Published 12/8/2016

A Few Takeaways from a Visit to Japan

Learn about some of the machining technologies MMS editor Derek Korn saw last month in Japan as a guest of DMG MORI.

Editor-in-Chief, Production Machining magazine

The Industrial Internet of Things was a big theme in DMG MORI’s booth as well as Japan’s JIMTOF show in general. This display highlighted the work the company has done with Germany’s Schaeffer in terms of integrating sensor technology into machine tools for shops endeavoring to establish data-driven, smart manufacturing facilities.

“Technology Cycles” are what DMG MORI calls solutions that combine the machine tool, CELOS control, cutting tools and peripheral equipment brought together for specific machining applications. The company featured 20 of these in its JIMTOF booth, including Gearmill, which is said to enable cost-efficient gear cutting on standard machines with standard tools while providing flexibility for various types of gear cutting applications.

DMG MORI’s Robo2Go is said to ease robotic integration for machine shops. Programming for this collaborative robot is performed through the machine’s CELOS control, and a laser scanner continuously monitors the work area and automatically shuts down the robot when a person enters that area.

The five-axis hybrid Lasertec 4300 3D machine performs laser deposition welding and milling. Metal deposition by powder nozzle is said to be ten times faster than powder bed additive processes.

To enable booth visitors to see in real time the additive manufacturing operation being performed inside this hybrid Lasertec 4300 3D, DMG MORI incorporated video displays into the machine’s windows.

Here’s one example of the workpieces customers submitted in the company’s “Cutting Dream” contest: a neat display of miniature playing cards machined from thin aluminum on a VMC.

Here’s another: a spider web machined from acrylic in 20 hours.

No photos were allowed to be taken inside the Iga buildings, but here’s one new big production machine that was recently added: one of its own five-axis DMC 340 FD models that is used to machine large components such as columns and beds. It features a 2.5-meter-diameter table and pallet pool.

If you’ve never seen a gaggle of international metalworking magazine editors in one spot before, this is an example of what it looks like (we’re standing in front of the company’s Iga campus with some of our kind DMG MORI hosts). Allegedly wild monkeys and deer are in the surrounding area, but I’ve not seen any on my two trips here.

Last month, DMG MORI invited me and other metalworking editors from around the world to visit its headquarters in Tokyo, its manufacturing campus in Iga and the Japan International Machine Tool Fair (JIMTOF). Click through the photos above for a glimpse of what I saw during the trip.

A strong focus of DMG MORI’s JIMTOF booth, and the trade show in general, was on the Industrial Internet of Things, additive manufacturing and automation. While I was only at the show for part of a day, MMS editor Mark Albert was there longer. Here is his comprehensive report covering the range of technologies he spotted during his time at the show.

During my time at the show, I did get to see submissions from this year’s DMG MORI Cutting Dream contest, which is in its 12th edition. It is amazing how much time and effort shops put into these ingenious side projects. Perhaps we should incorporate a similar machining contest into our annual Top Shops benchmarking program and conference…

One conspicuous new edition at Iga was a five-axis DMC 340 FD that features a 2.5-meter-diameter table and pallet pool and is used to machine large components such as columns and beds.

My hat is off to the DMG MORI organization for setting up this trip. It’s always nice to get a taste of machining technology in Japan.