current phase from past two decades. Issues related to production, obsolescence, quality and reliability had surfaced. The fact that many parts of these subsystems come from foreign source makes it highly challenging to realize these subsystems in time for the RADAR-X export. These issues had to be addressed.

3. Solution generation, Innovation and Complexity
   1. Realization in Short Cycle time:The first challenge of Realization in Short Cycle time was addressed by following 3-pronged approach: Procurement process time, Long Lead times from partners and Integration/Assembly time

1. Procurement process time:

1. Project: Six sigma

Project Details: The goal was to reduce the cycle time to access the contact details of vendors from an average of 8 hours to couple of minutes. This was made possible by building an on line Sequential Query Language based vender contact database and ease of access was given to relevant stake holders through .net web-based user interface.

Achievement: The sigma value increased from nearly 0 to 3 sigma.(Fig 2)

2. Project: Six sigma

Project Details: Second project under taken was for optimization of the process of sending enquiry for the requirements. This was done by transforming the existing matrix based structure to project based structure. Where in the processing of PRs for sending enquiry is centralized. This facilitated in faster pace of operation and better control over the process (Fig 3).

Achievement: The sigma value increased from nearly 0 to 2.9 sigma.(Fig 4)

2. Long Lead times from partners:

Project: Alternate Sourcing

• Antenna Assembly is manufactured by BEL-GAD unit with a lead time of 9 months. On study it was revealed that major portion of this lead time was consumed in arranging the special grade Aluminum from Germany. After doing vigorous survey throughout the country and following stringent quality checks the item was obtained from an indigenous source within a shorter time. This resulted in reduction of the cycle time for manufacturing of the antenna assembly from 9 months to 5 months.

• Slew Ring Assembly is manufactured by our BEL Chennai unit, which had a lead time of 9 months. The bottle neck was manufacturing of the bearing at Heavy Vehicle Factory, Avadi. Numerous vendors were approached in the country for the purpose of building an alternate source to offload the load. As it was difficult to obtain the required quality, volume within the time line within India, a Russian source was identified who was able to machine the bearing in a very short duration. This lead to the reduction of cycle time to manufacture the Slew ring assembly from 9 months to 5 months.

• Battery Pack Li-Ion: This part was previously sourced from a foreign vendor. Due to explosive nature of item it could be transported only through sea shipment. Hence it was having a long lead time of 15 months. Efforts were put to develop an alternate Indian source which was successful. This resulted in reduction of the cycle time for sourcing of the Battery Packs from 15 months to 3 months and resulted in a savings of Rs. 4 Lakhs.

3. Integration/Assembly time:

Project: Improvement project-CQE

Project Details: The kitting activity used to be initiated on having 80-85% of items in stock after procurement. This activity was advanced to an earlier phase of the process flow (Fig 5). Where in soon after the MRP Run and first round of stock is pegged is completed. At this stage free stock items, which are already in the stores, are pegged to the project account. This gave sufficient lead time to address the issues related to stock discrepancy / quality of the raw material stored, without hampering the speed of assembly/integration.

Project: Schedule Compression

Project details: The standard time to integrate 1 RADAR-X that is 15 days and unit production mode (serial) took 60 days of time for integration of 4 RADARS. By designing multiple SOPs, Templates, Jigs and Fixtures, the cycle time was reduced for 1 RADAR to 7 days, totaling to 7*4=28 days (Fig 6). The mode of production was changed from unit to batch production with 4 teams deployed to work on 4 systems simultaneously in shifts. This led to a significant reduction in integration time for 4 RADARS from 60 days to 7 days.

4. 2. Breaking the Language Barrier:

Project: Bridging the Competency GAP

Project Details: The Customer wanted all the manuals in Russian language. In order to build the Internal competency of the team, a 90 hours Russian language program was inculcated to the project Engineers. This not only enabled the change of language in manuals to Russian language but also paved way towards redesigning the software to incorporate Russian language in all the user interfaces (Fig 7).

