PM Blog
Supporting Lean Manufacturing With Digital Photographic Internal Audits
Visual management has been and will continue to be a key driver in the manufacturing world. Lean principles are predicated on visual activities. 5S — the building block of all lean activities — is based on the motto, "A place for everything and everything in its place." Cellular manufacturing focuses on isolating machinery and tools within an area of the plant in order to increase efficiency. Alarms, flashing lights and other poka-yoke techniques are visual assurances of compliance in work cells.
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Chip Control Solution Provides Increase In Tool Life
Replacing the traditional ISO-style inserts with a reaming system solved a chip buildup problem in bore finishing of injector bodies.
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Bar Feed Considerations For High-Speed, Lights-Out Machining
There are design elements incorporated into today’s 12-foot, magazine-load bar feeders that make them more useful for high-speed and untended operation. This article looks at some aspects to consider before purchasing a 12-foot bar feeder.
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Waste Management
As an avid gardener, I always notice the plantings and landscaping when I make visits to manufacturing shops. The foundation plantings, shrubs and the neat appearance of the landscaping are meant to convey a positive image about the plant, the premises, the company and its people. However, I seldom take photos of the landscaping on my visits. What I really long for is a photo of a nice trash dumpster.
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Chip Compactor Squeezes Out Savings
Kurt Manufacturing Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota), learning from experience, believes it has developed a highly efficient recycling system that produces significant savings.
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For Plateau Honing, Consider Ball Style
The ball-style hone is a specialized abrasive tool that is instantly recognizable by its unique appearance. For engineers in the automotive, aerospace, manufacturing and machining industries, this application-engineered hone, characterized by the small, abrasive globules that are permanently mounted to flexible filaments, is a flexible, low-cost tool for sophisticated surfacing, deburring and edge blending.
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Improved Parts Cleaning Technology Leads To Environmental Compliance
This company's aqueous parts washer's limitations and design were causing problems, which led the shop to purchase a parts cleaning technology that eliminated many of the parts cleaning processes it was doing at the time.
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Living Large In A Materials World
He lives and breathes aluminum, stainless, carbon steel and brass because that’s what has brought him this far. However, his methods for winning in business show he’s not your typical material guy.
Read MoreFARO Laser Scanner LS w/8 Industry-Specific Software Packages
FARO Technologies, Inc. , the world’s single source for a complete line of portable CAM2 solutions, has released a set of specialized software packages that enhance the capability of its popular Laser Scanner LS product line. Each package offers a specialized solution for professionals in Architecture, Historical Preservation, Forensic Investigation, Tunnel&Mining, Product Design and Quality Assurance, as well as Process and Power Plants, Re-Engineering and Asset Management.
Read MoreFARO Laser Scanner LS
The FARO Laser Scanner LS is a portable, computerized non-contact measurement device that creates a high-resolution, 3-D, digital “photograph” by scanning everything in its 360-degree path up to 80m away. It collects 120,000 points per second with up to 3mm accuracy while the system’s laptop computer displays a digital recreation of the object and records all of its 3-D measurements. The captured data can then be used to create a digital model, or to perform evaluation and analysis against an existing model for anything requiring highly detailed 3-D measurements, including factory planning and asset documentation as well as specialized applications ranging from surveying, recreating accident sites and crime scenes to digitally preserving historical sites.
Read MoreFARO Laser Tracker X and Xi
The FARO Laser Tracker is a portable, computerized measurement device that creates a 3-D “blueprint” of large objects and parts up to 230 feet in size. As the user guides a mirrored target over the object’s entire surface, the Tracker emits a laser beam that is reflected back from the target, allowing the system’s laptop computer to simultaneously draw and record all of its 3-D measurements. The Tracker can also take automatic measurements by steering the laser to multiple targets positioned on the object.
Read MoreFARO Gage and Gage-PLUS
The FARO Gage and Gage-PLUS are portable, computerized devices that compare a part’s measurements to its original design measurements. As the user guides the Gage’s tip over the surface of the part, the system’s laptop computer simultaneously records all of the 3-D measurements and automatically creates detailed reports so users can provide proof that their outgoing and incoming parts meet the specifications. Quality control personnel use it to verify that the parts have been made correctly, and, if not, where they need to be corrected.
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