[One of Many]

I think it could still be incorporated into a palletized vise fixture. It was more the concept than any suggestion to use the pictured item(s).

Seems to me, I had also seen some 1/4 turn expanding posts that were used for palletizing bank loads of small spacer type parts. Maybe in the Reed catalog. Still rather fiddly, but 16-24 at a time could be a better cycle time over all.

DC

[Geof]

... The operators were slamming the fixture in so locations were being lost....

I learnt years ago that putting a single stop that a fixture had to be slid up against was no good, Many people cannot understand that that if you bang the fixture against the stop it bounces back. Now my fixtures have dowel pins or slots that have to register and stop it moving either way. And stop pins so it will only go in one way.

[tobyaxis]

I learnt years ago that putting a single stop that a fixture had to be slid up against was no good, Many people cannot understand that that if you bang the fixture against the stop it bounces back. Now my fixtures have dowel pins or slots that have to register and stop it moving either way. And stop pins so it will only go in one way.

LOL, yea, seems that we all learn the hard way at one point or another.

That is why we check in here to pick your brain Geof .

[Donkey Hotey]

Gradually we are moving to mini-platen systems with one being reloaded while the other is machining.

If you really have that kind of need, I'm curious why you wouldn't sell a few of the older machines and just move to a horizontal (EC series)?

• You could load one tombstone while the other is running (virtually continuous).
• You gain three sided access (or even full 4th) to your parts.
• You wouldn't have to design your own tooling.

[Geof]

The volumes are simply not large enough. On a few parts we do runs of a few thousand but most parts are in the 200 to 1000 per batch. On a horizontal with a tombstone we would be in the position of not needing to reload; everything would be done in one load.

[Donkey Hotey]

You're familiar with the Chick tombstones, right? You could setup an EC series machine with a tombstone. Each would have interchangeable jaws that would snap on & off. You could change job setups in a few minutes.

With the tombstone, you could also run an entire product family at once. It wouldn't have to be 500 of part A, then 500 of part B, then 500 of Part C.

You could make equal quantities of parts A, B & C on one tombstone, at one time. You'd be moving toward JIT (Just In Time) manufacturing. Your Six Sigma black-belt could kaizen burst his way through your Lean event.

It would reduce your in-process inventory. Even at one part per jaw position, one tombstone could have 8 parts in process, being machined from 3 sides. Think of the part-handling time that could eliminate.

It might work for your products, it might not. I'm wondering what the hole is in my logic? I'm sure you must have considered that option at one time or another.

[Geof]

...It would reduce your in-process inventory. Even at one part per jaw position, one tombstone could have 8 parts in process, being machined from 3 sides. Think of the part-handling time that could eliminate.

It might work for your products, it might not. I'm wondering what the hole is in my logic? I'm sure you must have considered that option at one time or another.

The hole in your logic is that we are comfortable with what we are doing now. It works and I am a great believer in the principle of if it ain't broke don't fix it.

In-process inventory is to some extent irrelevant to us. That kind of thing becomes a worry when you operate like many companies where in-process stuff is often financed from a line of credit or something like that. Then you need to minimize stuff on hand because it is costing you interest. We are totally self financed and we know that what we make today will sell even if the selling date is months away.

If I was starting from scratch and jumping immediately to the level we are at now what you suggest could be viable . The thing is we started small and grew like Topsy; we have ingrained habits that are hard to break.

Anyway I enjoy tinkering and designing new fixtures, that is what my entire background from way back is. I trained as a Fitter, Turner, Toolmaker doing setups on production machines back in the 1960's. Doing this sort of thing makes me feel young again.


EDIT: I re-read your post. The rotary fixtures I designed starting back in 2007 in some cases do hold eight parts that are worked on from three sides and they fit in a SuperMiniMill which has a very small footprint. I have not done the calculation but I think our SuperMinis with rotaries and my fixtures could give a better productivity per dollar invested and space occupied than an EC machine.

[Donkey Hotey]

In-process inventory is to some extent irrelevant to us.

I wasn't thinking so much in terms of money tied up, but rather the issues of always facing things like larger anodizing lots, additional packaging, warehousing space, etc. From your posts, its sounding like you're outgrowing your building. That's a very good thing but reducing on-hand inventory might be another way to optimize your existing space.

Yes, I remember your posts about the Supermini with the horizontal tombstone. I came to the '3 sided machining' epiphany about 2 days after the Chick tombstone I was looking at, got sold. :withstupi


I'm sure that dollar for dollar, your Supermini solution is more cost effective. The only thing it loses against the EC is 90%+ spindle usage (I'm assuming you still stop the machine for tool replacements).

I guess I share your enthusiasm for designing fixtures. That's particularly why I chose the style of Chick vises I have: they're able to be used as a basis for all kinds of different workholding.

Man, I still can't believe I let that tombstone get away. (nuts)

[Geof]

.... From your posts, its sounding like you're outgrowing your building. That's a very good thing but reducing on-hand inventory might be another way to optimize your existing space..........

Oh, go away.

You are correct in one sense, we are outgrowing our building.

But incorrect in another sense, our on-hand inventory is not a space problem because those #$%^&^%$# customers keep buying the darn stuff.

We are in a funny position:

Too large to be a small company that makes things to order.

Too small to be a large company that has manufacturing cells, JIT procedures and all sorts of fancy protocols in place.

You just wait:

When you get successful you will discover that it is easy to run a company with up to about 10 or 15 employees; with a bit of a stretch it can be run by one boss.

When you get to something like 50 employees it is simple because then the company is large enough to have a hierarchy of managers, and supervisors, and foremen, and chargehands and a formal structur of responsibility.

Between 15 and 50 the company is neither fish nor fowl; too large to run in the informal manner that worked previously; to small to have the income to support the overhead of a full chain of command and corporate structure.

My company has 20 employees.

[tobyaxis]

My company has 20 employees.

Correction!! Your company had 20 employees.
LOL, Your supposed to be RETIRED and enjoying yourself buddy

I'm going to tell your wife

We will never really stop working will we?????

[Geof]

Correction!! Your company had 20 employees....

You are overlooking an important detail; I like getting a salary check every month. Gotto work to make it legal for the company.

PS My wife works longer hours than I do.

[tobyaxis]

You are overlooking an important detail; I like getting a salary check every month. Gotto work to make it legal for the company.

PS My wife works longer hours than I do.

Case and Point made, LOL

When is the next trip??

[Geof]

....When is the next trip??

Just over a month from now; fly to England and do some sighseeing in Cornwall. If you are a gardener you may have heard about the Eden Project and/or Heligan Garden.

Then sale to Brooklyn and fly back to Vancouver immediately on arrival at Brooklyn.

[cam1]

Interesting fixture, just 1 observation: Do you not run into problems with chips "hiding" themselves, only to be imbedded on the OD of the next batch of parts ? Careful and festidious cleaning would be required prior to loading each batch.

regards

[Geof]

Blow things off with an air gun. I know some people get concerned about using air but generally it is the quickest and easiest.

Chips can be a real nuisance when reloading a vise or fixture in the machine because it is sometimes just as easy to blow the chips as off. When you have two fixtures with reloading being done outside the machine it is often much better.

[oxford]

Just browsing the zone for ideas on fixtures. That is some really nice work you did Geof. Thanks for sharing:P