5. Crossing Post Delivery Support Hurdles:

Hydraulic Jack: Hydraulic jack is an important subsystem of the RADAR and plays crucial role during deployment and operation by providing the required elevation and stability to the antenna assy. This has major impact on the accuracy of the RADAR output. The presence of rubber items like seals and gaskets; frequent failures of valves; oil contamination and leakages, makes the system prone to failures. Frequent preventive maintenance activities carried out to address this was not feasible for the export project. Multiple brain storming sessions with design department, various vendors resulted in change of the design from Hydraulic system to Electromechanical system. The major advantages of Electromechanical stabilizer are that it has a maintenance free life of 3 years, are motorized when compared to manual mode of operation in the previous design and is more rugged and reliable (Fig 8).

3.4 Over Coming Production Issues:

The challenges in production were mainly related to obsolescence and consequent Reliability issues in Subsystems- System Computer, 20.1” Display, Synthetic display and Programmable Signal processing unit. The parts of these subsystems come from foreign sources makes it highly challenging to realize these subsystems in time for the RADAR-X export.

1. System Computer.

Project: Six sigma

Project Details: The failure rate of System computer was 47 % . 91 % of failure was happening during the production test procedures. As different types of issues were occurring and issues were popping up at various environmental test conditions like vibration, high temperature and Damp heat, it became very difficult to find the root cause of the failures and hence this case was taken up as a six sigma case study by the team. The initial yield was only 52.3 %. (Fig 9)

Analysis: By validating the causes using cause and effect diagram we arrived at 1 major potential cause and two minor causes. 80 % of the failure were occurring in the VME chassis. The VME chassis is supplied by the OEM ELMA which is a UK based company and is integrated with the help of external provider RTTS, Bangalore. Further analysis revealed three issues happening in the VME Chassis. An inter relationship Digraph was made to analyze why some of the power supplies were permanently failing (Fig 11)

1. Issue: The power supply connector pin inside the VME Chassis was flaring up during the crimping process, resulting in intermittent contact which was disrupting the power supply in the system computer

Rectification: Introduction of dimension checks at M/s RTTS (External provider) end during the integration

2. Issue: The internal VME chassis was vibrating independently with respect to the outer chassis and the wires were rubbing against the baffle plates resulting in the wires insulation getting chaffed off. So whenever the wire touches the baffle plates, it was creating a short and affecting the power supply. This was due to an error in the OEM’s process

Rectification: Providing insulating sheets and edging strip at critical points like the fan tray edges (Fig 11). These changes were introduced in the process of M/s Elma (UK based OEM)

2. 20.1” display.

20.1” display is used along with the Radar scan converter and Synthetic display subsystems. The display is made by France based OEM IRTS and is integrated through the external provider RTTS Bangalore. The issue was that there was a high rate of failure of around 50 % during the environmental stress screening. And considering the high rate of failure we involved the OEM IRTS at BEL to identify the root cause and rectify the issues. The first issue was that the low temperature issue and the root cause was identified to the routing of the LVDS cable which was routed very close to the heater cable inside the display (Fig 12). The issue was rectified by the OEM at BEL.

The second issue was failure in high temperatures and Damp heat. The issue was related to the control board of the display and the control board was already on its way out due to obsolescence and giving reliability issues. This resulted in a search for an alternate source / new design

3. Synthetic Display

The synthetic display subsystem consists of a Main processing unit, functional keyboard and 20.1 “ display. The cards inside the main processing unit comes from Adlink USA. The functional keyboard is in house manufactured by BEL and the 20.1” display comes from IRTS France.The graphic cards and CPCI card of the main processing unit were having high failures (45.5 % failure rate) during the environmental tests and the functional keyboard was having complex switches in it making it very difficult to test and troubleshoot (Fig 13)

Low key response from the external provider and long lead time to rectify the boards from the OEM made it highly impossible to get the parts on time for the export and this led to looking for an alternate source / new design..

4. Programmable Signal processing Unit

The programmable signal processing subsystem has two PCBs called DIF and DIC PCBs which have multiple FPGAs in it (Fig 14). These FPGAs were obsolete. Hence the BEL Design team worked to provide a single board solution with a single FPGA.

