Data transparency drives OEE
Founded in 1960, Sandvik Coromant Pune has continuously developed into an important production and service location for the company. Sonali Mulay, Director Tools Production Unit, India is responsible for the site. Their most important goal: Significantly improve Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE) in tools production. Without the use of software solutions from TDM Systems for tool data management and shopfloor management, the team would not have been able to achieve the ambitious goals it has set itself so quickly. Sonali Mulay explains: "Together with TDM Systems, we have digitalized our tool and shopfloor management processes very quickly. We now have the quality of data that we need to optimize processes sustainably. ‘Data is the New Energy’ applies quite literally to us here in Tools PU, Pune."
Tool Management: From cost factor to efficiency driver
Cost efficiency and machine running times play an important role in profitability, particularly in the production of standard tools. Depending on the degree of complexity of the production process, the tools used can play a significant role in the costs per workpiece. Missing or incorrectly used tools have a negative impact on machine running times and process reliability. A large tool inventory, in turn, ties up liquidity and requires additional administrative resources and space. There is a lot of potential in tool management to improve the efficiency of processes and their quality. Dhiraj Sarode, CAM Engineer, Sandvik Coromant Tools PU, Pune explains: "Above a certain quantity of tools and machines to be managed, our previous solution no longer worked. Especially when it comes to inserts: We simply didn't know exactly how many and which ones were in the magazine or in use." Up until 2016, the Pune site managed its own tool inventories using a dynamic Excel list. However, as production grew significantly and the product portfolio expanded, this solution reached its limits. It quickly became clear that the site needed a comprehensive, future-proof solution, especially when it comes to the up-to-dateness and consistency of the data and communication with other systems in other areas of the company.
Easy to get started thanks to the modular structure of TDM Systems solutions
Ashutosh Deosthali, Application Specialist at TDM Systems, is familiar with this initial situation from other projects: "The situation is quite typical for production sites that have exceeded a certain size. But what makes the Sandvik Coromant Tools PU, Pune special is the team's determination and commitment to work with TDM Systems to hunt down a comprehensive digital solution."
A visit to the Sandvik Coromant site in Mebane, North Carolina (USA) provided the impetus for the planning team to opt for a solution from TDM Systems. Julio Vasconcelos and his team decided to use solutions from TDM Systems for a similar problem. TDM was able to increase efficiency throughout the entire production process. The Mebane production site has a highly integrated TDM installation with an automated tool workflow and is one of the top machining sites in the USA. Dhiraj Sarode explains: "Mebane has shown us what TDM solutions actually achieve in real operation. And we got a very good idea of the efforts involved, but also of the potential for optimization and efficiency. Having such a specific goal in mind is really motivating when starting a digitalization project."
Optimization and efficiency potential with TDM provide motivation
Even if the basic requirements and expectations of the tool and shopfloor management are very similar in most machining companies, there is no one-size-fits-all solution – and for good reason. Ashutosh Deosthali says: "Production and planning processes in machining are amazingly site-specific – in some cases down to the individual machine. With our modular solution portfolio, we can map individual requirements – and the solution can grow almost organically."
The wide range of software modules and the variety of interfaces to other solutions convinced Swapnil Jawalkar, Tool Crib Administrator, Sandvik Coromant Tools PU, Pune and his team: Installing LISTA tool dispensing systems with TDM-Smartpick Interface and other TDM modules has resulted in a well-integrated software landscape in Pune. However, the biggest job for the Tools PU team was at the very beginning of the project: Recording and standardizing existing tools and production data in a central database. A milestone that the TDM Systems team helped to achieve in word and deed. "This is not the first time we have done this, and we also provide tools that structure and simplify the process," explains Ashutosh Deosthali.
OEE standard in Pune: Analyze and improve tooling costs in real time
The production managers at Sandvik Coromant Tools PU, Pune now have access to real-time reporting of the entire tool inventory. You can track which and how many tools are currently available and in use on which machine at any time. If consumption or other important key figures deviate from defined or expected patterns per machine or user, those responsible can intervene quickly. The TDM Systems applications were integrated into the Microsoft Power BI dashboard. All shopfloor management data relevant to the respective user is clearly presented here and is always up to date. This means that everyone involved in the process has the same data inventory. All machine operators use TDM Systems solutions directly at the tool dispensing stations. This makes the Sandvik Coromant Tools PU, Pune site in Pune an absolute pioneer in terms of tool cost control and transparency.
Digital twins enable fast and correct tool assembly
Dhiraj Sarode, CAM Engineer, Sandvik Coromant Tools PU, Pune says: Thanks to the digitalization and partial automation of the processes, it was possible to significantly increase machine running times and reducing tool usage at the same time. Optimizations that can be clearly seen in the improvement of the site's OEE. An important part of this success is also based on the implementation of TDM modules for data and graphic generation and modification in the engineering process at Sandvik Coromant Tools PU in Pune. The in-house Production Engineering Department primarily uses 2D and 3D graphics editors to create digital twins of the tools. “The planning and assembly of tools for machine processing is now much faster, also because errors in terms of dimensions or cutting data hardly ever occur,” confirms Dhiraj Sarode. Simple data tools are also used to maintain the data across all instances and ensure consistency for all areas and processes.
The digitalization story in Pune continues: In order to achieve even more transparency, the entire material management is soon to be integrated into the TDM shopfloor solution, and the company is also working with Ashutosh Deosthali from TDM Systems on a solution to further automate reporting. After all, Tools PU, Pune has now known for quite some time that data generates energy, knowledge, and efficiency.
