Page 32 - MetalForming June 2017

Combo Machines:
It’s All About Throughput
Punching machines and laser cutters each bring advantages to the table... and even more advantages when punching and cutting on the same table.
After World War II, Japan sought to regenerate its auto-manufac- turing industry. During the war, needing to produce trucks, buses and military equipment in large quantities with little specialization, Japanese plants could, and did, mimic the pro- duction strategies and large lot sizes of American automakers. But after the war, Japanese manufacturers shifted to satisfy domestic demand. Here, vehi- cle and part lot sizes frequently num- bered only in the hundreds or, at most, a few tens of thousands.
Whereas in the industrial age the goal always had been higher and higher production volumes with as little vari- ety as possible to achieve economy of scale, the end of World War II signaled a manufacturing sea change. Led by Japan, which had to find ways to pro- duce products economically in lower volumes, the quest to profitably man- ufacture smaller and smaller part lots
BY LOUIS A. KREN, SENIOR EDITOR
of greater variety began. And it con- tinues to this day.
Goal: Maximize Throughput
As job-shop fabricators know, today’s work schedule can see hun- dreds of part jobs with part lot sizes topping out in the hundreds—or less. Given this fact, throughput must be optimized.
That is the whole idea behind the development of combination laser- punching machines. These machines, in operation since the 1970s, can deliv- er benefits above and beyond those of separate machines, if fabricators focus on throughput as opposed to singular process time.
“The key to job-shop sheetmetal fabricators meeting low-volume, high- variety challenges is having a piece of equipment that can deliver a number of processes in one platform,” says Brian Welz, product group manager at
Trumpf Inc., Farmington, CT, speaking of the efficiencies of combination machines.
“At your production facility, every day is like race day,” he offers. “How many laps do I need to win the race? Today, I need to go 500 laps. Some days, with breakdowns and other problems, I may only go 480 laps. Other days I may go 520. To succeed, I need to keep my car racing on the track. Success means being able to change over and move from job to job to job and progress, turning those laps and pro- ducing those parts to satisfy production requirements.
“Secondly, we race against the com- petition,” Welz adds. “How do we as a company separate from the competitors in order to provide product faster and more effectively, and at the lowest cost?”
Multiple Process in One Location
Successful job shops gain efficien-
30 MetalForming/June 2017
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