MAZAK VARIAXIS i-300 AWC Operation and Potential Issues

[golfer89]

Has anyone spent time with a VARIAXIS i-300 AWC ? I'm curious to know how it performs in real-world situations.

What are your thoughts on its performance, capabilities, and user-friendliness, etc..?

I'd appreciate it if anyone could share any issues or challenges they've encountered while using the AWC system. This is my main concern as it would be our first 'pallet pool' style machine. Have there been any reliability concerns, maintenance challenges, or design flaws that you've come across in your experience with this machine?

 

[manofwar17]

I previously worked for a company that acquired 2 of them. I was only there in the initial months of the setup process on the machines. We were almost exclusively Mazak so the machine side came pretty easy. We had a week of training from Mazak, but only ended up using 2 days before we let the AP go home. The machine is a Variaxis with a robot.

For performance I'd rate the machine 8/10. The build is solid and works.
Capabilities are maybe like 5/10. It's a massive machine with a tiny working envelope and doesn't do turning (that I'm aware of)
User-friendliness is 4/10. If you've run a Mazak before the control (Smooth-X or Smooth-Ai) the machine side should be familiar. But the robot and the tool handling system were brand new for that machine, and were a nightmare if you got them stuck. The ATC on the machines we had had 3 transfer stations and 5 belts. I'm almost certain the ATC had more axis than the rest of the machine combined. It was also super sensitive. To much light in the top of the machine? Sensors stop working. tool body to shiny? Sensors stop working. Coolant mist in the ATC area? Sensor stops working. You eventually work through most of these bugs, but it will randomly stop the machine when any of the sensors report an error.

All that being said, I wouldn't say no to running another one. I like Mazaks, and all machines that complicated are going to have some quirks. If you have the right part this machine might make sense. But it really needs to run 24/7. For us this took maybe 2-3 months to get it to run all night, than another couple months to get it running over the weekend.

 

[golfer89]

I previously worked for a company that acquired 2 of them. I was only there in the initial months of the setup process on the machines. We were almost exclusively Mazak so the machine side came pretty easy. We had a week of training from Mazak, but only ended up using 2 days before we let the AP go home. The machine is a Variaxis with a robot.

For performance I'd rate the machine 8/10. The build is solid and works.
Capabilities are maybe like 5/10. It's a massive machine with a tiny working envelope and doesn't do turning (that I'm aware of)
User-friendliness is 4/10. If you've run a Mazak before the control (Smooth-X or Smooth-Ai) the machine side should be familiar. But the robot and the tool handling system were brand new for that machine, and were a nightmare if you got them stuck. The ATC on the machines we had had 3 transfer stations and 5 belts. I'm almost certain the ATC had more axis than the rest of the machine combined. It was also super sensitive. To much light in the top of the machine? Sensors stop working. tool body to shiny? Sensors stop working. Coolant mist in the ATC area? Sensor stops working. You eventually work through most of these bugs, but it will randomly stop the machine when any of the sensors report an error.

All that being said, I wouldn't say no to running another one. I like Mazaks, and all machines that complicated are going to have some quirks. If you have the right part this machine might make sense. But it really needs to run 24/7. For us this took maybe 2-3 months to get it to run all night, than another couple months to get it running over the weekend.

Thank you very much! Appreciate your insight