Modular Tooling and Tool Management Part 4 pdf

• Small batch – up to perhaps 50 workpieces,

• Medium batch – between 20 to 100 workpieces,

• Large batch/Volume production – >100 work￾pieces.

NB These classifications of batch size are open to

considerably much wider interpretation, obviously

depending upon a specific company’s production

requirements and the actual machined part’s: com￾plexity, material cost, machining operations and its

dimensional size and so on!

At any workpiece quantity greater than the ‘Job shop’

levels having similar production processes undertaken,

allows them to be grouped into ‘families’, according

to their: dimensions, tolerances, workpiece materials,

etc. This technique of allocating components to be ma￾chined into similar groupings is often termed ‘Group

Technology’ 24.

It is vitally important that both the Sales and Mar￾keting personnel are aware of the company’s patterns

of manufacture and their capabilities, if the company

is to be able to rapidly respond to their customer’s

needs. The sales force will be able to relate a customer’s

requirements to the standard range of parts produced,

with the manufacturer being in a position to ‘fine-tune’

even small production runs for maximum efficiency.

By comprehending the manufacturing process for the

company’s standard-ranges, allows the optimum con￾ditions of production to be utilised, even when ‘modi￾fied standards’, or even ‘specials’ have to be produced.

Flexibility here, plus the ability to cater for unique cus￾tomer needs, may offer new market opportunities for

the company.

24 ‘Group Technology’ (i.e. GT), is essentially utilised for ‘group￾ings’ in two distinct varieties:

(i) Component geometry – the ‘closeness of shapes’,

(ii) Similar production processes – such as: Milling, Drill￾ing, Turning, etc. The benefits of utilising a GT-approach to

manufacture are: smoother logistical work-flow, simplified

work control, more efficient plant layout and improved use

of floor-space, contributing to enhanced manufacturing

versatility and better response to variable workpiece shop￾loadings.

NB The GT-approach to manufacturing lends itself to compo￾nent coding systems, typically of the Opitz variety for a unique

part-coding classification.

Pe r i s h a b l e a n d Ca p i t a l Eq u i p m e n t Re v i e w

In many cases, cutting tool manufacturers produce

standard forms to enable companies to compile data

on both their perishable and capital equipment needs.

Therefore, it is necessary to gather the data together,

because the performances of either categories are

independent. If a tooling survey is approached in a

methodical and step-wise manner, then the following

sequence, may be of some help:

• Collect data on perishable tooling, a company

must analyse their entire tool-flow system, includ￾ing tooling inventories: high-lighting the maximum

and minimum levels, quantities of new and used

tooling, together with their tool-storage require￾ments. As a preliminary data-gathering exercise, all

the items in stock should be listed, plus the number

currently in stock and, the quantity used in the last

12 months, with the last price paid for them,

• Review the stock lists for tool obsolescence, by

checking to see which items have not been used in

the last 12 months and which can be replaced by

say, an ANSI, or DIN standard item. Any tools fall￾ing into this category, can be considered obsolete, it

would not be a surprising fact to find out that up to

50% of the current tooling inventory was obsolete

– as has been shown in a survey in the USA. This

level of obsolescence, can be regarded as money

‘tied-up’ and doing nothing for the company’s prof￾itability,

• Remaining ‘tooling items’ should now be reviewed,

as these are not obsolete. For example, the cemented

carbide insert grade of tooling, should be grouped

according to their grade/coating, size, geometry,

etc., then once they have been ‘grouped’ in this

manner, it is now perhaps possible to order larger

quantities of them, enabling the company to exert

some ‘leverage’ over their suppliers and to obtain

substantial cost advantages as a result.

NB If tooling information of this nature is com￾piled and regularly up-dated, then reviewed, future

tooling decisions can be speeded-up and decisions

can be taken with some degree of confidence.

The compiling of information concerning capital equip￾ment within the factory, usually commences with the

preliminary identification of such machine tools and

associated equipment, then numbering them (i.e. this

activity is often termed: ‘brass-tagging’) and their spe￾Modular Tooling and Tool Management 241