Workpiece and Tool Handling in Metal Cutting Machines

Recently many researchers have focused substantial efforts on understanding the cutting process in mechanics, capability and design. Advances in machine performance with research towards high performance cutting (HPC) and high speed cutting (HSC) have led to improved tool properties and application of advanced materials. Because of that, primary processing time has been successfully reduced, which leads to the need for re-focusing on reduction of secondary processing time. Minimizing the time for workpiece and tool changing, re-positioning, workpiece handling, and tool handling systems shift attention towards improvement of these systems which are currently installed in various metal cutting machine tools. This paper presents an approach for the assessment of the technological effectiveness of workpiece and tool handling systems for metal cutting machine tools, gives an overview of the state of the art of these systems, surveys recent developments and elaborates requirements for future systems.