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machines. It keeps everything in trays and records where everything is. Rather than having a person walking around to each of the shelves in the supply areas, going upstairs and downstairs, the operator stands near its garage door-like opening, and the system delivers the itemsrighttothatopening.”Themodulesreorganizetheir trays weekly so that the most frequently used parts are closest to the openings, further streamlining the process. Best of all, they can be integrated with the FMS system and positioned in the cellular configuration.
Smothers also restructured the rest of the factory into production cells. “Our shop was originally set up as groups: all mills here, all drills there, all drill presses on the other side, and so on. We’re tearing that down and making cells as part of our UPS system,” says Smothers. These production cells are set up so that almost everything for one part can be done in one location. As jobs are received and processed, shop floor coordinators stage material and move parts to different cells so that operators can focus on their designated parts. “One person follows
the job through completely. We’re emphasizing quality and speed – getting orders in and out quickly and correctly.”
To accomplish this, Smothers brought in CNC machines such as mill-turns. “The whole idea of machines like this is ‘done in one’. We want to put raw material into the machine and have a finished part come out. With standalone machines the material would go to a lathe, then
into a mill, and so on. Now parts are completely processed on this one machine.”
Smothers has also found that one of the best ways to boost efficiency is for the operators to run their machines unattended. Many USNR operators were concerned with this prospect at first; some of their parts have tolerances within two or three ten thousandths of an inch. That’s why Smothers emphasized proving out models first.
CNC programmer Adam Corson does this by bringing a 3D model into Mastercam CAD/CAM software to program. Corson has been programming with this software since 2007. He explained, “It has many options that make my job easier, whether it’s a dynamic toolpath that allows us to achieve full flute length cutting using higher spindle speeds and faster feed rates, to surfacing odd shaped parts that allows us to use our CNC machining centers to their highest capacities.” USNR finds the most value in how the software inspires confidence in operators.
The powerful simulation features within the software are essential. With the backplot and verify functions,
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CNC WEST August/September 2020
Using three load stations in the FMS maximizes time spent machining in the three NHX6300 Horizontal Machining centers as opposed to tearing down and setting up parts in vertical oriented machines, such as the Vertical Machining Centers.