Review Paper on: SPM Milling Machine

Abstract

In the modern manufacturing industry, automation plays a crucial role in increasing production efficiency, reducing labour costs, and ensuring consistent product quality. There is high requirement for such automated solutions in industries, that can deal with manufacturing of high-volume and small precise keys. Square keys and round keys made up of materials like Brass or Alloy Steel, are used in various mechanical applications. Which needs to be produced with good precision and high scale. These keys generally involve with special operation requirement like Saddle milling and cutting which cannot be performed on the single conventional machine without manual intervention. The traditional methods of saddle milling and cutting keys can be labour-intensive and prone to errors, leading to inefficiencies and reduced throughput. The outcome of this review is to Identify market gap and share general idea or understanding of SPM machine which can produce kind of key which has saddle milling and cutting operation requirement in mass production layout.

Introduction

A leading brass key manufacturer in Pune seeks a high-speed, automated milling solution to perform saddle milling and cutting of small brass keys (25-30mm, 2.5-3g) with minimal manual intervention. The goal is to meet a daily production demand of 3000-4000 keys within a 10-hour shift efficiently and cost-effectively.

Current Challenges:
Conventional milling machines and band saws require significant manual labor, have long cycle times exceeding the target of 20 seconds per key, consume high power (3-20 kW), and entail high operational and maintenance costs. These limitations restrict production capacity and scalability, making current methods inefficient and costly.

Project Objectives:

• Develop an automated milling machine achieving a 20-second cycle time.

• Ensure production capacity of 3000-4000 keys per day.

• Keep costs within ?5-6 lakhs.

• Limit power consumption to 5 kW/hr.

• Minimize manual involvement while maintaining precision.

Initial Concept:
The machine design includes three induction motors to drive the saw blade cutter and saddle milling tools, and a worm screw mechanism. A pneumatic feeding and clamping system using five pneumatic actuators will automate key handling. The machine’s structure will be built from mild steel with an electronic control system featuring microcontrollers, sensors, and closed-loop control methods to achieve automation and precision.

Conclusion

The SPM Milling Machine successfully identifies the feasibility of combining saddle milling and cutting operations on a single machine to meet manufacturer requirements and performance metrics. Key benefits include: 1) Increased productivity and efficiency 2) Improved product quality and consistency 3) Reduced labour costs and manual interference 4) Energy efficiency and cost savings

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2025 Shrikant Silam, Nikhil Chopade, Dhanashri Ingawale. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.