5. Beam Steering Unit:

Many components required for this assembly were obsolete. Design activities were undertaken in collaboration with an India source. An improved product was designed and lead to a cost saving of Rs. 95.37 Lakhs

4. Implementation

The implementations were carried out with different team working on various improvement projects, six sigma, and design changes. Five project management (PMP) Templates like Issue logs, Timelines and stakeholder register provided the implementation structure for the project management. The implementation phase involved the support of External providers and OEM from across the world, with whose help the highly challenging task of correcting OEM/ external provider processes and developments of new design was made possible.

1. System Computer : Improvements in VME Chassis achieved an yield of 95.5 %, with a savings of 18 + lakhs and 600 + man hours saved. During the implementation, improvements in the process and product of the OEM ELMA and the process of external provider RTTS were carried out (Fig 15).

Risk Mitigation : Considering the lessons learnt and the risk, parallel action was initiated to look for an alternate source and our design team came up with a new design provided by Ayur (Fig 15) .... with savings on indigenization being 41.88 lakhs. The new design was much better in terms of maintainability.

2. 20.1 “ display: The wiring process issues in the 20.1 “ display was rectified by the OEM M/s IRTS (Fig 16)..

Risk Mitigation :The risk of end of life of critical boards in the display was addressed by looking for an alternate source which was provided by Paras defence systems (Fig 16). The indigenization gave us a savings of 17 lakhs plus for 4 sets of RADAR-X

3. Synthetic display: New Design for synthetic display was provided by Paras defence systems was able to provide a better solution- a modular single integrated panel PC with a simpler Keyboard (Fig 17).

Risk Mitigation :There was a high risk of the equipment failing in ESS Tests considering the completely new design. To mitigate the same, several iterations of evaluation with the external provider was done and this indigenization enabled considerable savings of more than 286 lakhs.

4. PSPU: The change in design of the DIF and DIF Board to a single board (Fig 18) has enabled reduction in testing, troubleshooting and manufacturing time and has resulted in a savings of more than 40 lakhs.

5. Results/ Impact: Results/ Impact is as shown in Table 1

5. Resource impact: Resources impact on drastic reduction in lubricant/ coolant and reduction in carbon footprint and e waste is as shown in Table 2

5. Business metrics: Business metrics achieved is as shown in Table 3

5. External recognitions / Internal stakeholder appreciation and other additional info: Appreciation for the project from various agencies is as shown in Table 4
6. Scope for horizontal deployment

With the execution of Radar-X – Export, the Brand of BEL has expanded beyond the nations boundary and is facilitating expansion of business across the globe supporting BELs vision of becoming a world class enterprises in Professional Electronics. Several other countries have shown interest in the product.

The changes in products and processes are currently in operation for a new project RADAR- Y.

Note: Confidential information like Name of the projects and Direct costs have been indicated as X / Y

• To enhance the capacity and utilization of Conventional Innocenti Lathe machine for pre and post coating operations through innovation and automation.

2. TRIGGER OF THE PROJECT

• Water cool roll received from competitor for coating having dimensions of ɸ 1600mm and L 1900mm (Ref no: 14727 Dtd : 09/10/2016) (Fig. 2.1)
• We already had an upper edge over our competitors in terms of coating capabilities. Having an in-house machining set up would have enabled us to be more competitive for new manufacturing orders and turnkey projects.

Fig. 2.1

• Order confirmation from customer for coating and polishing of steel mill roll having ɸ 1500mm and L 2200mm (Ref no: VJNR/112973/REF/R/4500062006 Dtd: 25/02/2017. Job received on 07/03/2017)
  • We had capability to do coating of such big sized rolls but pre-coating operations such as coating removal, pre-machining and post-coating operations such as polishing and super-finishing had to be outsourced.
• Implications of outsourcing a roll with ɸ 1500mm and L 2200mm
• Regular enquiries for diamond polishing of rolls greater than ɸ 1000mm.
• Market Potential – As per feedback from JSW Bellary around 70 rolls of ɸ above 1000mm are installed in one plant out of which 50% have specialized coating. Each established steel mill has the same requirement of rolls. Therefore, considering 35 installed coated rolls in one plant and considering total of 10 steel mill plants we can further evaluate:
  • New Manufacturing – Avg. value Rs. 8L per roll. 8 x 18 x 10 = 14.4 Cr
  • Job Work – Avg. value Rs. 3.5L per roll. 3.5 x 25 x 10 = 8.75 Cr
  • Repair – Avg. value Rs 5L per roll. 5 x 18 x 10 = 9 Cr
  • Total Market Potential Per Annum – 32.15 Cr

