Jun 25
StevenDeamUncategorized
The sixth waste that we will examine is that of over-processing. The definition of over-processing is to do more work on a piece than is required by the customer. In the simplest explanation this is simply anything done to the part that does not add value to the product. A good – and controversial – example of over-processing a part is inspection.
Pretty much everyone would agree (I assume) that inspection is a necessary part of the process of precision manufacturing. When it comes to precision aerospace parts, it is difficult to imagine shipping parts without a full detailed inspection. The consequence of a defective part could be catastrophic – so we inspect everything. However in the process of inspection, assuming that the part is manufactured properly and passes inspection, nothing is done to increase the value to the customer. The part is exactly the same after inspection as it was before.
There are many other ways to over-process a precision machined part. Using tools that are more expensive than necessary, running machines too slow, over-engineering the fixtures, holding a tolerance beyond what is necessary for function, or a number of other problems. Of all of the wastes, I think that over-processing may be the most difficult to eliminate, or even identify at times.
The approach that we take at CNC Industries to eliminate over-processing starts before we run the first part of the first batch that we produce. Before any new part is produced, we conduct a ‘pre-flight meeting’ in which we examine all aspects of the part. We will look into all of the common areas of over-processing and ensure that steps are taken to prevent over-processing. Once a consensus process is established and reviewed to ensure that it will be ‘lean’ enough, we enter the router information into Job Manager 2, our ERP system. At this time the process established will be on record for each involved party – from purchasing to final shipping, all processes have been reviewed to eliminate over-processing, as well as the other wastes.
With our electronic information system we are able to continually review the established processes quickly and thoroughly. Every employee in the company is also able to suggest improvements – which has many times lead to a reduction of waste – often through elimination of over-processing. With over-processing waste it is critical to constantly be looking for a better way to produce the parts. The effects of over-processing can be very expensive, but it is often hard to detect.
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CNC Industries is a Fort Wayne, Indiana based machine shop specializing in precision CNC machining, fabrication and assembly of application-critical and custom machined parts for the Aerospace, Defense, Medical, Industrial and Transportation markets. The company presently employs approximately 55 people.
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May 07
StevenDeamUncategorized
As I talked about in the last post, I will be examining the seven wastes identified in lean manufacturing and showing how CNC Industries handles each in a high mix / low volume aerospace machining environment. The first of the seven wastes is Overproduction. Overproduction is using more resources than necessary to create and deliver a part to the customer. Overproduction can be further defined as producing more, sooner or faster than what is necessary. Elimination of overproduction is a large factor in Just-In-Time systems that many manufacturers are focusing on. Just-in-time has a goal of eliminating inventory and producing or ordering material to arrive just in time for the operation that it is needed in.
Batch size is a large factor to consider when looking at overproduction. It is important to not produce too many parts – this leads to storing the excess parts in inventory for an excessive amount of time. However, in an aerospace machining environment the complexity of the parts is prohibitive to a true just-in-time system. When a part may take 6-8 weeks to manufacture and only a small amount of the parts are needed each week to create a new batch for every shipment would necessitate setting up a new batch each week and having multiple batches open at the same time. The logistics of tracking all of these batches combined with the costs and time of setting up a machine each week for the same part would be prohibitive. In addition to the setups and the logistics, material orders would necessarily be smaller and more frequent which would eliminate cost savings in ordering and require more time in purchasing and receiving material. Of course a production facility can avoid many of these pitfalls by having specially made machines that are dedicated to a certain process or part. In a high mix environment, machines tend to be needed for many different parts and cannot be dedicated to a select group of part.
