NEWS 2022-Ⅱ
CONTENTSTOPICS− New Product Open House Show 2022
− New Product Open House Show 2022 (Nagoya)− Chairman Inaba Inducted into the US Plastics Hall of Fame

− FANUC Factory Introduction [Mibu Press & Die Cast Factory]− FANUCʼs Cumulative CNC Production Reaches 5 Million− Four Seasons of FANUC

Photo taken June 2022

New Product Open House Show 2022
The New Product Open House Show took place at the Nature Hallat FANUC Headquarters for three days from Tuesday, May 17 toThursday, May 19 as the ﬁrst “real” Open House in three years.
Since life has yet to return to normal from the COVID-19
pandemic, the Open House was held taking adequate infection
prevention measures. The number of visitors invited was reduced
to about one third of previous Open Houses and the visiting time
was limited to two hours.
Since there was less congestion than in previous years, visitors
could take a closer look at FANUCʼs latest products andtechnologies, and listen to explanations in detail. Requests forlengthening the viewing time were received, which was highlyappreciated.

In the FA area, the main focus was on FANUCʼs CNC DigitalTwin, which eﬀectively improves machine performance.
Other exhibits featured the expansion of lineup, highmachining performance, minimizing down time, and quick
and easy integration of robots into machine tools. Manyvisitors showed interest in 3PC, Slice I/O, Fine Surface
Technology, and Digital Twin, among others.

The Robot area showcased a wide range of FANUC
robot applications, emphasizing collaborative robots thatare easy to use even for ﬁrst-time users. The corner wherevisitors could experience the CRX collaborative robot wasespecially popular to the point that Therefore, two morerobots were installed on the last day of the show to allow
more people to experience their use.

The Robomachine area exhibited the new models of
the ROBODRILL, ROBOSHOT, and ROBOCUT, and systems
combining their usage with robots, based on the theme of“ROBOMACHINE that continues to pursue enhancements
in machining performance, operating rate, and ease ofuse.” Visitors were impressed by the ROBODRILLʼs cycle
time reduction, ROBOSHOTʼs large display unit andnetwork connectivity, and ROBOCUTʼs improved pitch
accuracy and roundness, among others.

2New Product Open House Show 2022

FANUC NEWSIn addition, “one FANUC” themes, which are implemented
across the entire FANUC Group, were displayed, such as“IoT that contributes to making a factory smarter withdigital data” and “FANUCʼs approach to sustainability.”
FANUC highlighted sustainability for the ﬁrst time in an
exhibition, and explained the ways the company
contributes to solving challenges pertaining to the global
environment and society, through its FA, Robot, andRobomachine businesses.

The Service area introduced FANUCʼs various service
initiatives aiming for “a factory that does not stop,”
as well as the three training styles of the FANUC
Academy (lecture courses, live seminars, andon-demand seminars).
Many customers were interested in FabriQR contact, asmartphone-based inquiry service.

New Product Open House Show 2022 (Nagoya)
The New Product Open House Show 2022 (Nagoya) took
place in the Technical Center of the Nagoya Branch inKomaki, Aichi Prefecture, for two days from Wednesday,June 15 to Thursday, June 16.
While the ﬁrst day was marred with bad weather,patches of blue sky appeared on the second day with theheat hinting of the arrival of summer.
As with the New Product Open House Show held atHeadquarters in May, ample infection prevention
measures were taken in Nagoya as well, by limiting thenumber of visitors and viewing time.
FANUC product users working in
actual production sites saw the latest
models and functions, and many
provided direct feedback including
evaluations, expectations, andopinions.

3Chairman Inaba Inducted into the US Plastics Hall of Fame
Chairman Yoshiharu Inaba was chosen as a 2021 inductee
into the Plastics Hall of Fame in the United States, andreceived a memorial trophy and medal from the Plastics
Industry Association (PLASTICS).
Although the induction ceremony was initially planned totake place at last yearʼs Plastics Show (NPE2021), the Show
was postponed for a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The
ceremony was held instead at a hotel in Chicago on May 2
this year. Chairman Inaba attended online and the video of his
induction speech was aired at the venue.
Being inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame is the highest
honor bestowed on an individual, in recognition of his/her
contribution to the global development of the plastics
industry.
To date, 203 people have entered the Hall of Fame, with 2021
welcoming ten new inductees, including Chairman Inaba (asone of four new members of that year from Japan).
In 1983, Chairman Inaba developed the worldʼs ﬁrst
mass-production model of an all-electric injection molding
machine that uses a FANUC CNC and servo motor. Ever since,
he has been endeavoring to spread the use of all-electric
injection molding machines and to help theprecision-molding market grow. All-electric injection molding
machines signiﬁcantly contribute to carbon neutrality, which
is a common challenge for humanity. This achievement wasVenue of the Plastics Hall of Fame Induction CeremonyTrophyMedalalso recognized and led to his induction.
In his speech on being inducted into the Plastics Hall of Fame,
Chairman Inaba expressed his determination for furtherdevelopment as follows:“This tribute was totally unexpected. It is a great honor.
I was recommended by Milacron of the Hillenbrand Group,
who is our partner in the Americas. I am sincerely grateful to
the Society of the Plastics Industry in the U.S. for recognizing
the achievements of both Milacron and myself.
ROBOSHOT now has the highest share in Japanʼs injection
molding machine market. The stable, ultra-high precisionmolding capabilities of ROBOSHOT are useful to moldelectronic and optical parts. Along with such excellent
features, the low energy consumption is only a third
compared to hydraulic machines. This contributes greatly tocarbon neutrality required in todayʼs world. Currently, electricmolding machines have become popular and are themainstream in the molding industry. I will continue tocontribute to the development of the plastics industry in theU.S. and other countries worldwide, with what abilities that I
have.”
A message was received from President Jones of Milacron,
FANUCʼs partner in the U.S., to celebrate Chairman Inabaʼsinduction, and a commemorative tree planting ceremony washeld at Milacronʼs Head Oﬃce in Ohio on May 25.

