Content tagged with "lean-manufacturing"
Results: 48
Article
April 1, 2010
If you don't measure it, you can't improve it
In 2004 Impulse Manufacturing had your typical job shop floor. Jobs came in, bounced around the shop to various areas, and then headed out the door. Part flow wasn't top of mind. The company had made some significant machinery investments, including laser cutting systems with material... Read more...
Article
March 1, 2010
Why lean manufacturing won't make you rich — Part II
Every business always has the same goal: to become world-class through everyday changes by meeting the needs of demanding customers who will become more demanding, all in a constantly evolving marketplace. Lean manufacturing tools can help you achieve this goal. Part I of this two-part... Read more...
Article
February 11, 2010
Waste not, want more
Figure 1 Finding enough room for a group photo is not that big of a deal at General MetalWorks, Mequon, Wis. Elimination of excess raw material inventory and racks of work-in-process hascleared plenty of floor space for such an event. Photos by Lila Aryan Photography.
Waste is not... Read more...
Spanish
November 12, 2009
Article
October 7, 2009
Raising the bar, one sink at a time
Figure 1 This made-to-order bar setup can be fabricated at Glastender in a matter of days. Driving much of Glastender's manufacturing and business strategy is, of all things, liquor licensing. Seriously. The Saginaw, Mich., manufacturer of high-end commercial food service products... Read more...
Article
September 24, 2009
Article
September 1, 2009
10 steps to successful value stream mapping
Value stream mapping (VSM), as defined by the Lean Enterprise Institute, is a simple diagram of every step involved in the material and information flows needed to bring a product from order to delivery. In other words, VSM is an invaluable tool used to identify waste in day-to-day... Read more...
Article
August 1, 2009
Beginning the lean manufacturing journey
The resume for LAI International, Scottsdale, Ariz., is an impressive read. The company boasts $60 million in annual sales; five manufacturing locations stretching from Scarborough, Maine, to Tucson, Ariz.; 250 employees; and a customer list that reads like a who"s who in the aerospace and... Read more...
Article
April 14, 2009
Putting out fires, the lean way
Figure 1 Crimson Fire managers have transformed the build-to-order shop floor from a traditional batch operation to one based on lean manufacturing. Randon Bernards needs to fill jobs, fast. The fabrication technical lead at Crimson Fire has spent more time interviewing people during the... Read more...
Article
April 1, 2009
10 Hot-stamping HSS FAQs
1. What Is Hot Stamping
In its simplest definition, hot stamping, also called hot forming or press hardening, is the process of forming metal while it is very hot (in excess of 900 degrees C) and then quenching it (cooling it quickly) in the die. The process converts low-tensile-strength... Read more...
Article
November 25, 2008
Getting the weld right the first time
Yes, Victory, there is a quality clause. Well, it's not specifically stated as a quality clause in the employee handbook, but it's understood by the 170 employees who comprise Victory Industrial Products LLC, Batavia, Ohio. If they don't get the quality right in the design and fabrication of... Read more...
Article
October 14, 2008
Article
August 26, 2008
Cycling through a business transition
Maybe it's the fact Lori calls her sister "Trace," short for Traci. Maybe it's because they complete each other's sentences. Or that they live a block apart. Or that they had their first children (both girls) within two weeks of each other. Or that they both first went into finance: Lori was... Read more...
Article
August 26, 2008
Getting lean, job shop style
Most managers at Ace have been with the company for years. President Dale Ball joined the firm 21 years ago. CEO Jean Pitzo took the reins of her father's business in 1989.
Visit Ace Metal Crafts Co. in Franklin Park, Ill., a stone's throw away from landing lights at Chicago's O'Hare... Read more...
Article
August 26, 2008
When does a punch/laser make sense?
Shops that process enough of the right parts can increase uptime and reduce secondary operations with a combination punch/laser machine. Photo courtesy of TRUMPF Inc.
Business growth led Hawkeye Industries President and CEO Bryan Hawkins to seek a machine that could punch and laser-cut... Read more...
Article
June 17, 2008
Lasers catch limelight at ALAW
Attendees take a networking break at the exhibit hall during this year's ALAW conference. The 2009 ALAW Conference is scheduled for May 12-14 at The Inn at St. John's, Plymouth, Mich.
Among all metal fabrication technologies, lasers stand apart. Within just a few decades, they've moved... Read more...