3. SOLUTION

• Option 1
  • Buy New Machine
    • Heavy Duty machines of such size is not manufactured in INDIA
    • To meet our requirement, the machine will have to be custom made and imported. An approximate cost of Conventional Heavy Duty machine with a size of ɸ 1800mm and L 5000mm will cost around Rs 2 Cr (*This is just an indicative value covering cost of machine, freight, import duty and custom clearance, commissioning and training etc.)
    • Turn around time from Order to delivery of the Machine
  • Buy Second hand machine
    • Availability of machines as per required size is very rare
    • Approximate cost of machine was around Rs 50 lakhs
    • Turn around time from Order to delivery of the machine and customisation.
• Option 2
  • Upgrade/Modify existing machine
    • Two conventional lathe machines in existing setup were identified based on requirement
    • Indian make machine – Rajendra Lathe
      • Machine Dimensions: Turning ɸ – 600mm, Swing Over ɸ – 800mm, Between centre length – 5000mm
      • Lack of rigidity of construction of bed and tailstock – Necessary for proper clamping and rotation of job
      • Spindle was belt driven - Not suitable for turning operation
• • • Italy make machine – Innocenti Lathe
      • Machine Dimensions: Turning ɸ – 750mm, Swing Over ɸ – 1000mm, Between centre length – 6000mm (Fig. 3.1)
      • Rigid construction of machine bed and tailstock – Essential for load carrying capacity and support
      • V and Flat guideways were bigger in size – Better clamping and support
      • Spindle was gear driven - Turn heavy job easily
      • There was positive locking to tail stock base – Ensure better safety during turning operation
      • Spindle was having rigid bush bearings – Better load carrying capacity. Extended life of spindle bearing

  Fig. 3.1

• Based on the above assessment, Option 1 was discarded as the investment cost was very high and would have a longer ROI period.
• Option 2 was selected and it was decided to increase the swing over diameter of Italy make Innocenti conventional lathe machine by adding Cast Iron distance blocks to the Head stock and Tail stock and replacing the X-axis slide with new cast iron slide.

4. IMPLEMENTATION

• MECHANICAL
• Dismantled the entire machine
• Took dimensions of head stock, Tail stock and X axis slide for making casting patterns and casting moulds.
• Casting was outsourced to Vishal Casting - Pune
• Entire machine scrapping was done by outsourced vendors on labour basis.
• Bush scrapping of the spindle for correction of spindle run-out.
• Machining of casted moulds as per required dimension of Head stock, Tail stock and X-slide (Fig. 4.1/4.2/4.3)

  Fig. 4.1  Fig. 4.2  Fig. 4.3

• Servicing of entire Head stock assembly, Feed gear box assembly, Apron gear box assembly for eliminating mechanical issues.
• Manufacturing of new lubrication system (Fig. 4.4) to get below benefits:
  • We added pressure switch (Fig. 4.5) to check spindle lubrication pressure continuously. Faulty lubrication will raise an alarm (Fig. 4.6) and protect the entire Head stock assembly.
  • We added inline filtration system to remove dust from lube oil to protect the Head stock bearings.
  • We make separate tank of 30 L capacity for heat dissipation to increase productivity and reduce unexpected downtime

  Fig. 4.4  Fig. 4.5  Fig. 4.6

• Provided separate lubrication pump for Apron gear box assembly. (Fig. 4.7)
• Provided centralized lubrication system for X and Z axis slide. (Fig. 4.8)

  Fig.4.7  Fig. 4.8

• ELECTRICAL
• We decided to convert CONVENTIONAL machine to SMART machine.
  • Smart machine means,
    • The electrical system will continuously monitor its peripheral Lubrication pressure, Oil level, Operating current etc.
    • If there will be any fault in machine, system will automatically generate an alarm for same. (Fig 4.9)
    • As per interlock written in PLC logic, machine will not run until clear of an alarm.

