Shop Streamlines Chaotic Workplace
In order to streamline a chaotic workplace, Phoenix Medical hired a new shop leader, who went about increasing the number of machines and helping employees learn a new way of thinking.
An external tray on the bar feed units holds extra stock for easy addition of bars into the Micromag’s magazine. This set-up shows larger bars with the walking beam lowered.
A path located off the beaten path has found success in applying top-of-the-line technology to its medical part production mix. Phoenix Medical, located in Mountain City, Tennessee, is a premier contract manufacturer of completed medical devices in such areas as thoracic, laparoscopic, arthroscopic, gastrointestinal and cardiovascular. They opened in 1989 but relocated to Mountain City in 1999, opening a 107,000 square foot facility.
Phoenix’s three separate companies, the Needle Division, Phoenix Medical Products, and Phoenix Packaging, all function within the facility. In order to boost their business, a new shop leader was hired who went about increasing the number of machines. Eight lathes and six Tsugami S207 models with FMB Micromag 20 magazine bar feeders were added. As a result, new products have been added.
This all contributed to streamlining a chaotic workplace, with new CNC programming having to be learned along with a new way of thinking. Chris Koepfer goes into how Phoenix Medical benefited from these changes in his article “Barfeeding Small Diameters.” Read the full article here.
