5 Effective Tips for Enhancing CNC Machine Efficiency -- Before the Chips Fly
Many machine shop owners and operators agree that the CNC machine is the pivotal factor driving advancement in the manufacturing sector. Irrespective of the capacity of your machining facility, there are numerous opportunities you can cash in on to optimize production time and thus improve efficiency of your CNC machines. Peter Jacobs, Senior Director of Marketing at CNC Masters, offers five tips to help you maximize that efficiency.
Peter Jacobs, Senior Director of Marketing at CNC Masters
Peter Jacobs is the Senior Director of Marketing at CNC Masters. He is actively involved in manufacturing processes and regularly contributes his insights to various blogs on CNC machining, 3D printing, rapid tooling, injection molding, metal casting, and manufacturing in general.
Here, he provides MAN readers 5 basic ways to improve efficiency in their CNC operation.
Adopt Lean Manufacturing Techniques
Lean manufacturing is all about improvisation, and the primary objective of this manufacturing technique is eradicating waste. It entails improving a procedure or manufacturing a quality product more quickly than you currently accomplish. Simply working more swiftly won't help achieve it because dimensioning errors or design flaws can emerge when you move too fast.
Manufacturing processes can be optimized reasonably by working in conjunction, eliminating handoffs and reworking, and completely removing some processing steps.
Here is how some leading CNC machining shops employ lean manufacturing techniques:
- Regular preventive maintenance: Routine maintenance and inspection of the various pieces of equipment considerably reduce unanticipated downtimes, which in turn reduces production delays, defects, and underutilized talent inefficiencies.
- The "5S" framework: Even a simple tweak like implementing the 5S methodology (which stands for "Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize, and Sustain") in a manufacturing facility can have a huge impact on efficiency. This prevents unnecessary mobility and resource waste.
- Seize the opportunity to deploy technology that can be used extensively today in the usage of cutting tools, coolant and across metrology, work and tool holding, sensors capable of collecting real-time machining data, as well as modeling and analysis software solutions.
[Editor's note: Be sure to always read MAN for all the latest technology introduced to our industry.]
Enhance the Capabilities of the CNC Machinery
High-performance machinery includes advanced, upgraded CNC equipment.
Modern CNC machines routers and milling machines can achieve incredible feats, but when they don't get leveraged to the fullest, they may lead to resources being wasted frequently. For instance, manufacturers may save a lot of time and effort with modern 5-axis CNC machines, which are available to machine shops of all capacities. As a workpiece swing tangential to the cutting tool, you can make a variety of cuts with the same tool without having to swap out cutters.
Furthermore, shorter tool lengths are feasible as a result.
Jacob Leighton, a CNC shop supervisor at Leighton Machine & Tool, explains that since you get access to five faces of a component, 5-axis also permits you to minimize your tool lengths. It results in a stiffer tool, which increases productivity and the finish quality.
You must utilize the equipment to its fullest capacity to achieve optimum production output and product quality. The company's overall production costs may increase as a consequence of equipment failures if the machinery is not used to its maximum potential.
Be Mindful of Your Workforce to Boost Productivity
You need to comply with some workforce-oriented principles on your shop floor:
- Get organized: The idea of organization indicates a tidy workspace with a defined spot in a work cell for anything and everything required to carry out a task, such as having instructions, updates, equipment, and supplies on hand.
- Simplify it for workers: Simplifying entails tailoring all necessary documentation to the workforce's lowest ability level. Additionally, it involves reducing the necessity for computations by, for example, maintaining uniform +/- tolerance parameters on process drawings and having data available to aid with key surface sizing. It could also incorporate coding trial machining for test cuttings.
- Train your personnel: The operational and machinist staff is indeed the most crucial resource in the CNC machining environment, and investment in their training can go a long way in improving the shop's manufacturing efficiency. Organizing periodic upskilling workshops and enrolling them in accredited certification programs like Certified CNC Set-up Programmer, Certified Journey Worker, and Certified Machinist isn't a bad idea to keep them updated.
Set Realistic, Achievable Production Targets
Your machining facility must maintain a daily production schedule. It is highly advisable to establish suitable manufacturing expectations depending on the:
- projects undertaken
- parts and products to be manufactured
- individuals involved
- the equipment and technology available
With the right approach, you may accomplish the daily objectives without overtaxing the workforce or the equipment.
The enormous demand for superior CNC components frequently leads to the setting of unreachable goals. Long-term, it results in a stockpile or unmet deadlines, which hurts the shop's reputation, productivity, and performance significantly. Thus, employee productivity and machine efficiency must be kept in mind while developing production schedules or taking up new projects.
Improve Cycle Time -- A Game Changer
The most crucial step you can take towards enhancing your business efficiency is to shorten the cycle time. Let's understand this with an instance, for a production of 1,000 pieces every cycle, the time saved will be approximately an hour if four seconds get saved in a cycle. And it's even more preferable if you can save these four seconds without incurring any expenses by simply configuring your programs perfectly.
But finding the perfect balance between optimal cutting parameters and maximum tool life is a constant challenge for CNC machinists. However, it is possible to decrease cycle time without compromising tool life. Simply follow these:
- Increase the depth of cut and feed rate.
- Don't attempt to alter the cutting speed beyond what is suggested by the tool manufacturer.
Another effective way proposed by Wade Anderson, a product specialist at Okuma America is making a shift from a single-turret to a dual-turret CNC lathe. As Anderson puts it, the efficiency of a dual-turret lathe gets doubled because you could get two tools into the cutting or two distinct operations running at the same time.
Additionally, you can leverage automatic data collection tools to obtain more precise cycle time statistics from every machine to analyze and optimize it.
Conclusion
The key to achieving success in the CNC production business is consistent upgradation, upskilling, and improvement since manufacturing CNC parts demands precise consistency and reliability. It can only be accomplished if the process is synchronous and efficient enough to produce high-quality products consistently. So, try implementing the above-discussed tips to boost your CNC machining efficiency levels without compromising customer expectations and production quality.
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