Designing and manufacturing highly precise motion control systems for laser eye surgery, missile tracking, and helicopter target acquisition seems like it would take a long time.  The motion system is critical - even a life safety issue - and every part must be extremely accurate with no room for error.  But, at Newmark Systems, manufacturing precise parts while meeting tight customer deadlines is an everyday success.  Newmark has reduced lead times for its precise motion systems by 75 percent.  Furthermore, the company has reduced costs, increased quality and expanded its business an impressive two-fold by automating parts machining with two ROMI lathes featuring GE Fanuc computer numerical controls (CNCs) with manual guidance software. 

Gaining Control

Founded in 1995, Newmark Systems builds motion control, vibration control and positioning equipment solutions for industries such as medical, defense, automotive and semiconductor. Newmark's precision-designed systems give its OEM customers a level of quality and performance that is a must for applications such as laser positioning for eye surgery.  And, without on-time production of the motion systems, their machines would face crucial production delays, costing both Newmark and its customers business. 

According to Mark Filho, president of Newmark, parts machining - including turning and milling -- played a key role in production turnaround.  "We have a team of skilled engineers to design our systems as well as an infrastructure for fast assembly," Filho explains.  "Parts fabrication, on the other hand, was something that we initially outsourced with the exception of manual machining of parts for prototypes.  Without control of the machining, we could not make 100-percent guarantees to our customers."

To reduce lead times from eight weeks to two while increasing quality, Filho decided to bring the work in house.  The engineering and manufacturing teams explored several machine tool vendors before choosing an M17 ROMI lathe, controlled with a GE Fanuc 21i-TA CNC with manual guidance software.

 "When we decided that we needed more control of parts machining, the GE Fanuc controller became the most important feature," Filho says.  "We explored other options but chose the GE Fanuc CNC because it is an easy-to-learn system that provides extremely high reliability.  Additionally, we found that operators we interviewed were already very familiar with GE Fanuc CNCs - which is a great training timesaver."

For exceptional ease of use, the manual guidance software requires no knowledge of G-code programming.  Operators simply input data from part drawings on easy-to-understand, interactive graphical screens. The system requires no calculations for end points or tool nose compensation.  Teach and playback functions allow quick prove out of part machining using graphical simulations.  Operators can quickly understand set-up screens for work shift offsets and tool offsets. 

"The manual guidance software on the CNC made for a fast transition to automated machining," Filho notes. "For small runs, an operator can have the machine programmed quickly, and even our engineers can easily do a prototype.  It is a very efficient system."

The 21i-T CNC features the latest technological advancements in a small space. This compact CNC controls up to four servo-controlled axes at increments as low as 0.00004."  The system is simple, compact and easy to maintain.  The digital servo system provided high performance, accuracy and reliability.

The 10-hp ROMI Model M17 allows Newmark to position the apron control panel anywhere along the front of the machine. When positioned to the right, parts can easily be  loaded or  unloaded. When positioned in front of the spindle, operators can keep their hands on the controls and have a clear view of not only the cutting area, but also the large color LCD  display on the 21iTA Control. The cabinet that houses the CNC control is also adjustable and can be pulled to face the operator at any angle. A gas charged shock absorber ensures smooth movement of the CNC control, as it is pushed back flush with the machines sheet metal, providing a tidy appearance.

Furthermore, the ROMI M17 is based on a rigid cast-iron bed design.  All guideways are induction hardened and ground.  They feature a Turcite-coated carriage and cross-slide that move smoothly on the solid cast iron bed and saddle guideways, thus ensuring superior rigidity, increased accuracy, improved cutting tool performance and longer machine life.

Long-Run Reliability

To automate for longer runs, Newmark purchased a ROMI Model G20 slant bed lathe, also featuring a GE Fanuc 21i-T CNC.  After prototype development on the M17, Newmark shifts production to the G20 for fast and reliable parts manufacturing.  The PCMCIA card feature on the GE Fanuc CNC makes moving a job from prototype to production a breeze, according to Bill Miracco, regional sales manager for ROMI.

"ROMI selected the GE Fanuc control because it is widely accepted by our customers and easy to use," Miracco says. "It supports the extreme reliability that end users expect from a ROMI machine, allows communication from machine to machine, and permits quality data collection."

The ROMI G series was designed with high-power production cutting in mind, and the 35 degree slant bed design is proof.  To provide rigidity and dampening required for heavy-duty cutting, an oversized Vee and Flat way design is utilized. The headstock features thermal insulation plates that prevent the heat,  produced during heavy cuts, to affect the part accuracy. The use of hardened and thread-ground ballscrews complete a machine design that offers years of reliable performance.

According to Filho, the reliability of the ROMI lathes combined with their efficiency has helped Newmark increase its business two-fold.  And, even with this increase in production, the lathes have experienced zero downtime.

"Newmark has consistently provided positioning equipment, motion control and optical solutions to a growing number of elite industry leaders such as Hughes, Raytheon, Boeing, Textron, Intel, Lucent and Delphi," Filho says. "We have also found a niche in the research arena and are proud to have been able to provide quality engineering support and positioning components to research organizations such as JPL, UCLA, TRW, Lawrence Livermore and Cornell University."

With highly reliable and easy to use machining equipment, Filho says, Newmark can commit to both tight deadlines and exceptional performance.  "We're now a cut above the competition," he explains, "and automated machining has helped to get us there."