|
By
John Mullally, Associate Editor, and |
|
EDITORIAL VIEWPOINT |
|
By
John Mullally, Associate Editor, and |
|
What killed Cleopatra could increase your machining productivity – an ASP.
Although truly new hardware was rare, there were some ideas and concepts that seemed to be firmly rooted in manufacturing’s needs. Chief among these were ideas designed to assist you in operating more efficiently, using the internet or some other form of digital communication. Machine tool manufacturers are gearing-up for remote diagnostics through their latest controls and PC (personal computer) based machine controls appear to be coming on strong. Also from the computer and digital world, vendors of CAD/CAM (computer aided design/computer aided manufacturing) programs are also developing more sophisticated programs to speed products to market. The capabilities of these programs present the potential for significant productivity and profit increases. However, they also present challenges for shop owners and operations managers. Among the major challenges are price and price. With high-end manufacturing software, you get what you pay-for, usually. With price tags in the $5,000 to $20,000 range, they present a significant budget hurdle. If you can clear the cost hurdle, you may realize that you have just placed a bet. You are betting that the software you bought will really work for your application and generate the savings you had projected. The price, combined with the risk, have kept many operations from taking advantage of the real benefits today’s top-of-the line software can deliver. One of the few dot-coms at WESTEC 2001, however, is offering a way for you to hedge your bet and gain the advantages of a variety of CAD/CAM programs. Tools4Cam.com is an on-line ASP (application service provider) that allows machining operations access to the full power of a variety of programs to increase your productivity and profitability without betting the farm – or the company or your career. Tools4Cam allows you to essentially rent CAD/CAM software for a specific time period to apply to your operation. It’s “try before you buy” for a variety of software types and sophistication levels. —John Mullally
Traditional training in classrooms and seminars with workbooks and videos results in hours and days of lost production. In addition, since many top “schools” are conducted off-site, travel, lodging, and meal expenses are involved for the attendees. Meanwhile, the training material could possibly be obsolete or a poor fit for your particular shop situation, especially if the people you send are more advanced or not as proficient at that class level. Finally, taking a worker away from the shop to teach how to be more effective on the job (while cutting productivity in the process) just does not make much sense. Fortunately, there is a better way. Tooling University™, a venture of Jergens, Inc. (Cleveland, OH), has established an Internet-based curriculum supported by experts and partner companies in an expanding list of metalworking disciplines, including: metal cutting (Valenite), workholding (Jergens), materials (Castle Metals), metalforming (Dayton), and others planned for later this year. Training at ToolingU™ in each topic area is designed to proceed at the particular pace and level of each student, taking advantage of prior background and experience, and requiring only as much or as little time as available (during the day, on the job or at break time, or even at home in the evenings). This approach to personalized, Internet-based instruction is actually more one-on-one than the traditional classroom situation, with instructors assigned to each “department,” pre-testing and final exams, “chat” forums for questions, and certification at the completion of each course. As ToolingU continues to develop, more partner companies will be brought in (hopefully in the CAM area, as noted earlier), and the base of experience and number of topics will broaden. This innovative use of the Internet is just the thing to give apprentices a solid start and enable experienced machinists to brush up on the latest techniques, quickly and painlessly. Check it out at their website, www.toolingu.com. —Larry Olson - May 2001 |
Two Thumbs Up
Nowhere, other than NASDAQ, was the demise of the “dot-coms” more evident than at WESTEC 2001, held recently in Los Angeles. Contrasting with other industry shows of recent years, these internet-based, economy-saving entrepreneurs were as scarce as genuinely new technologies in the sprawling L.A Convention Center.
Having the tools to boost your shop’s productivity is a great idea; but how do your people get the training they need when they need it? Keeping your shop personnel up-to-date on the latest technology can be a full-time job. Of course, you can always rely on an occasional ad in the paper to attract the talent that you need. However, when you are able bring in even experience people, there is always some training involved. While the equipment supplier will provide some training initially, this can only go so far in keeping up with the latest manufacturing techniques.