News El 6 Novocherkassk
A robot-assisted nipple manufacturing centre has been officially commisioned at EPM-NEP
Novocherkassk, 18 April 2019. Today, a formal commissioning ceremony for a modern robot-assisted graphitised electrode manufacturing system was held at the EPM – Novocherkassk Electrode Plant (part of the EPM). The event was timed to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the plant.
The project cost amounted to approximately 200 million Russian roubles. The project is a part of the EPM investment programme for the expansion of production capacities and the improvement of the production quality.
The modern robot-assisted nipple manufacturing system will allow mechanical processing at a higher level and more accurate geometrical dimensions of nipples by 5 times, up to 0.02 mm.
The robot-assisted system will include world-class equipment, such as ROMI machines and robotic manipulators, the latter being used for high-precision operations by such international companies as Apple, Boeing, Toyota, General Motors, BMW, Ford, Chrysler, Mitsubishi, and many others. The new-generation 500 kg capacity cargo handling robot features a compact design, improved performance, unique product gripper design, and increased working space. The equipment also includes a special-purpose computer-assisted system for ultra-precise measurement of the product geometry, which will allow the ultra-precise comprehensive geometry control for all output nipples.
Mikhail Tikhonov, the Deputy Governor of the Rostov Region, stated that the Novocherkassk Electrode Plant is one of the strategic companies of the region. The manufacturing process employs state-of-the-art technologies, including those allowing the reduction of environmental impact and improved energy efficiency.
Victor Nechuyatov CEO EPM, noted, "We are confident that this project will become a major step towards increasing the quality of our products and satisfying the needs of our customers".
Evgeny Churikov, the Managing Director of EPM-NEP, pointed out, "The key condition of the production capacity modernisation programme is the use of the state-of-the-art Russian-made and foreign-made equipment meeting the highest international standards of environmental and energy efficiency".
