Flexible Manufacturing Cell
In October, 2001, MTM purchased an existing 71,000 square foot facility directly adjacent to our main operations on 19th Street in downtown Indianapolis. This has allowed Major Tool to relocate production operations from a smaller 37,000 square foot satellite plant, which was 10 miles away, to a larger facility. This has had several advantages. Now, production operations have ready access to all MTM support services, including Engineering, Maintenance, Quality Lab, etc. We are realizing the benefits of consolidation all operations on our central site. The larger facility has allowed us to better arrange our production area in terms of equipment placement and product flow.

An exciting addition to our production facility is the installation of a Flexible Manufacturing Cell. The FMC integrates a pallet transfer line which includes (4) 5-axis Machining Centers, (1) 4-Axis Machining Center, (2) Vertical Turning centers, (1) integrated Coordinate Measuring Machine, and (1) robotic deburring station. The cell is able to handle parts up to 60" in diameter, and 60" tall, and has been sized to be able to add up to 3 additional machining centers in the future. The machining cell will allow parts to be loaded to await several subsequent operations without ever being removed from the fixture. This provides our customers with more accurate products, without the cost of multiple set-ups. The new cell is being tailored for recurring production part runs in quantities of 10-several hundred pieces. An investment of this magnitude is nearly unheard of in the contract manufacturing industry, of which MTM is a significant participant.

UPDATE - Our second FMS manufacturing cell is now fully operational. The new installation is a perfect compliment to the existing FMS cell that MTM installed in 2001. This cell is made up of five (5) four-axis horizontal machining centers with 48-630mm pallets, resulting in a part size envelope of up to 32” X 32”. In addition to the machines integrated in the cell, our installation includes an identical 4-axis HMC that will be installed adjacent to the cell. This machine will be used to provide program development and start-up trials without interrupting the production flow on the FMS. The new cell utilizes the same control as the large FMS cell so programs are compatible and usable on both cells. The installation was completed with space for an additional 2 machining centers and an integrated CMM to be added for additional future capacity. This investment provides our customers with a significant increase in production machining capacity and capability.

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