Mechanical Technology

Mechanical Technology — October 2015

⎪

On the cover

⎪

Above:

Based on the UK-model, SMC South Africa will offer X-factor and quickly imple-

mentable RFS customisations from its Midrand facility. Valve manifold assemblies will also be

accommodated in the new South African facility.

Right:

Valve manifold assemblies will also be

accommodated in the new South African facility.

time in the future,” adds Abbott.

X-factor customisations involve spe-

cial assembly and machining, which will

be accommodated at SMC Pneumatics’

4 000 m

South African facility currently

nearing completion in Midrand, Gauteng.

“SMC has invested some R15-million on

machining and tooling equipment for this

new facility to accommodate customisa-

tions such as these,” Smith assures.

The X-factor option, however, is only

the first level of customisation that has

now become available to South African

customers. If a customer’s needs cannot

be accommodated via X-factor options,

then an SMC sales engineer will help

the customer generate what we call a

‘request for special’ or RFS. “If you need

to retrofit a CP96 to an existing bracket

and the standard holes don’t line up for

example, then an RFS customisation may

have to be done to drill the mounting

holes in different positions,” says Abbott.

“Or the standard piston rod material

might not be suitable for the application.

These are very specific modifications

that are not covered by the X-factors and

these go through to a team of engineers

in our European Technical Centre, based

in Milton Keynes England. They assess,

design and quote on these more complex

customer requirements.

“Locally, with the machine tools

we will have in the new facility, many

actuator rod special modifications can

be accommodated. In the SMC world

these customisations are termed ’simple

specials’ and many can be found in our

standard catalogue. Most suppliers have

a customisation offering, but few will do

these detailed customisations such as

moving the mounting holes or adding a pin

hole though the rod tip,” Smith believes.

As well as the investment in the

machine shop, the current production

manager for SMC’s UK production facil-

ity, Peter Austin, will be coming to South

Africa for a year to manage local produc-

tion, transfer skills into South Africa and

to make sure the facility achieves its

customisation goals.

“And while South Africa is a smaller

operation than SMC UK and SMC Japan,

Peter knows the capability of the UK

facility, so if we do not have the local

capability to deliver the customised

request, we can get it done in the UK

within a targeted maximum time of 10

or so days,” says Smith.

“Further, if the RFS is something that

the UK has not seen before, then it will

be sent to SMC Japan, which will decide

whether it is possible or cost effective to

supply the customisation. In the case

where Japan can’t supply the specific

RFS, then it will be passed onto SMC’s

global research and development team.

While the customer may have to find an

alternative solution in the short term,

the RFS will be logged and retained for

future reference and action. Should simi-

lar requests come from other customers

around the world, then SMC will invest

in the development of a solution, which

will be made available to all users via a

new X-factor or a quickly implementable

RFS,” he explains.

“In this way, we are a company that

continually improves its offering. SMC

listens and uses the RFS to identify evolv-

ing needs in the market,” Smith informs

MechTech

“By offering engineering services

through X-factor, simple specials or RFS

customisations, we are able to retrofit old-

er machines with our more modern com-

ponents or supply components to best

match the designs of new machines,”

continues Abbott. “Customers that do not

have the machines, skills or component

knowledge benefit, not only because of

the convenience, but any modification

completed in our facility will be fully

tested and certified to comply with SMC’s

global quality standards. Modifications

made haphazardly at a jobbing shop may

fail prematurely, impacting the reliability

of the machine and the success of the

entire operation,” he warns.

During the RFS request, there is

continual and up to date communication

between the European Technical Centre

and our own people here in South Africa.

All communications are recorded and

time frames given. Once a proposed solu-

tion has been found, drawings are made

and a quote generated. Only once the

drawings and quote have been accepted

by the customer will the manufacturing

process begin,” says Abbott.

“Ultimately, our goal is to accurately

match the processes and systems re-

quirements of our customers,” Smith

says. “SMC is systematically evolving

based on accumulated RFS requests

across the globe. This is a key differen-

tiator. We do some research based on

futuristic concepts, but we also focus

on the present demands and require-

ments of our market. By doing this we

are continually servicing and developing

solutions to better meet the real needs of

real customers,” he concludes.