Mazak's iSMART Factory brings the benefits of IIoT to medical device manufacturing automation

Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the October 2025 print edition of Today's Medical Developments under the headline “Connecting with Mazak’s iSMART production concept”.

Automation has been something of a buzzword in the manufacturing industry lately as companies increasingly realize the technology is mandatory for success. But for Mazak Corp., provider of machine tools, it’s far from a new concept. The company has been developing automated production solutions since the 1980s. Mazak’s iSMART Factory is a concept that, while tailored to the company’s own manufacturing process – large-scale production of machine tools – can be adapted to many manufacturing processes. The goal is to make all production facilities smart, connected, and up to date with the latest digital technologies, such as automation, robotics, and the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

“The iSMART concept is centric to data,” says Tyler Massey, assistant manager of software development at Mazak. “It’s going to capture data from several different parts of the process and then tell us the story of what’s happening so we can identify and prevent bottlenecks. We can help plants in the future. We can forecast things that are going to happen before they happen, so we can either prevent them or make improvements to processes that are ultimately going to help us meet or exceed our customers’ expectations.”

Automation and customization

Automation has been a vital solution to the simultaneous issues of increasing production demands and decreasing workforce, allowing manufacturers to run lights-out operations and maintain or increase overall production levels. With increased speed and productivity comes increased risk of error, but automation can standardize processes and reduce human error.

Mazak’s solutions include standardized factory automation systems as well as custom systems – the company has an entire department dedicated to custom automation. One of Mazak’s latest developments is its Ez LOADER lineup of standalone automation systems equipped with collaborative robots (cobots). They feature pallets with templates for loading and unloading material, and you don’t need to be a programming expert to use them thanks to their simple, icon-based programming system.

“You can literally just pick an icon, drop it onto a timeline, and that creates a process for that robot to execute,” explains Product Manager Jason Taylor. “You just have to answer some simple questions about what size the part is, how many there are, which template you’re using. To take that even a step further, it has its own built-in vision system, so you could have this robot system on multiple different machines at the same time.”

The vision system is designed to look for targets on the side of compatible Mazak CNC machines, which it uses to align itself to the machine, making it easily redeployable to a variety of machines. This flexibility reduces cycle times and enables lights-out operation, and the customization department works with individual manufacturers to develop systems tailored to their needs.

Befriending data

In terms of IIoT, it’s all about data acquisition and management. Mazak uses the MTConnect standard to pull data from equipment, analyze it, and use it to monitor the health of machines, trace parts, and overall improve processes.

“The data is painting you a picture, it’s telling you a story,” Massey says. “By being able to analyze that and then determine what’s happening by seeing past trends, you’re able to really hone in on areas that need to be looked at or improved within your process.”

Part traceability is especially critical in the medical manufacturing industry. If an implant causes an infection, everything about its origins must be assessed: what machine and program produced it, who ran the machine, even at what time of day it was manufactured. A good part tracing system goes all the way back to the origins of the component’s raw materials, so if there’s a problem, it can be pinpointed, fixed, and prevented from recurring.

There’s a flip side to pretty much everything, however, and while the manufacturing industry’s increased connectivity is enabling remarkable progress, it comes with some serious risks. As their operations become more and more digitally based, manufacturers are now confronted daily with once rare cyberattacks. Mazak is no newcomer to digital technology, though, so it’s built up some serious cybersecurity measures including data encryption, access control, patch management, and constant vulnerability scanning.

In addition to those software-based defenses, the company developed hardware called the Mazak SmartBox, a multipurpose Internet of Things (IoT) device that performs Internet Protocol (IP) segregation to keep a company’s sensitive assets invisible in case of a network breach. It also enables sensor connectivity for high frequency data sampling to extract even more data than the CNC machines offer. This is where customization comes in again – users can connect any sensors they want and can tailor the SmartBox to their environment by adding their own cybersecurity software solutions.

A smart and creative approach

Mazak continues to build its automated, connected portfolio and works closely with the medical manufacturing industry, monitoring trends and developing solutions to meet changing needs.

“One thing we’ve done is we’ve taken a lot of our smaller footprint machines, our Integrex i-100s and i-200s, and we put high power torque mill spindles on those machines to handle the Inconel and some of the exotic materials the medical industry uses,” says Product Manager Joe Wilker. “You can’t machine some of this material unless you have horsepower and a lot of torque.”

Mazak’s Integrex line includes hybrid, multi-tasking, Done In One machines incorporating turning, milling, 5-axis machining, and three gear machining methods (gear skiving, hobbing, and end milling) in one package. This one-stop-shop approach reduces lead times and enables easier part tracking. As industries, including medical manufacturing, require increasingly smaller and more complex parts, Mazak has also introduced the Syncrex line of Swiss-type production turning machines for rapid manufacturing of parts less than 1.5" in diameter.

Wilker alludes to a new machine on the horizon whose details are still under wraps but, he says, will be even smaller and geared toward medical manufacturing. Mazak works with other hardware and software manufacturers to streamline automation technology and reduce the steps in 5-axis machining to meet the industry’s ever-increasing demands for efficiency. The company is also involved in developing MTConnect standards with the goal of expanding data collection capabilities.

Staying competitive in today’s manufacturing environment is all about doing things faster while still meeting vital quality and safety requirements – in short, getting smarter, so the iSMART Factory is aptly named. In that regard, Mazak will never run out of processes to improve or problems to solve using new data collection techniques or autonomous systems. Whether it’s a tool setter offering automated calibration and cutting fluid resistance or a gantry system requiring zero changeover, Mazak is prepared to continue delivering creative solutions to medical manufacturers.

Clare Scott is managing editor for GIE Media’s Manufacturing Group of publications. She can be reached at CScott@Gie.net.