Heavy floods have battered Chennai’s industrial and business hubs leading to losses that run into thousands of crores of rupees, claimed experts.

Most automobile companies in Kanchipuram, which houses plants of a dozen bigwigs, registered huge losses. The rain not only hampered production process for days, but also triggered shortage of essential supplies for production to resume. In many plants, workforce remained less than what was needed for full-strength operation due to limited connectivity and transportation.

Sensing the emergency of the situation India’s largest Machine Tool Group, ACE Micromatic has started various flood relief support to companies in that area such as dedicated flood helpline number. Through this article B.Harish, General Manager, Micromatic Machine Tools (Pvt) Ltd explains what to do when your machine get wet.

FAQs for flood affected machines of Ace Micromatic Group

My CNC shop floor is wet due to flooding till Level 0. What precautions should I take for safeguarding my CNC Capital Equipment?

• Do not switch on the Machine
• Dry the floor completely
• Use a halogen/high voltage bulb to remove moisture in Electronic Cabinet, Voltage Stabilizer & Operator Panel for four hours.
• Check the incoming cable from mains to stabilizer & from stabilizer to machine for damages & water entry. If damaged do not switch on the machine & immediately replace the cable.
• Check the presence and also connectivity of the machine earthing.
• Call the authorized CNC Service engineer for the final check and switching on power on the machine.

My CNC machine is flooded till Level 1. What additional precautions should I take?

• Repeat all the points listed above from a to d
• Call MICROMATIC Engineer for removal of Transformer, Spindle motor, Lubrication motor, Hydraulic motor, Power Supply unit etc.,
• Coordinate with MICROMATIC Engineer for sending the above items to CNC system manufacturer for drying and repairs.
• Completely drain the hydraulic tank, lubrication tank & coolant tank and replace with fresh oil & coolant. Do not reuse the water contaminated oil, unless it is cleaned and verified by authorized representative
• Check the presence and also connectivity of the machine earthing.
• Call the authorized CNC Service engineer for the re-fitment of all parts and for final check before switching on power to the m/c.

My CNC machine is flooded till Level 2. What additional precautions should I take?

• At this level the spindle, axes motors, hardened or LM guideways, ball screws, part of electrical cabinet etc are likely to be under water. The repairs or likely replacement for the above equipment needs to be done by authorized MICROMATIC Engineer only.
• The spindle needs to be removed and sent to m/c manufacturer for replacement of bearings, greasing and assembly, and testing.
• Depending upon the m/c model, it is likely that the complete CNC package may need to be sent to CNC system manufacturer for washing, cleaning, drying and checking.
• Check the presence and also connectivity of the machine earthing.
• Call the authorized CNC Service engineer for the re-fitment of all parts and for final check before switching on power to the m/c.

My CNC machine is completely flooded beyond Level 2. What should I do to salvage the machine?

• At this level of flooding, the damage to the m/c will be quite severe. The damage will be higher if the m/c is under water for a long time
• Drain the water in the shortest possible time.
• Call the authorized service engineer who will recommend and estimate if the m/c can be salvaged economically or scrapped.
• If the m/c can be salvaged, actions detailed in Point no.3 need to be followed completely.

General Recommendations

• Call the insurance company representative as soon as possible and lodge a formal claim
• Take plenty of photos of the damaged equipment
• Do not send the damaged mechanical or electronic parts, CNC system, drives etc. to unauthorized persons. It could lead to irreparable damage to the machine, either immediately or after some time.

Author: B.Harish, General Manager, Micromatic Machine Tools (Pvt) Ltd

If you own a machine from ACE Micromatic Group, you may call in their dedicated flood helpline numbers +91 9840785520 and +91 9840785523 or send mail at connect@acemicromatic.com

Ural-instrument-Pumori company (Perm city, Pumori Urals Machine-building Corporation member company) has produced “Centre UiP VF400”, the first Russian-Indian machining centre.  Machine assembly marked a new stage of cooperation with Ace Manufacturing Systems (AMS), Indian machine-tool building company. AMS is a member of ACE Micromatic Group and is the largest manufacturer of horizontal and vertical CNC machining centres in India. The company constantly develops a range of the supplied equipment expanding supplies both to domestic and export markets. The basic countries of export are Brazil, Egypt, Germany, Spain, Great Britain, Japan and USA, more than 200 CNC machines were supplied to these countries.

Cooperation of Ural-instrument-Pumori with AMS was started in 2007 with the supply of CNC machining centers to Russia. Since that time these machining centers have proven to be high-quality and reliable equipment, providing customers with cost efficient and at the same time effective solutions for specific production targets. In December 2013 an agreement on assembly of the machines in the territory of the Perm district was signed.   Under this agreement AMS company supplied a machine frame, and all the necessary machine units were manufactured in the territory of the Perm district. High quality requirements caused a necessity of careful selection of a manufacturer and suppliers.  Not only high quality geometrical arrangement with an exact conformity to drawings, but also an outside view was important. The machine manufactured by Ural-instrument-Pumori passed all the necessary tests and meets all the requirements for the equipment, manufactured in the territory of Russian Federation, what is confirmed by the certificate of conformance.

Production of the machines in Russia with the usage of component parts produced in Russia made it possible to reduce production cost thus provoking a competition for the imported equipment, what is important in the light of the present situation. In 2015 it is planned to manufacture a CNC machining center— “Centre UiP VF450/100”, as well as another models in the total amount of not less than 20 pieces.  Going forward it is planned to create an assembly center in Perm. Implementation of this project is possible only in case of production localization, which implies creation of new workplaces in Perm district and placement of orders for component parts produced by the local manufacturers.

