Atomkinder
Titanium
- Joined
- May 8, 2012
- Location
- Mid-Iowa, USA
Also known as one piece flow.
Considering experimenting with this a little with a part that we always do in batches of 12 (sometimes more).
Currently the fixturing allows for two parts to be made at once, but we flip the parts to do Op2 on the same fixture. The process is relatively simple, the initial operation drills through-holes and counterbores, and the workpiece is bolted to the fixture with three 1/2-13 SHCS'. After the first operation (about 50 minutes for two peices) they are removed, the fixture cleaned appropriately, and the parts are flipped onto the second side where they are located with bushings that fit into counterbores on the fixture, clamped, new counterbores milled in the parts, then bolted to the fixture again where Op2 continues, for about half an hour.
So far reprogramming has yielded more in-machine deburring and a cycle reduction for two parts of half an hour (yes, 30 minutes). However I'm curious about the benefits of turning this into a one piece flow operation where Op1 is done on the first station, then Op2 is done on the second simultaneously, reducing the total number of tool changes (multiple tools get used on both sides of the part, but not all of them - tool count currently is 23 tools) per part and getting one part per cycle complete (well almost, there's a short 4th-axis drilling/tapping routine that could be integrated as well).
So I would like to know others' thoughts on one piece flow and whether it holds more benefits or drawbacks in the long term. We're just finishing a run of 15 parts though, so part of my consideration of this style of production is integrating a macro that lets the operator set the number of parts to be made so that separate programs are not needed (single vs double part) and the setup can be more automated in this regard (running Op1 only for the first part and Op2 only for the last, for instance).
Considering experimenting with this a little with a part that we always do in batches of 12 (sometimes more).
Currently the fixturing allows for two parts to be made at once, but we flip the parts to do Op2 on the same fixture. The process is relatively simple, the initial operation drills through-holes and counterbores, and the workpiece is bolted to the fixture with three 1/2-13 SHCS'. After the first operation (about 50 minutes for two peices) they are removed, the fixture cleaned appropriately, and the parts are flipped onto the second side where they are located with bushings that fit into counterbores on the fixture, clamped, new counterbores milled in the parts, then bolted to the fixture again where Op2 continues, for about half an hour.
So far reprogramming has yielded more in-machine deburring and a cycle reduction for two parts of half an hour (yes, 30 minutes). However I'm curious about the benefits of turning this into a one piece flow operation where Op1 is done on the first station, then Op2 is done on the second simultaneously, reducing the total number of tool changes (multiple tools get used on both sides of the part, but not all of them - tool count currently is 23 tools) per part and getting one part per cycle complete (well almost, there's a short 4th-axis drilling/tapping routine that could be integrated as well).
So I would like to know others' thoughts on one piece flow and whether it holds more benefits or drawbacks in the long term. We're just finishing a run of 15 parts though, so part of my consideration of this style of production is integrating a macro that lets the operator set the number of parts to be made so that separate programs are not needed (single vs double part) and the setup can be more automated in this regard (running Op1 only for the first part and Op2 only for the last, for instance).