Thomas R. Brewer

In order to reduce the set up time, what happens before and at the machine needs to be handled properly and streamlined. This page is a sample outline of what must happen before an order gets to the machine.

Step one is to identify what must happen before the order gets to the machine, when it must happen and who is responsible to see that each action item gets done.

What I am going to outline here is not for all companies but more of a general rule for manufacturing.  The goal is to keep the machine running,  in order to do that the machinist or operator must be at the machines.  Anything that takes them away from the machine or process that results in the machine not running is referred to as down time.  The level of automation determines how many machines the machinist is capable of running.

Normal Findings for Companies Small, Medium and Large

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What is needed before an order can be machined?

• Order
• Machine
• Drawing
• Tooling
• Fixture
• Material
• Machine Program
• Tool Layout
• Inspection Equipment
• Knowledge
• Time

How much machine time is lost when these items fail to happen properly?  How often does it happen?  The more of these items that a machinist must coordinate is also the more time spent away from the machine.  Does the machinist or person responsible for these items have the time to check them before the order reaches the machine?

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 7 P's?
proper  prior  planning  prevents  piss  poor  performance

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Order

Shop order form should have all pertinent information needed by the machinist in order to run the machine. The machine shop should never have to look for documents, the documents should come to them already checked and ready to go.

Machine

Machine must be available and capable of doing the work.  Machine lubrication, maintenance and cleanliness must be kept up.  Each machine should be identified with its capabilities,  this should be checked before the order is scheduled for a machine. Check to see the fixture, tooling, and material fit the capabilities of the machine.

The first time a new job is scheduled the capabilities of the machines if not known already should be checked.  There should be a simple visual way to communicate when a machine goes down or equipment is not in working order.

Drawings

All drawings and referenced documents should checked and with the order before the order gets scheduled and/or moved to the machine..  If a company makes its own CAD drawings the program should be capable and enough lead time should be allotted to assure the paperwork is complete before the order is scheduled for or moved to the machine.

Tooling

All tooling, inserts, drills etc. should be with the order or on hand before the order is scheduled and/or moved to the machine. A program should not have to be edited tl changing feeds and speeds because the proper tooling is not on hand when needed.

Standardize tool positions and types where possible.  There are always standard tools in a shop used on almost all if not all jobs.  These tools should be in the same position in each machine and when the offsets are set properly they should remain there.

All hand tools necessary to do a normal setup should be within arms reach.  Tools and the work space must be clean and orderly.  An operator or setup person should never have to look for a wrench or insert, time used to hunt down items is machine time lost.  Every thing should have a place and everything should be in its place when not in use.

Fixture

Fixture, Collets, Vise, Index etc. should be checked, inspected and on hand before the order is scheduled for a machine.  Fixture need to be set up and ready with the order or at the machine before the order is ready to be moved to the machine.

Material

Material needs to be on hand, inspected for conformance and ready for the machine before being scheduled for the machine. Include purchasing, any outside processing that must be performed before it get to the machine.  In and out Q areas should be identified so operator does  not need to look for any orders or material.

Machine Program

Program should be ready to send to the machine before the order is moved to the machine.  CAM program should be in place and capable.  I have seen a lot of machine shops program at the machine, if a company programs at the machine controller they will not be able to achieve the goal of an average set up time of 15 minutes.  Having the ability of programming at the machine does not make it cost effective.

On CAM systems that have the ability to program Visual Basic for Applications, Scripts or Macro capabilities.  Using these programs can reduce programming time to less than 2 minutes on family of parts.  I have this capability and can demonstrate to you if necessary.  Standardizing tooling and tool positions can help here as well.

This outline is for general rules,  programming at the machine needs to be determined on a case by case basis,  use hard numbers not generalities or preconceived ideas.  In general how much is it worth to keep the machine running and not down waiting for programming.

A program transfer system should be used DNC or cable from a linked computer to download and upload programs.  Never should a program need to be punched in by hand even small programs.  The time it takes to punch in a program is a waste and there is no way to download proofed out programs .

Tool Layout

Tool layout should be in the work order before order is moved to the machine.

Inspection Equipment

Necessary inspection tools must be checked and on hand before the order is scheduled for the machine.  Any special instructions to the set up person or operators should be in the work order before order is moved to the machine.

Knowledge

When the order gets to the machine it is too late to find out people do not have the skills or knowledge to run the job.  Do employees know how to program, set up, inspect and run this job?  This needs to be addressed when taking or before scheduling the order.  A company skills matrix is a valuable tool for this.

I recommend filling out a skills matrix on each employee.  This takes very little time, is a good tool to schedule people as well as human resources.  A matrix tells an employee where they are and what they need to learn to go to the next level.  It can be reviewed at employee review time.

Time

Everybody involved in any or all of these items need to have the time available within the time frame needed to get and keep things running smoothly.  People need enough time to finish an item without having to hurry,  work flow should be a steady rhythm.  People should be busy but If they have to hurry to complete tasks mistakes, possibly costly mistakes will be made.

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Normal Findings for Companies Large, Medium and Small

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If you have any questions or comments please email me,
I look forward to hearing from you.
brewertr@aol.com

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