Mii Technologies Introduces New Press System for Parts Manufacturing
28 November 2000
Mii Technologies Introduces Revolutionary New Press System for Parts Manufacturing; Old-Economy Process Revitalized by New-Economy Thinking
WEST LEBANON, N.H.--Nov. 27, 2000--Mii Technologies, L.L.C., today introduced a radical new press technology that promises to dramatically alter the way companies manufacture parts. The new system, using powder metallurgy, is 100% digitally controlled. It incorporates dozens of innovations that, as a total system, offers the ability to expand the "design envelope" for parts, while improving the overall methodology and capital structure for manufacturing.At the same time, the Mii system produces parts that have been recognized by the industry and customers as superior in quality to those from traditional press systems. The products are nearer net-shape, requiring far less post-press treatment or machining. Mii and one of its customers, SHURflo Pump Manufacturing Co., won a Grand Prize at the Metal Powder Industries Federation conference in June.
Surprisingly, however, the system is a fraction the size of current presses. Traditional presses for compaction and sizing are behemoths that stand 12 feet or more tall, with another six feet in the ground below; the Mii system is about the size of a refrigerator, easily able to be moved about on the shop floor. Despite the major technology advances, the system is priced competitively with traditional press systems available from manufacturers in North America, Europe and the Pacific Rim. In a striking change from most market players, Mii offers its systems for lease as turnkey systems, enabling its customers to get the use of major capital equipment without the need for the scale of up-front investment currently required.
"Our new system lets users produce parts they simply could not have manufactured in large-scale production and in a business model that no other system would allow them to do," said Alan F. Beane, Chairman and CEO of Mii. "They can make parts 24 hours a day, seven days a week with just one shift of workers - true lights-out manufacturing.
"That's because of our fully digital system, which also allows for constant quality monitoring, as well as remote management and diagnostics. Those capabilities are common in many business sectors, but it's unheard-of in this industry.
"The result of all this is that our system redefines the very physical facilities, employment skills and infrastructure requirements needed to support large-scale parts production. The plant can be much more compact and efficient; the workers need only experience in computer-controlled manufacturing, rather than the far scarcer expertise in traditional press operation; and the press operation uses a much simpler system of power and controls."
The Mii system uses a unique "docking station" architecture that allows each press to be plugged into the hydraulic and electric power, digital controls and powder supply needed to operate. When a change needs to be made in the part being manufactured, the press can be removed from the docking station by a forklift truck and quickly replaced by a new press, already tooled for the new job. This architecture can dramatically reduce press downtime, a major problem for manufacturers, since re-tooling of traditional presses can take multi-million-dollar assets out of action for days at a time.
When a system is ordered, it typically is available for delivery to a customer at about the same time as would be required for tooling a traditional press, as opposed to the 12- to 18-month lead time required for traditional press orders. This enables customers to more closely match manufacturing capacity with market demand.
The system has been in use by Mii since April to manufacture parts for customers such as SHURflo and Dudley Lock Co. Mii currently is negotiating with several manufacturers to acquire presses for installation and use in their own facilities.
Additional information and background about the new system are available at the Mii website, www.miitechnologies.com. A publication-quality photo can be downloaded from the site.