Overview on production of CNC

CHAPTER -1

COMPANY PROFILE

1.1 ABOUT ACE DESIGNERS

Ace Designers, led by three experienced design engineers and powered by a dynamic
team of more than 500 members is one of India’s largest machine tool manufacturing
companies.

With a spread of over 50000 square meters, its manufacturing plants, located in
Bangalore, India, are equipped with state of the art technology to deliver large scale high
quality products.

1.2 ABOUT ACE MICROMATIC GROUP

Ace Micromatic Group is India’s largest machine tool conglomerate with a market
presence in several countries across Asia, Australia, Middle East, North & South America
and Europe. Formed with the intent to provide its customers a one stop shop for all
machining needs, the group specializes in the manufacturing of CNC controlled turning,
milling and grinding machines along with subsystems like tool turrets, ATC etc. Building on
its expertise in machine tool manufacturing, the group has further diversified into
manufacturing of components for various industry segments.

1.3 GROUP COMPANIES

 Ace Designers Ltd.
 Auto CNC machining Pvt. Ltd.
 Ace Manufacturing Systems Ltd.
 Ace Multi Axes Systems Ltd.
 Micromatic Machine Tools Pvt. Ltd.
 Pragathi Automation Pvt. Ltd.
 Micromatic Grinding Technologies Ltd.
 Ace Manufacturing Intelligence Technologies.
 Micromatic Machine Tools [Shanghai] Co. Ltd.

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FIG 1.1 - ACE MICROMATIC GROUP OF COMPANIES

1.4 MILESTONES

Ace Designers, was founded in 1979 as a design-consulting firm. Initially, the team
developed product designs for various machine tools including special purpose machines.
Three years hence, in 1982, Ace stepped into the world of manufacturing with a range of
special purpose import substitution machines for the I. C. Engine valve Industry.
Since then, Ace has rapidly grown to become India’s largest manufacturer of CNC turning
Centre’s and has remained the undisputed leader for nearly two decades. With a strategic
focus on manufacturing of CNC turning centers, Ace has developed a wide range of
indigenous cost effective products to meet the changing needs of its customers. Ace has

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ensured product excellence through quality driven manufacturing processes supported by

meticulously planned world class infrastructure. Having played a vital role in the Indian
industrial renaissance, Ace machines have established their footprint in the global arena too.
They have found acceptance in Europe, USA, South America, UK, Middle East, China,
South East Asia, Japan and Australia.

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CHAPTER -2

ABOUT INTERNSHIP

2.1 ALL DIVISIONS OF ACE DESIGNERS.

 Metrology

 CSG-Customer Service Group

 SMD-Sheet Metal Division

 Hydraulics

 Paint Shop

 Marketing

 QA-Quality Assurance & Quality Analysis

 Tool Room

 CMD-Component Manufacturing Division

 Purchase & Vendor

 Assembly

 Human Resource (HR)

2.2 METROLOGY

Metrology is the science of measurement. All measurement activities in ACE are

carried out at the Metrology Lab. It is the standards lab at ACE. Calibration of measuring
instruments and other high-precision measurements are the specialization of this department.
Constructional Features of the Metrology Lab.

The various machines in metrology lab:

 Ballbar-QC20

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 Roundness Tester

 Co-Ordinate Measuring Machine (CMM)

 Laser Interferometer

 Profile Projector

 Roundness Tester (Taylor Hobson)

 Smart Balancer

 Electronic Level Blue Level

Surface Roughness Testing Machine

Fig 2.1 surface roughness tester Fig 2.2 -Roundness tester

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2.3 CUSTOMER SERVICE GROUP (CSG)

CSG acts as an interface between the Micrometrics (MMT) throughout India and the
technical part of ACE itself.

Two important jobs of MMT:

 Install the machines in the customer factories

 In case of malfunction, the customer contact the MMT’s and they act as the customer care
center.