Article
June 17, 2008
Accounting for growth in lean manufacturing
Traci (left) and Lori Tapani, co-presidents of Wyoming Machine, Stacy, Minn. Lori and Traci Tapani aren't your typical metal fabrication shop managers. Traci came from the world of corporate finance; Lori is a certified public accountant. About 15 years ago the sisters joined their father at... Read more...
Article
June 17, 2008
Article
May 13, 2008
Driven to integrate
A Parkview Metal Products worker operates a stamping press at the company's facility in Lake Zurich, IL. Parkview produces components for the automotive industry, consumer electronics, and barbecue grills. Changes come often in the steel industry. An item manufactured in the U.S. today can... Read more...
Article
May 13, 2008
How to implement quick die change
Click image to view larger. Key quick die change components are clamps (blue), die lifters (red), and bolster extensions (yellow). Few lean manufacturing methods increase press uptime, lower per-part costs, and provide an immediate return on investment (ROI) as readily as quick die change... Read more...
Article
April 15, 2008
Getting creative with punch tooling
Many fabricators are adopting lean manufacturing techniques to gain a competitive advantage in today's global marketplace. A central element of the lean philosophy is the relentless, systematic, and continuing elimination of waste. The key word is continuing. Starting down the lean... Read more...
Article
March 11, 2008
Work flow goes virtual
Mid-West Metal Products Engineer Archie Adamisin views a customer's CAD file, which will follow the job through production. One look at Mid-West Metal Products' shop presents a gleaming example of metal fabrication automation. In the company's Sheet Metal Fabrication Division, material... Read more...
Article
March 11, 2008
Nesting software: A tool for lean manufacturing
What Is Nesting Software? In general terms, nesting software automatically and efficiently arranges the required quantities of individual parts to be produced on sheets or plates of stock material. It does this by using part geometry from CAD files to output NC code that controls a... Read more...
Article
February 12, 2008
Innovative workholding streamlines welding at Vermeer
Lean manufacturing drove Vermeer to organize weld cells for maximum productivity. Whenever possible, the company places fixtures in the weld cell, within the operator's reach.
A decade ago welders at heavy-equipment manufacturer Vermeer Corp. regularly went on a fixture hunt. Welders... Read more...
Article
February 12, 2008
Nothing standard about this fab shop
After five years of working for a family-owned metal fabricating business in eastern Connecticut, Rob Marelli wanted to do things his way. He approached the president with an offer to buy the company from him, but he was soon gone with a handshake and a letter of recommendation. He eyed... Read more...
Article
September 11, 2007
Reducing conversion cost in a copper tube mill
Recent business-sector changes—copper cost increases, globalization, technology advances, and rapidly changing consumer tastes—have had big effects on copper producers and extruders and have led to profound changes in the industry. Change isn't necessarily bad; it brings both... Read more...
Article
September 11, 2007
Lean tool and die solutions
Editor's Note: This article is adapted from Gary Gathen's conference that will be presented at FABTECH® International & AWS Welding Show, Nov. 11-14, 2007, Chicago, © 2007 by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association Intl. (FMA), the Society of Manufacturing Engineers (SME), and... Read more...
Article
September 11, 2007
Toro trims waste with press brake tooling upgrade
Toro Co. has found that in its high-end commercial mowers, sheet metal is the second most costly item. Toro's own manufacturing plants compete with outside vendors, which fosters competition, innovation, and cost-cutting measures. In a world of on-demand, lean manufacturing, sheet metal... Read more...
Article
August 8, 2007
5 ways to leaner die handling
Conventional rack, shelving, and drawer systems used in many stamping facilities are a less-than-lean method of storing dies. They consume a lot of floor space, and locating and retrieving dies encroaches on production time. In addition, these conventional methods expose dies to damage. The... Read more...
Article
June 12, 2007
Tube fabricator, machine tool builder automates to accelerate
Stealth Manufacturing Inc. fabricated its own tube unloader for its cutoff line. Instead of relying on special Allen wrenches to adjust the unloader each time a different-sized tube is switched out, the operator just turns the hand cranks for quicker changeovers. Editor's Note: This feature... Read more...
Spanish
April 10, 2007
Article
March 13, 2007
Flexible automation of laser cutting, material handling
Automated parts removal helps to eliminate the non-value-added aspects of laser cutting, but a closer look at nesting is necessary to get the most efficiency out of the automated operation.
In the world of sheet metal fabrication, intelligent fabricating with a laser cutting machine... Read more...
Article
November 7, 2006
10 common quick die change problems
Most stampers have the same complaint concerning die changes: "Our setup time is killing us. "It seems as though the stamping industry cannot set standards to save time during die changes. The manufacturing industry has standards for safety, strength, steel, lockouts, and electrical power,... Read more...
