To Presentation on

Retrofitting & Rebuilding

by
Dr. N. S. SRIRAM Professor of Mechanical Engineering NMAM Institute of Technology, Nitte

Overview
Brief introduction to Automation What is Retrofitting? What is Rebuilding? What is Remanufacturing? Advantages and disadvantages of remanufacturing Method of retrofitting Examples

Automation
Automation is defined as the technology concerned with the application of complex mechanical, electronic, and computer based systems in the operation and control of complex production.

Automation results in:

1. 2. 3. 4. Increase throughput and productivity Reduce costs Improve quality and process control Reduce manufacturing cycle times and delays

Automating a process or production can be achieved by designing machines to suit the job, in which case we can say a special purpose machine is designed and developed
There is always a time delay and high investment involved in the process of designing and developing new machines to suit type of job or process

The question now is:

How do we reduce this time delay and cost involved?
Best solution is to check whether any existing machine can be converted and upgraded in shorter interval of time so that the required features are achieved in order to obtain the desired output.
This process of converting conventional machines is considered to be RETROFITTING

Retrofitting: Bringing a machine up to date by adding the latest controls, drives, or enhanced mechanical features, new control components or subsystems (e.g. CNC), to improve the performance and flexibility of a machine. It can also simplify the operating procedures and reduce the level of supervision required.

Rebuilding: Restoring a machine as closely as possible to its original specification.

Discussion will be to concentrate on retrofitting of conventional machine tools like Lathe and Milling machine to impart the status and features of CNC machines.

A machine tool is a powered mechanical device, typically used to fabricate metal components of machines by machining, which is the selective removal of metal.

In machining a component, the objective is to achieve: 1. Desired size 2. Desired shape 3. Desired surface finish

Examples of Simple jobs on lathe

To achieve size of component:

There is a need for the tool tip to be positioned relative to the work piece.

Linear scale with digital readouts

Examples of complex jobs

For complex jobs both size and shape are important

To achieve this
There is a need that the tool tip is required to be positioned relative to the work piece to get the size and also to be guided in the coordinated path to achieve the desired shape.

COMPONENTS OF AN NC/CNC MACHINE TOOL in one axis

Position transducer Machine table Gear box Tachometer

Controller

Servo Motor Ball screw Servo drive

Interface control cabinet

BEFORE RE-ENGINEERING: 20 year old Swiss made cylindrical grinding machine with manual / hydraulic cam operated axes and relay controls.

AFTER RE-ENGINEERING: The machine elements were stiffened for greater precision and faster traverse speeds. CNC was added together with a new work piece handling system, gauging station, palletizer and state-of-the-art servo systems. The result, a revitalized and customized machine tool that will be competitive for many years.

ADVANTAGES OF RE-ENGINEERING With ever increasing production rates and new cutting technologies, some machine tools can reach the end of their competitive lives long before they are mechanically redundant. In these situations it can be necessary to go beyond rebuilding or retrofitting and re-engineer the machine tool. Having an old machine tool re-engineered has three main advantages.
PERFORMANCE: best practice production processes can be introduced to match or exceed the performance available from new standard equipment. Sub-processes can be added, e.g. deburring, auto feeding, gauging and handling, etc., to reduce cycle times, component costs and floor space requirements. COSTS: when comparing the cost of a re-engineered machine with equipment of comparable performance and capabilities, substantial savings often result; especially when production rates are very high or the component is of a specialist or unusual nature. ONE YEAR WRITE-OFF: in accounting terms, re-engineering costs can legitimately be classified as refurbishment and written-off in one year.

BEFORE RE-ENGINEERING 30 year old machine as received.

AFTER RE-ENGINEERING The objective was to improve reliability, increase the cutting speed and reduce changeover times. These objectives were achieved by using state-of-theart CNC techniques with user friendly dialogue screen guides for setting and operating.

Re-engineering: Is to redesign and build a new machine using selected components from the original. The new machine will have improved performance, additional capabilities and is often customized to suit a particular application.