(Fig 4.10)

  Fig. 4.9  Fig. 4.10 

• • • Machine will take care of itself thereby reducing time and cost for Autonomous and Preventive maintenance.
• New Electrical panel and Field wiring to avoid any electrical breakdowns.
• Incorporated VFD for spindle motor drive (Fig. 4.11) for smooth start and stop by ramp up and ramp down function of VFD. This eliminated possibility of damage to the job by immediate jerking. This also help to increase life of machine head stock assembly.

  Fig. 4.11  Fig. 4.12  Fig. 4.13

• Servo motor drive for X and Z axis feed which enabled minimum feed setting for big diameter jobs. (Fig. 4.12)
• Converted conventional contactor and relay logic with latest PLC logic due to which wiring complications where minimized and better process interlocking was achieved. (Fig. 4.13)
• HMI (Human Machine Interface) for easy diagnosis, Spindle R.P.M. input, X and Z axis feed input, alarm display and diagnosis of faults easily by checking I/O of system. (Fig.4.14/4.15)

 Fig. 4.14  Fig. 4.15 

• We have taken most possible faults in systems like (Fig.4.16)
  • MPCB trip faults
  • Spindle lube pressure fault.
  • Centralised lube oil level fault
  • Centralised lube oil pressure fault.
  • Spindle drive VFD faults.
  • Servo motor driver faults etc.  Fig. 4.16 
• Two operator panels for ease of operation. One on Head stock assembly and another on X axis slide. (Fig.4.17/4.18)

 Fig. 4.17 Fig. 4.18

• Remote pendant for spindle jog operation. (Fig.4.19)
• Tower lamp on machine for remote monitoring of machine status.
• Male-Female SMC connector for coolant pump supply enabled easy cleaning of coolant pump. (Fig.4.20)
• Male-Female SMC connector for easy dismantling of machine for maintenance purpose. (Fig.4.21)

 Fig. 4.19 Fig. 4.20  Fig. 4.21 

• RISK MANAGEMENT

• MATERIAL MANAGEMENT & REBUILDING COST

5. RESULT/IMPACT

• Enhanced existing machine turning capability from 750 mm to 1500 mm diameter. (Fig. 5.1/5.2)

  Fig. 5.1 Fig. 5.2 

• Restored machine geometrical accuracy within 0.1mm.
• Ability to do turning, polishing and re-centring operations on same machine.
• No need for outsourcing. All operations could be done in-house leading to cost saving, prompt deliveries and better quality control.
• Increased chances of winning customer orders through capability and competitiveness

6.  RESOURCE IMPACT

7. BENEFITS/BUSINESS MATRIX

• PRODUCTION
• Turning of max diameter of up to 2000 mm in house.
• Increased job opportunities.
• Outsourced operations eliminated.
• Operator dependency reduced as turning and polishing being done on same machine.
• Setup Time reduced by 20%,
• Operating Fatigue reduced due to automation and HMI Interface
• QUALITY
• Enhance geometrical accuracy of machine.
  • Taper over total Length – 0.1mm
  • Spindle Runout – 0.03mm Max
  • Axial Play – 0.03mm Max.
• Zero Rework or Rejection till date
• COST
• We could save cost of pre-machining and polishing. As in-house development of machine.
• Outsource Operation Cost Saving – Rs. 3,75,000/- per annum
• Setup Time cost Saving – Rs. 95,250/- (127 Hrs Setup Time reduced* Rs.750/Hr Machining cost)
• Return on Investment (ROI)
  • ROI Period – Less than 6 Months
• DELIVERY
• On time delivery of job as in-house machining and polishing facility.
• SAFETY
• We incorporated all interlock in machine to avoid any accidents.
• Zero Accident till date.
• MORAL
• Operator friendly operation of machine (Use push button operating system rather than operating lever)
• Easy for diagnosis of faults as particular alarms displayed after accruing of faults.

8. EXTERNAL RECOGNITION

• Appreciation Letter from JSW, Ballari.
• Repeat orders from JSW.
• Following is the customer list added due to increase in capacity:
  • Siemens Ltd, Indfab, Ruhfus India, CMI FPE.

9.  HORIZONTAL DEPLOYMENT

• We can deploy same technique to another horizontal lathe which is Russian make Conventional Lathe Machine.