Operation Strategies

 Make to Order

 Make to Stock

 Assemble to Order

 Engineer to Order

Organization Structure of CSG General Manager

Executive Technical

Engineers Assistants

Processes under CSG:

 Service Support

 Repair Services

 Customer Complaint Analysis

 Customer Training

 Free Replacement Item Control

2.4 SHEET METAL DIVISION (SMD)

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The outer metal covered on a machine is manufactured in Sheet Metal Division. Huge
metal sheets will be cut and made in proper required shape. This department is concerned
with all work done on sheet metal which is used in manufacture of parts like the housing,
doors and all other sheet metal parts used on the CNC.

The main objectives of SMD are

 Controlling quality by process

 Manufacturing initiatives like Kaizen, CIP ,5S
 Adaptation of new techniques and technology
 Grinding and Painting (for finishing)

The two types of sheets used are:

1. HRCA – Hot Rolled Closed Annealed the material used for HRCA is stainless steel SS-
304 Grade

2. CRCA - Cold Rolled Closed Annealed. The material used for CRCA is mild steel of
different grades

2.41 Manufacturing Practices

 Material Selection

 Cutting

 Forming

 Metal Joining

 Finishing

 Material Handling

2.42 Metal Joining:

Joining of the sheet metals is done in one of the following ways

 Thermal

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 Adhesive

 Mechanical

 Welding

2.43 Cutting:

Different cutting operations employed are:

 Shearing: This process utilizes shearing forces to cut. The length of cutting can be
controlled in this process using a back gauge. The accuracy obtained is within +/- 0.50 mm
per meter

 Notching: Corner profile cutting using templates or over marking

 Punching: Used to cut holes and slots

 CNC Punching: HRCA- 4mm & SS- 2mm

 Water jet Cutting

 Plasma Cutting

Fig 2.3 plasma cutting Fig 2.4 water jet cutting

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2.44 Finishing:

Types of processes:

 Rough grinding

 Finish sanderling

 Final finishing

 Buffing for SS material

 Painting or powder coating for MS material

2.5 HYDRAULICS

Hydraulic engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids,

principally water. However, the fluid used in mechanical application is oil.

The basic principle on which hydraulics works is:

The motor converts electrical energy into mechanical energy. This is the first energy
conversion that takes place. The pump converts the mechanical energy into pressure energy
of the oil.

Fig 2.5 Hydraulic machines

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2.6 PAINT SHOP

The primary concern of this department is cleaning of castings and sheet metal works
and painting them to prevent rust and also to give

For sheet metal works the material used are:

 CRCA Sheet: Cold rolled closed annealed

 HRCA Sheet: Hot rolled closed annealed the machine aesthetic looks.

The process of painting is as follows:

1. The dust settled on the component is cleaned and the grease is removed using suitable
cleansing agents.

2. The component is then rinsed with soft water

3. De-rusting – there are two ways of doing this:

a. Using phosphoric acid base- this cannot remove black scales

b. Using hydrochloric acid base- this removes the black scales

4. Activation: the metal surface is activated i.e. it is given a charge so as to aid phosphating
such that it adheres to the metal surface.

5. Phosphating: Phosphate coatings are used on steel parts for corrosion resistance, lubricity,
or as a foundation for subsequent coatings or painting. The main types of phosphate coatings
are manganese, iron and zinc. Most phosphate coatings serve as a surface preparation for
other coating and/or painting. It has many features like electric isolation, excellent adhesion,
porosity, dielectric nature etc. The whole process is carried out in phosphating tanks.

6. The work is then double rinsed using de-mineralized water.

7. It is then taken to a water drier oven which dries the component.

8. Powder Coating: It is applied as a free-flowing, dry powder. It does not require a solvent to
keep the binder and filler parts in a liquid suspension form. The coating is typically applied
electrostatically and is then cured under heat to allow it to flow and form a “skin”. The
powder may be a thermoplastic or a thermoset polymer. For this process, the metal is placed

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on a conveyor which is earthed. The most common way of applying the powder coating is to
spray the powder using an electrostatic gun, or Corona gun. The gun imparts a positive
electric charge on the powder, which is then sprayed towards the grounded object by
mechanical or compressed air spraying and then accelerated towards the work piece by the
powerful electrostatic charge. The object is then heated, and the powder melts into a uniform
film, and is then cooled to form a hard coating.

2.7 TOOL ROOM

Tool room is where machining of components takes place.