Chairman Inaba shown on the monitor at the ceremony venue

Commemorative tree planting ceremony at Milacronʼs Head Oﬃce
4

FANUC Factory Introduction(Mibu Press & Die Cast Factory)

FANUC NEWSThe Mibu Press & Die Cast Factory was completed in April
2016 and began operating in October of the same year toincrease the production capacity of servo motors and topromote BCP (business continuity plan). The Factory isdivided into two areas (the Press area and Die Cast area),
where fabrication of servo motor components is performed

separately.
The Die Cast area in particular is working on beautiﬁcation
activities with the aim of becoming the world's cleanest die
cast factory. In addition, an automatic transport system is used
to deliver workpieces to the post-process in the Factory, thus
improving the eﬃciency of in-house logistics.

In recent years, built-in spindle motors are increasingly usedas the spindle driving mechanism in machine tools.
Especially to meet the growing demands from thelarge-model market, the Mibu Press & Die Cast Factory has
installed a new large die cast machine to cast large rotors(external diameter of 265mm).
Rotors of built-in spindle motors for spindles are cast by
pouring molten aluminum into the core, which is made oflaminated electromagnetic steel sheets. The casting ofthese rotors is the aluminum casting of the largest diameterwithin FANUC, and such casting is extremely diﬃcult.
However, by repeatedly conducting X-ray checks of castporosity and detailed analysis of cast data, the Factory has
succeeded in the mass-production of high-quality castrotors.
The die cast machine, which comprises the core of production, is a large unit with a height of over 9m including theinjection device. The machine is composed of a horizontal
clamping device which opens and closes the die sideways,
and a vertical injection unit that pours molten aluminum
into the die in the upper section. Although vertical injection
units mainly use vertical clamping devices, FANUC uses ahorizontal clamping device so that casting burrs generated
during casting will fall out of the die during removal and will
not remain in the die. In addition, a servo motor powers thehydraulic pump that drives the die cast machineʼs injection
cylinder, which saves power through its idling stop function.
Moreover, all processes are automated by using robots,
enabling unmanned operation. Ingots of raw materials areautomatically unloaded by robots with 3D area sensors, andare then loaded into the aluminum melting holding furnace.
During casting, the tasks of supplying molten aluminum tothe injection unit, pre-heating the core and inserting it intothe die, cleaning the die, and applying the die lubricant are
performed by three robots at an appropriate timing toachieve both high cycle time and high quality. Sprue cutting
after casting is conducted by a robot with a general-purpose
bandsaw, and a ROBODRILL is used to machine cut surfaces.
Each cast rotor is imprinted with a QR code to associateindividual rotor with the date and time of production andcasting data, which is useful for quality control. The Mibu
Press & Die Cast Factory will continue to manufacture andsupply quality components and support the stable supply ofbuilt-in spindle motors.

Rotor die casting equipment for built-in spindle motors for large spindles

Cast rotors

View of rotor die casting equipment

Detecting and unloading ingots
using 3D area sensors

Cutting the sprue of the cast workpiecewith a general-purpose bandsaw

Machining the sprue cut opening
with a ROBODRILL

5

FANUCʼs Cumulative CNC Production Reaches 5 Million
FANUC started developing NCs in 1955, and from this time on,
FANUC has been consistently pursuing factory automation.
Since producing the ﬁrst unit in 1958, FANUC has beensteadily producing results to achieve a cumulative productionof 10,000 CNCs in 1974, 1 million in 1998, 2 million in 2007,
3 million in 2013, and 4 million in 2018. In February 2022,
FANUC reached a milestone of a cumulative production of 5
million CNCs.

Four Seasons of FANUC
Plants absorb the warm sunshine to sprout new leaves in
the forests in and around FANUC.
Entering a forest, rich in vivid fresh greenery and lively

with the chirping of birds and ﬂapping of insectsʼ wings,
visitors will be welcomed by an abundance of small wild
grass and ﬂowers blooming steadfastly at their feet.

Pyrola asarifolia subsp. incarnata

Cypripedium japonicum Thunb

Maianthemum dilatatum
6

FANUCʼs History Series 5“FANUC 200A”
Developed in 1972 and having a dedicated small computer,the 200A was a multi-purpose CNC oﬀering ﬂexibility inselecting the combination of hardware and software modules.
The 200A took advantage of CNCsʼ features to enable theediting of machining programs stored in the memory, which
was not possible with hard-wired NCs.
By changing the internal control program, the 200A supportedmilling, turning, turret punch pressing, special multi-axes
machines, and more.

3580 Shibokusa, Oshino-mura, Minamitsuru-gun, Yamanashi 401-0597 Japanwww.fanuc.co.jp
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©FANUC CORPORATION September. 2022