Flexible Machining Cell with Two Turning Centers

A flexible machining cell with two turning centers is shown in Figure 10 while a similar arrangement with the turning center replaced by a machining center is shown in Figure 11. These FMCs can be arranged in any way that is required to suit the part spectrum being machined in the cell. The FMC can be combined into a bigger system which is normally called as FMS.

Figure 10 : Flexible Machining Cell with Turning Centres and a Robot Serving as the Material Handling Unit

When the robot has to service a larger number of machining units, it is possible to keep the robot base on a mobile unit. In such a case, the robot is arranged on rails so that it can cater to all the machining units.

Figure 11: Flexible Machining Cell with a Machining Centre and a Turning Centres with a Robot Serving as the Material Handling Unit