Instead for a high-mix low volume aerospace machining facility, selecting the right batch size includes factoring in the setup costs and the lead time to create a batch that is a reasonable multiple of an individual shipment. In the above example it may be seen that a batch that is the equivalent of 10 weeks of shipments is the optimum size to reduce overproduction and minimize inventory storage time as well. The key is to account for holding costs, batch setup costs, and the estimated demand on a given machined part. Our ERP system, Job Manager 2, has a module to handle these calculations and give a suggested batch size in order to lower the overproduction to the lowest feasible amount. Selecting the right batch size is of paramount importance in attempting a lean operation in an aerospace machining environment that tends to have high mix and low volume production.
CNC Industries solves the problem of overproduction waste through efficient information handling and analysis. We have strong visualizations of our production and inventory and we regularly examine our production to ensure optimum batch size. Our ERP system both handles the batch size determination and the scheduling of the new batches to ensure that parts are produced at the right time and with the right quantity. When maintaining a Kan-Ban System for our aerospace customers it is vital that we both maintain enough inventory to handle their surges in demand, as well as minimize our batch size to allow us to produce the wide variety of parts that are requested.
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CNC Industries is a Fort Wayne, Indiana based machine shop specializing in precision CNC machining, fabrication and assembly of application-critical and custom machined parts for the Aerospace, Defense, Medical, Industrial and Transportation markets. The company presently employs approximately 55 people.
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Apr 05
StevenDeamAerospace Machining, Lean Manufacturing, Precision Machining, Uncategorized Aerospace Machining, Custom Machined Parts, job production, Precision Machining
In the last post I talked about the difficulties of precision machining aerospace parts. I would like to address these issues and specifically talk about how CNC Industries handles each of them.
The first issue, namely tight tolerances, is addressed in a few different ways. The first step is to make sure that the equipment being used is capable of the types and quality of machining necessary. Proper maintenance is also an important step, many companies lay-off their maintenance staff at the first sign of a downturn. Maintenance is a key aspect of CNC Industries’ strategy. The second step of ensuring that tolerances are met happens in engineering. Engineering staff creates fixtures, work drawings, and machine code to run the part correctly. Engineering is another key area that CNC Industries believes should not be cut too early. The third step is to ensure that information about the part flows correctly. To aid in this we have written our own ERP system. Job Manager 2 is a real time system that enables information to be updated and transferred throughout the facility so that any changes made are implemented immediately.
The second issue, the amount of material removed, is a prime engineering problem. The fixture created for each part must take into account the changes in strength that the material will go through during the machining process. With fixturing being such an important aspect of creating a good custom machined part, we go through a process we call the Pre-Flight Meeting. In this meeting our top management, quality assurance, engineers, and shop floor supervisors meet to discuss any issues that we see as important to the manufacturing of the part.
The third issue, external quality standards, is again addressed through information management. Our ERP system allows each part to have an unlimited amount of quality standards. The part routers created in Job Manager 2 allow for any and all detailed information to be added to an individual operation. The amount of detail contained in each router, in addition to the real-time ERP system allows us to ensure that all of the information needed to complete a job to the full satisfaction of our customer is accessible at all times.
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CNC Industries is a Fort Wayne, Indiana based machine shop specializing in precision CNC machining, fabrication and assembly of application-critical and custom machined parts for the Aerospace, Defense, Medical, Industrial and Transportation markets. The company presently employs approximately 55 people.
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Mar 18
StevenDeamUncategorized
this post is to test the google chart capabilities
this is a test of embedding a google chart
Feb 10
adminUncategorized
Welcome to the Blog of CNC Industries, Inc. of Fort Wayne, Indiana. CNC Industries, Inc. is a world-class job shop specializing in CNC machining, fabrication and assembly of precision parts for the Aerospace, Defense, Medical, and Industrial markets.
On this blog we will be posting items related to things happening here at CNC Industries, as well as articles related to our Industry.
Learn more about CNC Industries [here]
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CNC Industries is a Fort Wayne, Indiana based machine shop specializing in precision CNC machining, fabrication and assembly of application-critical and custom machined parts for the Aerospace, Defense, Medical, Industrial and Transportation markets. The company presently employees approximately 55 people.
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