A series of engineering product marvels were exhibited by the Ace Micromatic Group at the most sought-after machine tool exhibition IMTEX 2015 in the Silicon City of India, Bangalore. The company launched few CNC technologies that are import substitute. The new launches includes SHA 12, CNC Sliding Head Automat; LCXT-12G, Twin Spindle CNC Lathe with Gantry, GEMENI H 330, Twin Spindle Horizontal Machining Center, CBN3263, High Speed CBN Grinder and and G 670, Five Axes High Precision Vertical Machining Center

The following products of Ace were seen at the exhibition:

SHA 12, CNC Sliding Head Automat

• Powerful built-in motor for main & sub spindle
• 5 axes capability
• Collet holding system with synchronous revolving guide bush, fixed guide bush & without guide bush options
• Houses 20 tools including 3 rotary tools
• Simultaneous machining on both main & Sub spindle
• Continuous run with bar feeder from ø3mm to ø12mm

GEMENI H 330, Twin Spindle Horizontal Machining Center

• First indigenously built horizontal twinspindle machine
• Rigidly designed with 330 mm CD between the Spindles.
• Versatile Twin Spindle machine for high volume production.
• Rotary Automatic Pallet Changer canbe offered.
• Import substitute

CBN3263, High Speed CBN Grinder

• Lower Cycle times – 80m/sec cutting speed with CBN wheel.
• Space saving – Compact layout by adoption of moving wheelheadsystem.
• Easy to use – Customized screen based HMI.

V 160, Inverted Vertical Turret Lathe

• Robust machine bed made of heavily ribbed cast iron.
• High quality linear anti friction guideways
• Thermosymmetric headstock withcontrolled heat transfer
• Extremely rigid sturdy main spindle
• Enhanced speeds and torque
• Spindle Motor itself serves as workhandling device

G 670, Five Axes High Precision Vertical Machining Center

• Simultaneous 5 Axes with built in Rotary tables.
• Compact foot print machine.
• Ergonomically designed structure for outstanding dynamic rigidity.
• High Dynamic rotary axes with Direct Driven Motors.
• Totally isolated working zone for better chip and coolantmanagement

The Ace Micromatic Group, a total solution provider for the machine tool industry, specializes in the manufacturing of turning centers, milling centers, grinding centers and also provides automation and productivity solutions.

Ace Micromatic group, India’s largest machine tool conglomerate, recently concluded their house show at Hyderabad. This was the first house show in Hyderabad where a live machining demo was made, specifically for turbine blade manufacturers.

The Vertical Machining Center, “Super Winner” manufactured by Ace Manufacturing Systems, an Ace Micromatic group company, was displayed. This machine has a table size of 800 X 400 mm, standard spindle speed of 6000 rpm with an option for higher spindle speed up to 8000 rpm. The machine is provided with BT-40 spindle and HSK spindle is also available as an option. The machine can be provided with either Fanuc or Siemens CNC control system.

The component which was machined during the demo was twist and tapered turbine blade of 190 mm length. This was machined from rough to finish with a cycle time of 2 hour 10 min, which is approx. 20% lower than the cycle times achieved on similar machining centers available in the market.

The house show attracted majority of the visitors from Patanacheru Industrial area and Balanagar Industrial areas. More than 100 customers visited the house show with total footfalls exceeding 300 nos.

The house show evoked tremendous response and appreciation from all customers who showed keen interest in the outstanding machine performance and features.

Ace Micromatic, India’s largest machine tool group is showcasing its latest CNC machines at ongoing Die Mould India 2014. The event is currently taking place at Bombay Exhibition Centre Goregaon, Mumbai. The company is demonstrating its DM 800, CNC machine suitable for die & mould and aerospace applications and ACER which is suitable for volume productions with large batch quantities.

DM 800
The DM-800 is discerned by a completely new design, the box in box design supports the spindle headstock. The concept of allowing the table to move only along y axis lets a variety of components to be loaded on to the table, especially the large sized heavier ones to be machined on it comfortably. High precision cartridge type spindles, high spindle speeds and feed rates ensures the demand for superior performance is met. Apart from its rigid and symmetric structure the machine also boasts of machining components with complex geometries and smaller tolerances. The structural configuration of the machine makes it suitable for a die – mould or aerospace applications. The new design ensures free flowing chips, giving them an uncluttered space for easy chip disposal. The minimized overhang of the axis structure provides superior machining accuracies.

ACER
Acer is been serving as an exemplary for productivity and accuracy. The machine is more suitable for volume productions with large batch quantities. Machine’s structure is adroitly designed and tested to allow high speed slide traverse. Acer can also be equipped with a Linear or a Rotary pallet changer ensuring customers achieve high productivity. Well engineered ergonomics makes this machine easy to operate and structural rigidity ensures one achieve higher accuracies and surface finish.

Ace Micromatic Group is the largest machine tool group in India with a presence in many parts of world. The group specializes in the manufacturing CNC Turning Centers, CNC Grinding machines, CNC Machining Centers, and Automation equipment. The group also specializes in the manufacturing of components for diverse sectors namely, Automotive, Aerospace, Medical, Die & Mould, Railways etc.