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Articles tagged with "material handling"
Results: 47
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Creating an efficient offline band sawing system: ArrayArray
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So what if one saw cuts faster than another?: Cutting speed is not the same as process efficiencyTwo similar saws might have significantly different cutting speeds, and given a choice, most fabricators would choose the faster saw. However, the saw's speed isn't the only factor that affects efficiency. Material handling before and after the cut also plays a big role in process efficiency. Fabricators who overlook material handling don't gain all they can in terms of increasing throughput.
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Creating an efficient offline band sawing system Part I: Part I: focus on material handlingPlanning an offline band sawing system can be complicated because it can affect, and is affected by, many interrelated factors. Breaking it down to infeed, sawing, and outfeed helps to frame the planning by breaking it down to three subprocesses. Furthermore, answering 15 pertinent questions can help you tailor an efficient sawing operation to your specific facility and sawing applications.
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Material Handling on Squaring Shears: Aiding productivity by making the operator's job easierProper material handling equipment in front of and in back of utmost importance to your operation. Its impact on operator comfort and safety should not be minimized.
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Increasing waterjet cutting profitability: How to get abrasive use and fixed costs under controlLast year an estimated 1,500 waterjets were sold worldwide, almost 800 of those in North America. As more waterjets are purchased, veteran and new waterjet owners must look for ways to increase profitability and remain competitive.
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Power-and-free conveyors provide critical path through the manufacturing courseThis article describes how power-and-free conveyors are used in manufacturing. It outlines new themes in conveyor design, systems design, control systems, and simulation software.
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Anchor's a way down the road to improvement: Texas fabrication shop solves material handling dilemmaA Fort Worth, Texas-based fabricator found that it was spending thousands in moving material from one building to the next for various operations. The company embarked on several expansion projects and invested in new equipment to help remedy the situation.
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Scrap the belt conveyors: High-volume stamper turns to shaker system for scrap removalThe traditional belt conveyors used to remove scrap from the stamping operations at American Trim's facility on Baxter Street in Lima, Ohio, just couldn't stand up to the gritty shop environment. The company found a successful alternative with a belt-less material movement solution from GSW Press Automation.
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Fast-forward fabricating: Automation helps Estes Design and Manufacturing turn around jobs quicklyA new laser cutter, a new panel bender, and two older punching and shearing combination machines, connected to a new automatedstorage-and-retieval system have helped an Indianapolis job shop stay on top of emergnecy orders that normally come its way.
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Don't get stuck: Choosing the right magnetic conveying systemMagnetic soft-belt conveyors can feed presses and transport parts from one workstation to another or from production to inspection, storage, or packaging operations. If you work with ferrous metal coils or sheets, a magnetic system may help improve plant efficiency, safety and reduce costs.
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Long loads, narrow aisles, easy access: Side-loading lift truck handles cumbersome products in confined spacesSince starting with just one warehouse in 1989, J G Kelly Supplies has grown along with Ireland's booming construction industry. Limiting factors such as the warehouse's doorway width, narrow aisles, and 90-degree turns meant the company had to rely on manual labor to handle the long, cumbersome items in its inventory. A standard forklift was out of the question. The company eventually purchased a multidirectional side-loading lift truck from Combilift for moving inventory in this challenging environment.
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Handling improvements in safety, efficiency: It's in the way that you move itEver more stringent safety standards, driven largely by OSHA and state regulators, have led many fabricators to examine closely their material handling processes. Side loaders can provide safety benefits as well as improve material handling efficiency.
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Better safe than saw awry: Contract manufacturer promotes safety and gains efficiency by relying on lift truck and new saw loaderWhen a machine operator cut a bundle of barstock open to load into a saw, the bands popped, moving the blocks that were put there to safely contain the bars. The bars fell on the operator's foot and trapped it. Not wanting to duplicate that nightmare, engineers at Kirsan Engineering, Kenosha, Wis., set about to create a method of loading barstock that relied on lift trucks, not cranes.
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Packaging finished stampings: Protecting parts so they don't end up scrapProper packaging is an essential part of the manufacturing process that often is overlooked. For stampers who outsource final part finishing, it is an even greater concern. This article explains why proper packaging is so important and gives several options for keeping part quality intact during shipping.
