Topics in this category are geared toward the running the machine shop from a managers perspective.
Part 2 in our Shop Efficiency Series will expand a little on Part 1 … and key in on one of the most common workholding options used in the milling world … the vise. Some of the ideas we will present might be old hat for the more professionals in the group … but it’s […]
Shop Efficiency Series Part 2 : The Infamous MILLING Vise !! Read More »
It’s the age old manufacturing quest … how to reduce the cycletime and machine parts faster. And although cycletime is a major factor in the making profits equation … concentrating too much on cycletime can sometimes make you miss the bigger problems … the bigger deficiencies in the shop … the bigger money wasting issues.
Shop Efficiency Series Part 1 : Cycletime VS Workholding Read More »
Every once in a while we like to bring attention for our readers to new and innovative machining and workholding products and process that we feel are beneficial to our readers. Such is the case in the Making Chips post as we focus and bring attention to a new workholding clamp from Carr Lane Manufacturing
Product Spotlight : ID Clamps from Carr Lane Manufacturing Read More »
We’ve all been there … Crashville. It’s not a place you want to visit frequently … but inevitably, we all make a visit. When I first started in CNC, one of my mentors told me “If you don’t bump it once in a while … you’re not experimenting … not trying new approaches … and
CNC Lathe Headstock – Alignment Checks and Adjustments Read More »
In this post we are continuing our series dealing with the aftermath of that inevitable visit to Crashville that we all make in our production lives. Our last post dealt with the spindle alignment … this post we’re going to take a look at turret alignment. Oftentimes these repairs cannot be accomplished without professional assistance
CNC Turret Alignment – Tips and Tricks Read More »
Personnel who perform routine maintenance on their CNC equipment usually perform the same common checks and perform the same common tasks … those that I refer to as the “no-brainers”. Filling the way lube tank … greasing the hydraulic chuck … checking the spindle oil level … the common checks and tasks. Unfortunately they are
CNC Machine Maintenance – For The Not So Ordinary Read More »
Your CNC machine is equipped with an automatic oiler system. Great ! You won’t have to think about oiling the machine and an alarm will tell you when the tank is dry. What a great device ? Right ? Well, that is the design. Unfortunately, along with the “automatic” description of the system comes the
Way Lube System – Friend or Foe? Read More »
As former field service engineers … one of the items we always stressed to our CNC customers was the importance of performing a machine warm-up routine. Below are answers to some of their most frequently asked questions … which pretty much tell the whole tale about this activity. WHY? A machine warm-up routine benefits both
CNC Machine Warm-Up — How? Why? When? Read More »
We developed our KipwareQTE® quoting and estimating software from our real world experiences on the shop floor and running a variety of different machine shops. Over the years, one main category when quoting that is often misunderstood, under quoted and even completely ignored is perishable tooling. Do you include perishable tooling in your costing and
A Major Hidden Cost When Estimating Read More »
No matter what system you utilize to create your cost estimates and quotes … everything starts with an accurate machining cycletime estimate. The phrase … “Oh, that should take about two and a half minutes to machine.” … is doing more harm to your bottom line than you are probably even aware. This type of
Accurate Machining Cycletime Estimating – THE KEY Read More »
