History of machine tools
Around the 1960s-70s, the machine tool market was clearly split between those who used Machining Centers and those who used Transfer machines. However, over the years users of both these types of machine tools had to face the respective issues:
- poor flexibility for Transfer machine users
- low productivity for Machining Centers users
The onset of
Lean Manufacturing brought manufacturers closer to the concept of striking the right balance between flexibility and productivity, where the market challenge is staying productive, but without unnecessary stocks, which are expensive for the company.
Machining Center users sought to solve the issue by buying many of them and creating the “Machining Centers array” effect, a business model that is now no longer sustainable as it involves a staggering increase in fixed production costs, leading to a deadlock.
In their turn, Transfer machine users sought to solve the issue by developing “Flexible Transfer” models, machine tools that are starting to alert the market to the need for greater flexibility, which however, Transfer machines cannot guarantee or achieve.
Then, these 2 market drawbacks and this massive need led to the development of the
PORTACENTER, the first 3-spindle Machining Center, built in series.
The ideal machine tool to implement and apply the
Porta Production Method, based on lean manufacturing concepts and adapted to the world of machine tool users.
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