Month: June 2013

Multiple Solutions, Custom Tooling, And Your Precision Machining Shop

Posted on by

I remember the first time that I sat down to work on quadratic equations and discovered that there was more than one possible solution to the equation …

Yep Two solutions! Which one is right?
Yep! Two solutions! Which one is right?

How many of us realize that every day in our businesses, we are solving equations that have more than one solution?

How many of us realize that we have a choice between solutions, and that lowest price doesn’t necessarily mean lowest cost to us?

At Horn Technology Days, I attended a session on Customer Specific Tool Solutions presented by Todd Hayes.

Todd started his presentation with a challenge to the assumption that ROI is just about dollars.

As Todd put it:

“ROI is not just about dollars. Increase my tool life. Increase my machine operating time, increase my accuracy (especially on features tied to another!) reduce my time in cut by simultaneous machining. Give me my weekend back. Let me run lights out.”

This rang true with me.

When I produced  steel for machine shops, the purchasing agent was always looking at lowest price per pound- for the steel.

I told him that what he should be looking at is the lowest cost to produce the part. Steel price was just one part of that cost. The cost to machine it was another.

Todd was talking about creating special tools to solve problems in production

  • Maybe to make another tool position or two  available in an already crowded machine.
  • Or to get better control of the chip and finish.
  • Better accuracy, especially between different features.
  • Less time to setup or replace the tool.  
Yes the tool is more expensive but...
Yes the tool is more expensive but…

(click on photo to enlarge in separate window)

For short runs, the cost of a special tool is prohibitive. But not all of us are quoting short runs. But how many of us are still using short run thinking?

How many of us are solving for lowest tool price rather than optimum output?

  • What if the custom tool (or special steel grade) saved me several changes per day on several machines?
  • How much more machine operating time will I gain?
  • How much utilities will I save by not needing all the CFM of compressed air that we all over use when we change a tool?
  • How much  will I save because I have eliminated variability and or better controlled the chip so I do not have to inspect for chip weld and out of spec surface finishes?

I am not exhorting you to go out and buy specialist tools for every job. Just like I was not asking my customers to buy the premium machining grades of steel for every job.

I am asking you to recognize and challenge your assumptions about how you decide to purchase, just as I had to recognize and challenge my assumptions that there was only a single “solution” to those equations I faced in class that day.

Lowest price on purchases, or lowest cost of production?

Two solutions- you get to choose one.

Quadratic equation courtesy mathwarehouse.com

Free Forms Available For Download Here

Posted on by

Tools You Can Use Tuesday-  free graph paper, and forms of all types.

Over 1000 different types of papers as free pdf's
Over 1000 different types of papers as free pdf’s

You pay your engineers and talent for their skills – why not use them at their highest and best use?

Give them this link to free paper and business templates  and let them do actual engineering instead of wasting time trying to create the paper they  need.

Printable Paper offers all kinds of graph papers including:

  • Isometric (10 different styles)
  • Logarithmic (106 different styles)
  • Quadrille (181 different styles
  • Polar (22 different styles)
  • Cartesian grid

In addition, they list a variety of other papers for business (think accounting columnar paper, budget paper, check registers, etc.) and personal use like score sheets, music paper- about  1,031 papers you can download and print for free.

These are .pdf’s you can download.

Why spend valuable engineering time recreating  the obvious? Grab the pdf’s you want  here.

Do you have any favorite sites that provide Free Tools You Can Use in our  precision machining, advanced manufacturing businesses? Comment below to share your favorites.

Preparation is Anticipation- Joe Montana on Achieving Perfection

Posted on by

In my experience, the ability to anticipate is the mark of a great manager.

At the Epicor Insights 2013 Conference, some guy named Joe Montana helped me expand my idea about what “anticipation” means…

Ok. I admit that I do really know that Joe Montana was a professional football player. (U.S. Football)
Ok. I admit that I do really know that Joe Montana was a professional football player. (American Football)

Forgive me but I’m going to mention some professional football stuff here.

It’s a subject I know virtually nothing about.  (I’m from Cleveland, Ohio.) But I had the chance to listen to Joe Montana speak about perfection  and everyone around me was cheering and oohing and ahhhing so I took some photos and I took some good notes.

Joe Montana made the point that “How we prepare”-(how we show up)  has more to do with our success than our talent.

He convinced me to add ‘Preparation’ to ‘Anticipation’ as the sign of a great professional. That preparation and work ethic build trust.

Ok. You can stop rolling your eyes now. Pretty simple stuff. Pretty obvious. How come these famous guys always say these kinds of things?

Joe Montana’s  points for perfection

  • What can I do every day to make me better to make my team better? (I guess there really is an I in Team…)
  • Master the fundamentals. You can’t acheive perfection with out them.
  • Get the little details right. They will come back to help you.
  • Live your work ethic. Having a work ethic builds trust. there can be no success without trust.

I think that he has these right.

If we model a work ethic, we will not only build trust but lead by example.

