Harmonic Drive Finds Harmony With The Robert E. Morris Company

Harmonic Drive Finds Harmony With The Robert E. Morris Company
  • Industry: Motion Control
  • Process: Milling
  • MGI Division: The Robert E. Morris Company
  • Builder Tool: Okuma Lt 300
  • Outcome: Optimized machining with an Okuma LT-15M showed a 53% decrease in product machining time, leading to a greatly increased throughput rate, one step fabrication, and multiple savings.

 » Challenge

Harmonic Drive LLC, a premier motion control technology manufacturer recently decided to take a hard look at the way they fabricated intricate head gear components. Machined from 1144 steel, the part required turning on both sides, drilling and then tapping six M3 holes. Another component used in a gear set for a semiconductor equipment manufacturer required turning 17-4PH stainless steel on both sides, and then drilling and tapping six #4-40 holes. As with the gear head component, Harmonic Drive was turning this in two lathes and then drilling and tapping on a vertical machining center, a process that totaled thirteen minutes and thirty seconds.

 » Solution

After a thorough process analysis, Harmonic Drive engineers working in conjunction with engineers from The Robert E. Morris Company decided that this part could be machined complete on one Okuma LT-15M multi function mill-turn lathe in a bar fed application. Following the head gear, the team analyzed and re-engineered the process for the gear used in semiconductor equipment. The part was moved to the LT-15M in a bar fed application.

 » Assessment

As many of the components that Harmonic Drive manufactures have size tolerances of +/-.0005 or less on multiple features, concentricity and parallelism requirements of .0005 or less, and fine surface finish requirements, they need to have a partner that is committed to providing the best available technology, and working with Harmonic Drive to exploit it. Knowing that, Harmonic Drive decided to call in the Robert E. Morris team to determine a new approach to manufacturing important product lines and increase efficiency.

 » Results

After migrating the production process for the head gear to the Okuma LT-15M multi function mill-turn lathe in a bar fed application. Working with stock pre-cut to 48”, the part is now machined in seven minutes, a 53% improvement resulting in immediate savings. After moving the gear for semicunductor equipment to the same Okuma LT-15M, part cycle time was reduced to six minutes and thirty seconds, and the steps involved in machining the part were reduced to one. According to Mr. Moffatt, Harmonic Drive has been able to take these best practices and apply them to other components. “These are a just a few examples of savings we have reaped simply by owning and operating the LT; on other components we have reduced setup times, first-piece scrap levels, eliminated secondary operations, etc, because of the functionality, flexibility, power and precision of all of our Okumas.”

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Keywords: okuma, harmonic drive, solutions,the robert e. morris company, morris, lt-15m