A Revolution in Gear Manufacturing June 1, 2014 Machine manufacturers are working to streamline the gear-making process, to deliver a more highly finished gear in fewer steps.
Lean Techniques: Yokoten May 1, 2010 If you have never heard the term Yokoten, prepare yourself. It has been added to the Lean Operations lexicon as an important activity. Yokoten is being used by lean firms to help them become leaner. Yokoten is a Japanese term that can be roughly translated as “across everywhere.”
Tooling to Match Composite Production April 1, 2009 It’s getting harder to imagine any market that isn’t benefiting from the latest developments in parts manufactured from advanced composites. “Advanced composites will arguably dominate consumer and production products, especially in the near future,” says Bert Erdel, industry consultant and executive technology advisor, Morris Group Inc. (Windsor, CT), “as they have begun to gain wide acceptance in solving energy-related issues.”
Solutions for Difficult Machining January 1, 2009 The machining challenges for two of the most advanced concepts in cutting tool materials are pretty well known. Cubic boron nitride (CBN) tools of varying designs are being used to cut hardened ferrous metals with or without interrupted cuts, as well as welded and clad metals.
Sustaining a Lean Culture November 1, 2009 Earlier this year, at the 21st annual Shingo Prize conference awards ceremony, Autoliv Americas’ airbag module facility in Ogden, UT, was awarded The Shingo Prize for Operational Excellence. This was the second Shingo Prize won by the Autoliv Ogden Airbag Assembly (AOA) plant.
Lean Efforts Capture the Shingo November 1, 2007 A subsidiary of HNI Corp. (Mustacine, IA), the second-largest manufacturer of office furniture in North America, Hearth & Home Technologies (HHT; Mt. Pleasant, IA) manufactures sheetmetal fireplaces (both wood and gas-burning), vent pipe, and fireplace accessories. The company has four manufacturing facilities.
What’s the Connection? June 1, 2004 A lot of attention is paid to the “business end” of CNC toolholders–the part that actually holds the tool.
Tooling and Workholding Systems August 1, 2002 “We are developing solutions for power workholding such as hydraulic swing clamps and block clamps, because the real estate on a fixture is so valuable,” says Jason Betz, product specialist for Carr Lane Roemheld (St. Louis). “This pushes the use of smaller workholding components as much as possible because the more parts on the fixture the greater the productivity.”
Seeing Shop-Floor Steps Clearly Helps Workers Quickly Learn on the Job November 30, 2017 VKS [Visual Knowledge Share] develops an electronic work instruction solution designed to improve quality, productivity, and efficiency.