Mastering our craft- all of it, not just the big ideas- of course that will make us better craftsmen.

His question “What can I do every day to make me better to make my team better?” is astonishingly close to the one I learned from a turnaround expert many years ago  “What can I do today to make my company the most money?”

I thought that these points from this winning football guy were certainly worth reflecting upon.

And ultimately worth sharing with you.

If we aren’t working on getting better every day?

If we don’t master the fundamentals?

If we don’t get the details right?

If we don’t live our work ethic?

Well?

The Catch.

Grill Safely- So you Can Enjoy That Great Food

Posted on by

Summer is around the corner, and for many of us that means great food hot off the grill.

Grilling season is here. IS your grilling safety here as well?
Grilling season is here. Is your grilling safety here as well?

Some shops have occasional grilled cookouts too, in their honor here is an infographic highlighting grilling safety.

Infographic courtesy of The Allstate Blog.
Now where did I put those steaks…

What Is Your Definition Of Real Time Costing You?

Posted on by

“I get my data in Real Time.”

What does that sentence mean to you?

These days Real time doesn't mean "by end of shift."
These days “Real Time” doesn’t mean “by end of shift” or ” tomorrow morning.”

When I ran a small cold finished mill, (years ago) it meant that I knew which jobs were on which machines.

It meant that I could hear the crane bridging to the scale with bundles, and I knew at the end of the shift how much production I had.

The next morning  in the office the production would be checked against the mill orders that had been issued, and the production then entered into inventory.

That was real time.

So  that next morning my inside sales team would see that the finished material was now in the system, and start to put together a truckload to get it shipped if it was “hot.”

If traffic could get a truck scheduled, it would probably be arranged for the next  shift, when material would be loaded and shipped.

Real time meant, that without heroic  efforts,  production was at least 2 shifts to maybe 4 shifts and 2 calendar days minimum away from the customer.

On hot expedites, we could use a  “sneaker net” as the production cleared the scale to rush production in to traffic and maybe shave a day off this cycle.

What if there was a delay at the machine, a crane breakdown, or unplanned maintenance?

That’s why you didn’t call in the trucks before you had material, right?

At the recent Epicor Insights 2013 conference, I had several conversations with representatives from Epicor Mattec MES regarding real time process monitoring.

In their world real time means I (and everyone on my team that needs to know) knows what the status of every job on every machine is at that moment.

In other words, “Faster time to value.”

That means that they are not waiting for a shift or two to verify production availability and scheduling. They know status as they need it.

So the production can be applied immediately upon completion, and needed steps to get it shipped can be staged with minimal risk.

What is your definition of Real Time?

I thought that knowing it was in the pipeline and when I expected it to be done was Real Time.

Today, technology and smart systems can give you back those extra days of material limbo.

What does real time mean to you? How many hours away from out the door is your system on a normal basis? Worst case basis?

More importantly, what will your customers tell you is their idea of your “real time” capability?

(Epicor is a technical member of the Precision Machined Products Association, an active particpant on our IT committee, and an active supporter and participant of PMPA mamagement and technical conferences. I was invited to speak to their attendees on  “Understanding Social Media and Web Search for Manufacturers.”)

May ISM Index at 49- Manufacturing Contracts

Posted on by

According to the latest ISM report for May 2013, manufacturing is contracting. The ISM index has fallen to its lowest level since June 2009. According to Dr. Ken Mayland, the decline of the PMI below 50 is a surprise to almost everyone.

But it is a continuation of a trend- this is the third consecutive month of decrease.
But it is a continuation of a trend- this is the third consecutive month of decrease.

“Economic activity in the manufacturing sector contracted in May for the first time since November 2012, and the overall economy grew for the 48th consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business,® according to Bradley J. Holcomb, CPSM, CPSD, chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Manufacturing Business Survey Committee.”

Here are the bullet points:

  • ISM PMI fell 1.7 points to 49- contraction!
  • PMI at lowest level since June 2009 when it was 45.8%- Let’s hope we don’t go there!
  • New Orders index declined by 3.5% to 48.8%
  • Production Index declined by 4.9% to 48.6%

10 of the 18 manufacturing industries reported growth in May in the following order: Printing & Related Support Activities; Nonmetallic Mineral Products; Fabricated Metal Products; Wood Products; Furniture & Related Products; Apparel, Leather & Allied Products; Food, Beverage & Tobacco Products; Electrical Equipment, Appliances & Components; Machinery; and Paper Products.

Precision Machining is a subset of Fabricated Metals, which was ranked number three on this list.

Silver Lining Department

“ISM’s Employment Index registered 50.1 percent in May, which is 0.1 percentage point lower than the 50.2 percent reported in April. This month’s Employment index indicates growth in employment for the 44th consecutive month, but at a slightly slower rate. An Employment Index above 50.5 percent, over time, is generally consistent with an increase in the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data on manufacturing employment.”

Manufacturers are still looking for to pick up people with skills who can add value.
Graph Courtesy Calculated Risk Blog