New FMS to boost production of MBT engines at Chennai ordnance factory

The Engine Factory in Avadi (near Chennai) will now be able to produce more engines for India's Main Battle Tanks (MBT) after a new Flexible Manufacturing System (FMS) was commissioned at the ordnance factory on Tuesday. The FMS is expected to double the engine production capacity of the plant to 750.

The facility was dedicated to the nation by Hari Mohan IOFS, Chairman, Ordnance Factory Board. The Engine Factory (Avadi) has state of the art machines, including the first FMS in the country.  

The development comes after the Ministry of Defence approved the augmentation of production capacity of engines at the factory in order to meet the Army’s demand for more tanks and engine spares. 

The commissioning of the FMS will enable the factory to meet the enhanced requirements of engines and spares, said R Shyam Sunder IOFS, the General Manager of the Engine Factory.

The machine has four large CNC machining centres connected by a common rail guided vehicle for handling 40 pallets and a 450-tool magazine.   

Any of the 20 types of V46, V92 and UTD engine parts can be machined flexibly in any of the 4 machines as decided by an advanced host computer in unmanned mode.    

A laser-enabled tool breakage detection system, tool pre-setter, compressor, advanced CNC controller, coolant chiller, temperature control and compensation and a hydraulically operated fixture mechanism are some of the salient features of the machine.

The machine has an interactive dashboard facility for planning, scheduling and monitoring the work progress on a real time basis.  

The FMS project has been ordered at the cost of Rs 148.4 crore.

Engine Factory Avadi is the only organization in the country dedicated to manufacturing fully indigenised engines for Indian Army’s MBTs.