Here is the detailed report of the machine tool utilization test you took at fastems.com. These results and development ideas are based on your answers - we hope that you get some valuable information to improve your production! Since we do not know your real production data, remember that this result is only an estimate.
1. PART LOADING
The question was:Do you have a bar feeder and/or part unloader?
Your answer was No.
Based on your answer
Loading the next part manually requires near-constant attendance of the operator. Sometimes it might happen that the operator is not readily at the machine tool, when the part loading should happen. In the long run this has a big effect to the utilization of the machine tool. Using a bar feeder is often the first step towards more unattended production. In case a bar feeder is not an alternative, a robot cell could be the solution, offering also greater potential for productivity increase through the possibility of integrating more processes to the cell.
2. CYCLE TIME
The question was: "Do your machining operations take several hours?"
Your answer was Yes.
Based on your answer
The longer the cycle time, the better one can survive with no automation since there is plenty of time to prepare the next parts or batch while the previous one is machined. In case your machining operations take hours, the share of your part loading or setup time for the machine tool is rather small - you are all good here.
3. BATCH SIZES
The question was: "Do you manufacture small batches per type (5-20 parts)?"
Your answer was No.
Based on your answer
When you produce large batches, you can typically setup the following order while the previous one is machined. It keeps the machines running quite nicely, and the utilization is in good level. However, producing items to stock is not necessarily the best way to go if the market demand is not stable. Keeping an inventory can tie a significant capital and floorspace, and there can be a risk for the stock items to outdate and end up to scrap.
4. LABOR
The question was: "Do you have a dedicated person for each machine tool all the time?"
Your answer was Yes.
Based on your answer
It is good that you have a dedicated person for each machine during your production hours. This reduces the machine waiting times when there is a sudden event in production, such as tool break, raw material shortage, or other error situation at the machine. Did you know that even when the machine waited for only 10 minutes each hour for a tool change or such, it would mean 800 lost machining hours in a year (when working in two shifts)?
Would you like to save in personnel costs?
Having an operator dedicated for each machine full-time can be costly - on the other hand machine waiting time when operator has too much to do is even more costly. Flexible automation can do much of the heavy, time consuming and repetitive work for the operator, allowing him or her to run multiple machine tools. Also the lights-out production is possible, since the setups and buffering can be made in advance. This significantly increases machine tool utilization while generating labor savings.
5. RAW MATERIALS
The question was: "Can You plan raw materials by the hour for the next two days?"
Your answer was Yes.
Based on your answer
Being able to plan and prepare raw materials in advance is an important factor for high machine utilization. If raw materials are missing or the machines need to wait for them for any reason, it drops the utilization rate and in the long term, a lot of machining hours are lost. It is great you have this area covered!
6. CUTTING TOOLS
The question was: "Can You plan tools by the hour for the next two days?"
Your answer was Yes.
Based on your answer
Being able to plan and prepare cutting tools in advance is an important factor for high machine utilization. If the tools were missing or the machine had to wait for the tool setups, it would drop the utilization significantly in long term. It is great you have this area covered!
How do you manage your tool lives?
Utilizing the cutting tool for its full life without ending up to the point when the tool breaks and causes scrap or in the worst case, a spindle crash, is something all manufacturers should aim for. For this you need the tool data management system that communicates with your machine tools. This way you can be sure that you always machine with good tools, and when is the right time to rework them. In case your tool lives are very short, you might want to consider to automate the tool transfers as well - that improves the machine tool utilization greatly when the tools are forming a production bottleneck.
If you are under consideration on how to solve the challenges of production cost per unit, high WIP or inventory, long lead times, ensuring quality and tracing, this guide is the one to download.
Do you know the true utilization of your machine tools?
Oftentimes it turns out that manufacturers are under the assumption that their utilisation rates would be much higher than they actually are. Read more about the reasons behind this as well as about the solutions automation might bring to the table.
We hope you got valuable ideas from this report. If you want to discuss more on any of these topics, or make more detailed utilization calculations based on your real production data and calculate what kind of numeral results flexible automation would give to you, we are here for you! You can contact your regional sales manager by email or phone here.
With best regards,
Team Fastems
Fastems delivers intelligent factory automation solutions that help metalworking manufacturers to increase their productivity. Learn more about Fastems and visit www.fastems.com.
Fastems Oy Ab, Tuotekatu 4, Tampere, Finland 33840, +358 3 268 5111
