Contract Manufacturing
rates on the a61nx machines reaching over 90% on a routine basis. Additionally, these automated horizontal machining capa- bilities have enabled Woller Precision to redeploy its skilled labor to more value-added, labor-intensive orders. “The ability to free-up labor time has been critical to our recent growth and ability to win new production contracts,” said Woller. “We’ve assigned some of our most skilled engineers to the development and optimization of prototype orders on our stand-alone technologies, opening additional windows of opportunity to transition prototypes into full-production orders that can then be added to our automated horizontal machining cell. As a result of these practices, we’ve seen sales increase by 21%, and we’ve only had to expand our workforce by 6%.”
Rethinking Production Workflow Woller Precision’s investment in automated horizontal machining also changed the way the company looks at work- flow. Customers continue to want lower prices, and one way
to reduce part costs is to shrink inventory. Gone are the days of amortizing setup costs by producing economic lot sizes that tie up finances in inventory until the customer places their final order. Now parts can be completed quickly in the automated horizontal machining cell, letting Woller Precision reduce both the finished goods inventory and work in process. “Five years ago, companies didn’t have a problem putting a couple months of inventory on shelves,” said Woller. “Now customers demand short lead times and require new levels of speed, quality and cost-saving for their projects. Our auto- mated horizontal machining system delivers this, resulting in a 50% decrease in work in process. The cell can produce parts quickly, so we no longer have money tied up in raw materials, extra parts or outside services. We have better cash flow, which gives us the ability to reinvest in the business when needed.” On one particular job transferred to the automated HMC
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cell, Woller Precision reduced cycle time by 50%, from 15 min- utes and 6 sec to just 7 minutes and 34 sec. This type of cycle- time reduction encouraged the company to look for other opportunities to auto- mate and improve on-time delivery. The higher throughput and consistency with automation means that Woller Precision can confidently run a third shift. If there is an issue with anything, the system sends the operator a text message to alert that person of an error. “Customers recognize the efforts we’re making through automated hori- zontal machining, which reflects well on our overall relationships,” said Woller. “Quality and delivery scorecards are coming back better than ever.” Additionally, there is a reduction in human error. The tools do not need to be taken in and out of the machines, because there is a tool-life management system in place. This system, along with the tombstone management software Woller Precision has employed, gives the machine operator a lot of informa- tion, reducing guesswork.
UNIVERSAL - AUTOMATIC
When it comes to one-off batch or- ders, the company still relies on VMCs. In order to maximize its efficiency for these
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