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Improving warehouse operations for tube, pipe: Better efficiency leads to lower costsAnalyzing your warehouse layout might reveal severe inefficiencies. Do you have the most frequently picked items scattered around, or are they located near the packing station? Organizing the warehouse so that the most frequently picked items are close to the packing station and the least frequently picked items farther away can cut the transit time significantly.
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Select the right storage rack system for your needs |
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Move heavy loads with less cost |
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A new look at lift trucks: New environmental regulations lead to new material handling engine technologiesCalifornia is on the leading edge of environmental protectionism, and because it is such a large industrial market, the state's environmental regulations are influencing what metal fabricators might be drivng in their facilities.
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Conveying flexibility: How to avoid building up a conveyor graveyardManufacturing companies must walk a fine line between choosing a conveyor system suited for the application, while maintaining flexibility so the system can handle future jobs.
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Pallet changer, tower, or shelving system with that laser?: Options for storing, transferring materialsWhen fabricators decide to automate material handling in their laser cutting operations, they have several choices to make. The decision on whether to automate—and what kind of system makes the most sense—will depend on the shop's capabilities, its production capacity, and available floor space. The options cover the full spectrum, from basic systems that simply unload one pallet and bring in another to large racking systems that maintain a full inventory of raw material and cut parts and can transfer those parts to other machines in the shop.
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New press? What will you do with the scrap?: 5 ways to plan ahead to avoid costly surprises around the bendScrap handling is one important issue that is sometimes left out of the planning stage, but if not integrated into the project properly, scrap handling can cost you operating time and money. By asking—and answering—these five questions first: Can I install the equipment in the floor space I have? Do I want to drop the scrap through the bolster or convey it away from the bolster? Do I want to convey the scrap to a central collection area or near the press at floor level? What size pit do I need and how will I collect the scrap when it gets to the remote scrap area?—you can prevent costly problems.
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Pipe supplier reduces aisle width, material handlingArray
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Everything you wanted to know about overhead cranes: Educating yourself on this material handling tool can help keep operations running smoothly and employees safeArray
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Euros zoned in on competing: A tale of a fabricator, a contract manufacturer, and a commercial refrigerator-makerEuropean metal fabricators, among them a stainless steel cabinet-maker, an electronics contract manufacturer, and a commercial refrigerator appliance manufacturer, are staying competitive in the global marketplace with automated material handling systems that feed modern punching, laser cutting, shearing, and bending devices.
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Los avances en automatizacíon amplían las capacidades del punzonado: Cómo automatizar su operación de punzonadoCada vez ms, los fabricantes de metal estn cambiando hacia el equipo automatizado para reducir el tiempo y los costos de produccin, hacer ms eficiente la manufactura, minimizar el manejo de material, y atender la escasez de mano de obra calificada. La aplicacin dicta qu tipo de automatizacin se requiere para el trabajo.
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Before you buy: Considerations for turret punch press shoppersMaking an intelligent, economically sound punch press purchasing decision requires careful consideration of many factors, including material size and thickness, material handling capabilities, part complexity and volume, and turret capacity. Take the time to accurately determine your needs. Is that great deal really a wise investment?
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Bright lights, big opportunity: Automation helps a lighting manufacturer keep up with its growing businessOrion Energy Systems, Manitowoc, Wis., has found tremendous success as a company that manufactures energy efficient lighting. The company also found that the best way to keep manufacturing in-step with demand was to bring its metal fabricating activities in-house
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Japanese metal fabrication: Manufacturing on a bedrock of data: Japanese metal fabricators automate and collaborate to compete and thriveOverseas, metal fabricators have many of the same issues as those stateside, including lack of skilled labor and outsourcing to low-labor-cost countries. In Japan, fabricators tackle those issues by taking automation to new levels.
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Getting lean, job shop style: Ace Metal Crafts’ brand of lean puts employees in the driver’s seatAce Metal Crafts has promoted its own brand of lean that, more than anything, gives employees ownership over the process.
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What you should know about stamping coated coil: How to maximize prepainted metal’s advantagesMore than 4.5 million tons of coil-coated steel and aluminum are processed in North America each year by manufacturers in the appliance, auto, machinery, heating and cooling, metal roofing, and beverage industries. Gaining insights into stamping, handling, tooling, and storage can help optimize results
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Adding flexibility to stamping operations: The roles of material handling and group technology analysisYou're not afraid of automation. You already have automated several cells around high-volume parts. But now you have a new challenge: Integrate several large presses while still maintaining the flexibility to run lower-volume parts?