Principles of work holding:

 Wedge action

 Taper

 Helical

 Collets

 Pin arbor chuck

 2 Jaw chuck

 3 Jaw chuck

2.71 Chuck

A chuck is a specialized type of clamp used to hold rotating tools or materials. A self-
centering chuck uses jaws, interconnected via a scroll gear, to hold onto a tool or work piece.
Because they most often have three jaws, the term three-jaw chuck without other
qualification is understood by machinists to mean a self-centering three jaw chuck. The term
universal chuck also refers to this type.

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FIG 2.6 LATHE CHUCK

2.72 Collets

A collet is a holding device that forms a collar around the object to be held and exerts
a strong clamping force on the object when it is tightened via a tapered outer collar. It may be
used to hold a work piece or a tool. Each collet generally has only a narrow clamping range,
which means that many collets are required to hold a given range of materials in the chuck,
unlike with many other types of chuck that will generally cover a wide range of sizes.

Fig 2.7 collets

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2.8 COMPONENT MANUFACTURING DIVISION (CMD)

CMD is a department where singular batch components are manufactured and are
further forwarded to the stores where it gets stored and can be obtained by the assembly unit
as and when required. It is the in-house machining division, where the machinable assembly
items of a machine-like bearing housing, saddle, top tables etc. are manufactured.

This division comprises machining centers, turning centers, grinding machines and
special lathes to machine the components. Here, certain raw materials are brought in from
outside. All components are manufactured according to their process drawings specific to
each component. The raw materials are then processed according to their concerned
drawings. A process drawing is extremely important for the manufacture of any component
because it contains the step by step procedure to machine the component after the proof
machining by the vendor and plays a major role in defining the final dimensional accuracy of
the completed component.

In CMD, batch manufacturing of component takes place. This sort of manufacturing

takes immense amount of planning since excess processing will take more lead time. Initially
the batch size is identified and depending upon the criticality of the component a batch size is
decided upon. The number per batch manufactured is specified by the vendor where the
vendor manages the heat treatment process. Excess components are stored for future use. A
specific routing sequence is followed in CMD. A routing sequence is a manufacturing
sequence for any component. Also, it is component specific.

CMD undertakes a few processes. It has 5 sub-divisions in itself mentioned as follows:

1. Planning: It handles all the planning of the manufacturing of components required by the
assembly division. The software SAP takes care of all the preparation and planning.

2. Manufacturing: The component manufacturing is according to their importance. The work

centers are termed as critical and non-critical based on the quality and quantity of the
operation.

3. Quality Assurance: It exists to measure, evolve, analyze and feed in the data top facilitate
process improvements in the department.

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4. Methods: This division provides for process improvements like jigs and fixtures
developments and tooling requirements.

5. Vendor department: It involves inspection of those components that are manufactured by

vendors.

One of the modern concepts used in CMD goes by the name Lean Manufacturing. Using this
concept, a lot of improvements are seen in the department.

Just in Time (JIT) concept is implemented for obtaining standard components from in-group
companies.

2.9 MACHINE ASSEMBLY

The machine assembly division is one which concerns the assembly of the entire
vendor, bought-out and in-house manufactured items.

The assembly starts off with Axis alignment and Assembly division. The machined
surface is kept clean using kerosene. The guide ways, Linear Motion (LM) or Box/Hardened
Guide-ways are used. LM guide ways are used for higher precision but cannot take deeper
cuts whereas box guides can take deeper cuts but comparatively less precise. Using a spirit-
level, the guide-ways are leveled. The guides are tightened to the Guide-ways such that there
is complete contact with the bed.

The next step in the machine assembly is the assembly of the housing and greasing of
bearings for the re-circulating ball screw arrangement. The ball screw is then assembled on
the machine in between the two rails. This arrangement is used for both the axes. The cross-
slide is now assembled on top of the ball screw arrangement. LM guides are inherently
friction-free to a certain degree. The headstock is fastened onto the bed. The pulleys are
mounted onto the motor shaft and spindle. The motor is then mounted onto its position. Belts
are wrapped around these pulleys and tensioned to a pre-determined value. This is called belt
tensioning.