Article
October 10, 2006
Why lean manufacturing is no get-rich-quick program: Part I
Mid-West Metal Products dynamically nests its parts, grouping different jobs together for maximum material utilization
Television commercials that advertise get-rich-quick schemes claim you can double your money in days, quadruple it in weeks, or multiply it a hundred times over in... Read more...
Article
September 12, 2006
Leaning on press brake tooling
Staged bending can make short runs more cost-effective
because each part is handled only once.
Most of today's original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and contract manufacturers have embraced the principles of lean manufacturing. Many of the obvious offenders—the... Read more...
Article
July 11, 2006
Lean implementation failures
Editor's Note: This article is adapted from Richard Kallage's presentation at Practical Lean: Successful Lean Manufacturing for Smaller & Midsized Manufacturers, Oct. 17-18, 2005, Lafayette, La., © by the Fabricators & Manufacturers Association, Intl. (FMA). One of the most... Read more...
Article
July 11, 2006
Baled out
Figure 1 The stationary incline conveyor located in the load-out center discharges its load into a shuttle conveyor that automatically fills one of the two truck trailers located in the bays below. Jefferson Industries Corporation (JIC) in West Jefferson, Ohio, broke ground for its... Read more...
Article
December 13, 2005
Bulletproof processes
Alpha Stamping Company is creating bulletproof processes. Sound dangerous? It is for competing medium-sized stampers and assemblers. While some stampers are filing for bankruptcy, Alpha's lean and mean processes have transformed the Detroit-based stamper into a formidable, $50 million... Read more...
Article
November 8, 2005
Quick die change and the trend toward larger presses
Flexibility and change have become critical components for success in U.S. manufacturing. Increasingly for contract stampers, these changes include the acquisition of larger mechanical presses. It now is quite common for stampers to use presses with capacities from 800 to 2,000 tons and... Read more...
Article
October 11, 2005
Waste replaced
If you aren't lean in your welding shop, it's just a matter of time, experts say. Every day several companies report success through implementing lean manufacturing initiatives. HEI Inc., Minneapolis, and Charlotte, N.C.-based EnPro Industries Inc. attributed fourth-quarter 2004 growth... Read more...
Article
October 11, 2005
Article
April 11, 2005
See unitized tooling make a difference
Figure 1 Modular press tooling can be used to punch or notch 2-D flat sheets and 3-D forms. As life cycles get shorter, total program quantities are lower for both end products and components. The hard tooling needed to make those components is amortized over fewer parts—which... Read more...
Article
April 6, 2004
Scraping the hull: Ridding your organization of barnacles
Editor's Note: A version of this article previously appeared in the March 2004 Lean Into It newsletter. What do barnacles and lean manufacturing have in common? Let me explain. Barnacles are a form of sea life that everyone's heard of but probably knows little about. Many different... Read more...
Article
April 6, 2004
Lean and Mean
The metal stamping industry is facing many challenges, such as increased raw material prices, pressure from automotive industry OEM and Tier 1 and Tier 2 customers to cut costs, and increased competition from low-cost offshore stampers. To stay profitable, stampers have to reduce prices... Read more...
Article
January 16, 2003
Five ways to add punch to productivity
One of the easiest ways to increase productivity is by getting the most out of existing punching machinery. Following are some basic but often overlooked ways to do this. 1. Eliminate the Shearing Step According to lean manufacturing principles, the more a part is handled, the... Read more...
Article
June 12, 2002
A case study in lean manufacturing and Six Sigma
Lean manufacturing can be defined as "getting more done with less"; namely, less waste. One of the greatest forms of waste is not capitalizing on the power of a focused group of people to solve problems. When addressing trade associations, I'm often introduced as an authority on the subject of... Read more...
Article
March 28, 2002
New machines do not a world-class company make
President Bush paid Oregon a visit a few weeks ago. He spoke at length about the sagging Oregon economy. In fact, he held Oregon up as a poster child for a state with the slowest economic growth and highest unemployment rate. His solution to these problems? Tax incentives to buy new and more... Read more...
Article
February 14, 2002
Cash in on lean manufacturing
Everyone is promoting lean manufacturing today, but some fabricators still have a lot of questions about it. The FABRICATOR® looked at three types of manufacturing operations to characterize lean manufacturing, what’s required to get lean, and what benefits can result. Getting... Read more...
Didn't find what you were looking for? Try our search page to refine your results