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Controlling double sheet in stamping operations: Sensor options and helpful suggestions |
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Preventative maintenance as a way of life: Die shop sparks plantwide process control renaissanceThe author relates his experience as preventive maintenance (PM) coordinator at a Big 3 automaker. The purpose of preventative maintenance is to gain control of the processes. This begins with data collection on die sets, die failure and material handling damage that will identify weak areas in the stamping process. The author's team began with one set of dies and eventually its PM program was so successful that it was implemented throughout the entire plant.
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Bending and handling tube: Tailoring equipment to an applicationThree main types of tube bending equipment are dedicated, CNC, and automated bending cells. Understanding the advantages of each is crucial to deciding which type to purchase.
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Reducing tube bending cycle times: Automating benders and peripheral equipmentBecause any multiple-step manufacturing process is only as fast as the slowest machine, fabricators interested in purchasing an automated tube bender might suddenly find his production line saddled with bottlenecks. It's necessary to analyze the entire production line and learn about the equipment that is available before automating the bending process.
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Reaching peak performance, productivity: Alpine uses automation to shorten lead-times, increase production capacityAlpine Engineered Products had more business than it could handle: It was straining its resources and personnel in a way that made the company have to look outside its semiautomatic welding practices. Eventually robotic welding helped the company meet its production, lead-time, and turnover challenges -- and keep the company growing.
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Automation helps ovenmaker cook up profits: Wood Stone Corp., Bellingham, Wash., learns valuable lessons as a resultWhat kind of a difference did an automated fabricating system make for Wood Stone Corp., Bellingham, Wash.? Before the system, the company actually had more people in the shop, and they were working 10 hour days for about 4-6 months to make fewer products than are produced today.
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Productivity: From pipe dream to reality: Increase pipe fabrication efficiency before weldingAs pipe fabricators continue to employ more modern welding processes, they also should consider the role that end preparation plays in productivity. Cutting and clamping methods are two areas to study when it comes to pipe fabrication efficiency.
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Manufacturing evolution in the job shop: Contract manufacturer figures out how to accomplish more with lessGardner Manufacturing, Horicon, Wis., needed automation and flexibility to keep up with more challenging customer demands. The contract manufacturer found its answer with two laser cutting devices with automated material handling and three new press brakes capable of precision bending.
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Thinking outside the press brake: Folding and panel bending adapt to myriad setups, volumesAutomating bending with a press brake tied to a robot isn't the only option. Panel benders and folding technologies have evolved to handle more parts and various lot sizes.
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Rolling for wind: Wind tower production requires intensive use of the rolling machineWind tower production requires intensive use of the rolling machine. Because of this, selecting the right rolling machine is paramount.
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Laser cutting with less labor and less hassle: Machine automation and software help IMS keep the laser running and customers coming backCan a four-man job shop keep up with the demands of its manufacturing customers? IMS, Shakopee, Minn., will make you think about that and give you reason to question other practices going on in your job shop.
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Expanding upward and outward: A sheet storage tower helps Watson Engineering's laser operations grow upWatson Engineering didn't have to add any laser operators during its most recent expansion effort. The reason was technology advancements associated with material handling and modern laser cutting devices.
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Flexible automation of laser cutting, material handling: Software helps to scrap bad material handling habitsWhat's the point in purchasing an expensive laser cutting machine if you are going to waste money-making opportunities by unloading parts manually? Good nesting software, proper maintenance, and the latest unloading technology can help to make automated laser cutting and unloading a reality.
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Successful automation isn't automatic: Fabricators need to communicate and ask the right questionsAs with so many other ventures in life, successfully implementing a laser automation system rests on one key practice: communication.
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When does a punch/laser make sense?: 3 Questions a fabricator needs to askHawkeye Industries Inc., Tupelo, Miss., was getting more and more orders for parts that required both punching and laser cutting. To meet the growing demand, the company purchased a combination punch/laser machine. Some shops are more suited than others to this technolgy--combination machines can increase profits for some companies, and costs for others. Shop owners should keep five key things in mind when evaluating and purchasing a combination punch/laser machine.
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Saying 'yes' when others can't: Job shop uses flexibility, not capacity, to gauge automation’s successIMEC, a small job shop in southwest Missouri, invests in automationnot necessarily to increase capacity, but to increase flexibility.
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