Now the axes arrangement is checked for the accuracy of its motion with respect to
the spindle assembly.

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2.91 There are two tests:

1. Primary: A dial gauge is used to check the parallelism between the mandrel and the cross-
slide. A maximum variation of 15 microns is permissible.

2. Secondary: Plane normal to the cutting plane is called Secondary plane. A maximum
variation of 25 microns is permissible.

3. Squareness: The degree of perpendicularity of cross-slide movement with respect to the

spindle axis is referred to as squareness. A special fixture designed by ACE themselves is
used to check this parameter.

This is followed by tail stock assembly. The assembly of axes, tailstock and motor is called as
Carcass assembly. This is then shifted to the flow line. The flow line concept is one where the
machine is indexed while the work-center is stationary. This helps in belter time-
management, resource planning and improves the overall efficiency of the assembly function.
The flow line at ACE has 8 major station and a 9th idle station.

Some of the assembly procedures taking place in each is as stated below:

Station 1: Guarding Assembly 1

 Motor Bracket

 Lubrication Unit

 Cabinet frame

 Motor guard

 Coolant junction box

Station 2: Guarding Assembly 2

 Center Guard

 Power chucking cylinder cover (PCC)

 Cabinet Conduits

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Station 3: Guarding Assembly 3

 Hydraulic hose connections

 Console assembly

 Coolant channel

Station4: Electrical Assembly 1

 Lubrication power, pressure switches, front switch

 Spindle motor wiring

 AC Wiring

Station 5: Electrical Assembly 2

 Hydraulics motor wiring

 Cable Shielding

 Input power connection

Station 6: Geometrical Testing and turret mounting

 Bed leveling

 Turret height plate check

 Turret mounting

Station 7: Coolant Running

 Mount face plate

 Chuck

 Fitting of jaws

 Turret alignment

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Station 8: Cutting Test and Dispatch

 Machine Inspection

 Electrical Inspection

 Dry run for 8 hours

 Standard Cutting tests After successful tests, the machine is ready for dispatch and is
shipped to the customer.

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CHAPTER 3

AREA OF STUDY

3.1 CNC Lathe machines

Lathes are the only universal CNC Machine tool because a lathe can make all of the
parts needed for another lathe.

A lathe spins the workpiece in a spindle while a fixed cutting tool approaches the
workpiece to slice chips off of it. Because of this geometry, lathes are ideal for parts that have
symmetry around some axis that could be chucked up in the spindle

CNC Lathes have at the very least the ability to drive the cutting tool under g-code
control over 2 axes, referred to as X and Z.

They may have a considerable amount of other functionality as well, and there are
many variations on lathes such as Swiss Lathes.

The act of cutting a workpiece on a lathe is called "Turning".

A CNC lathe is typically designed to utilize modern versions of carbide tooling and
processes. A part can be designed for customization, and the machine’s tool paths are often
programmed using the CAD or CAM processes. However, a programmer can manually
design a part or tool path as well. The resulting coded computer file is then uploaded to the
CNC machine, and the machine will then automatically produce the desired parts for which it
was programmed to design.

The FUNUC Software is used in CNC Lathe machines

3.2 Uses of CNC Lathe Machines

With CNC lathe machines, the material being worked is slowly sheared away. The
result is a beautifully finished product or intricate part. Because these machines are so
versatile, they are used by many industries to include automotive, electronics, aerospace,
firearm manufacturing, sporting, and much more. A CNC lathe can be used to produce plane
surfaces and screw threads or in the case of ornamental lathes, three-dimensional products
that are quite complex.

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In any case, the work piece is held firmly in place by one or two centers, with at
minimum one being moved horizontally. However, material can also be secured with clamps
or collets.

Some prime examples of finished items as a result of using CNC lathe machines include:

 Baseball Bats
 Bowls
 Camshafts
 Crankshafts
 Cue sticks
 Dining Room Table and Chair Legs
 Gun Barrels
 Musical Instruments

3.3 CNC block diagram

Fig 3.1 block diagram of CNC

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3.31 MAIN COMPONENTS OF CNC

(I) Input Devices: These are the devices which are used to input the part program in the CNC
machine. There are three commonly used input devices and these are punch tape reader,
magnetic tape reader and computer via RS-232-C communication.

(ii) Machine Control Unit (MCU): It is the heart of the CNC machine. It performs all the
controlling action of the CNC machine, the various functions performed by the MCU are

 It reads the coded instructions fed into it.

 It decodes the coded instruction.
 It implements interpolation (linear, circular and helical) to generate axis motion
commands.
 It feeds the axis motion commands to the amplifier circuits for driving the axis
mechanisms.
 It receives the feedback signals of position and speed for each drive axis.
 It implements the auxiliary control functions such as coolant or spindle on/off and
tool change.

(iii) Machine Tool: A CNC machine tool always has a slide table and a spindle to control of
the position and speed. The machine table is controlled in X and Y axis direction and the
spindle is controlled in the Z axis direction.

(iv) Driving System: The driving system of a CNC machine consists of amplifier circuits,
drive motors and ball lead screw. The MCU feeds the signals (i.e. of position and speed) of
each axis to the amplifier circuits. The control signals are than augmented (increased) to
actuate the drive motors. And the actuated drive motors rotate the ball lead screw to the
position of machine tables.
(v) Feedback System: This system consists of transducers that acts like sensors. It is also
called as measuring system. It contains position and speed transducers that continuously
monitor the position and speed of the cutting tool located at any instant. The MCU receives
the signals from these transducers and it uses the difference between the reference signals and
feedback signals to generate the control signals for correcting the position and speed errors.

(vi) Display Unit: A monitor is used to display the programs, commands and other useful data
of CNC machine.

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3.32 WORKING OF CNC

First the part program is inserted into the MCU of the CNC.

In MCU all the data process takes place and according to the program prepared, it prepares
all the motion commands and sends it to the driving system.

The drive system works as the motion commands are send by MCU. Drive system controls
the motion and velocity of the machine tool.

Feedback system, records the position and velocity measurement of the machine tool and
sends a feedback signal to the MCU.

In MCU, the feedback signals are compared with the reference signals and if there are errors,
it corrects it and sends new signals to the machine tool for the right operation to happen.

A display unit is used to see all the commands, programs and other important data. It acts as
the eye of the machine.

3.4 APPLICATIONS OF CNC

 Almost every manufacturing industry uses CNC machines.

 With increase in the competitive environment and demands, the demand of CNC usage
has increased to a greater extent.
 The machine tool that comes with the CNC is lathe, mills, shaper, welding etc. The
industries that are using CNC machines are automotive industry, metal removing
industries, industries of fabricating metals, electrical discharge machining industries,
wood industries etc.

3.5 ADVANTAGES OF CNC

 Machining is accurate
 Time taken to perform a job is very less
 Safe to operate
 Number of operators required to operate a machine are reduced
 No possibility of human error
 Reliable
 Even very complex designs can also be made

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 Low maintenance required

 They are versatile
 Uniformity in designs
 They could run for all 24 hours a day

3.6 DISADVANTAGES

 CNC machines are more expensive than manually operated machines, although costs
are slowly coming down.
 The CNC machine operator only needs basic training and skills, enough to supervise
several machines. In years gone by, engineers needed years of training to operate
centre lathes, milling machines and other manually operated machines. This means
many of the old skills are being lost.
 Fewer workers are required to operate CNC machines compared to manually operated
machines. Investment in CNC machines can lead to unemployment.
 Many countries no longer teach pupils / students how to use manually operated lathes
/ milling machines etc… Pupils / students no longer develop the detailed skills
required by engineers of the past. These include mathematical and engineering skills

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CHAPTER -4

OUTPUT OF INTERNSHIP
Hence, I conclude my report by successfully completing internship of duration of 4 weeks in
ACE DESIGNERS PVT. LTD. And I thank respected people and head of various
departments who allotted there time and guided us through different process happening and
sharing their knowledge with us which helped us in bridging the gap between the college
education and industrial requirement and I gained a lot of information about how the CNC
machines are manufactured and their working .One of the valuable skill I have learnt from
this internship is ability to speak with in professional setting.

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