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CNC: How a machine monitoring system reduces investment in new machines

Increasing capacity – buy a machine or reduce downtime on existing machines using a CNC machine monitoring system ? Easy decision for a CEO !

Increasing CNC machining capacity
Downtime on the shop floor can be up to 30 % because of poor work ethics and system problems (see this earlier post). If I have 10 machines on my shop floor and I want to increase machining capacity by 20 %, I have two options:
Option 1: Buy another machine.
Option 2: Increase capacity utilization by 20 % by reducing downtime.

Option 1 is quick, painless, does not involve disrupting my current inefficient way of working. I can buy a new machine in a couple of days.
Option 2 is costs a fraction of Option 1, but is painful – involves changing work culture and improving systems.

Most organizations prefer Option 1, which increases costs and reduces profitability, but is painless. Option 2 involves putting in a productivity monitoring system that tracks your machines’ production and downtime electronically, automatically, 24/7.

Let’s say you have 10 machines each costing Rs. 25 Lakhs, a total of Rs. 2.5 Crore. You now face a capacity crunch, and need to increase capacity by 20 %. You can reduce downtime and improve capacity utilization of the existing machines by 20 %. The new machines will cost you Rs. 50 Lakhs, while an Industry 4.0 machine monitoring system will cost you Rs. 5 Lakhs. The monitoring CNC Inserts system can typically improve your capacity utilization by 20 % in 3 months. It can do this at 10 % of the investment in new machines.

Action point

The next time you have a capacity constraint and want to buy a new machine, instead install a machine monitoring system like LEANworx machine monitoring software to increase capacity. Or install a monitoring system right away and dispose of some of your existing machines.

Etc.

Doggie moving up in life

I stayed in a hotel near Connaught Place in Delhi recently, for a week. While on an early morning jog (trying to shed the kilos that I was acquiring at the huge breakfast buffet spread every morning – part of the hotel’s package deal), I saw this dog sleeping on top of a parked car.

Two questions arose in my mind:
1. CCMT Insert How in hell did the guy get on top there, negotiating the slippery metal and glass ?
2. Wasn’t he uncomfortable on the hard and possibly cold metal ?

I still haven’t figured out the answer to the first question.
As for the second one, it was a warm and humid monsoon morning, and the metal was probably nice and cool compared to the ground.

And now I’m wondering whether he (being a city slicker dog) will at some point in his life think “I’m tired of sleeping on these mid-range cars. It’s time I moved up in life. Should look for a Benz or a BMW to sleep on tonight, so I can impress the babes”. He’s actually moved up in life, literally, from sleeping on the footpath to sleeping on a car.

Interested in a Plug-and-play Industry 4.0 system ? See LEANworx, from our group company.

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Related posts:

Quick change tool holder systems on CNC lathes

CNC machining cost – how to reduce it, with zero extra investment

Bad CNC machine and high energy cost

CNC machine simulator

Machine downtime for trivial reasons

The Carbide Inserts Website: https://www.estoolcarbide.com/product/wcmt080412-u-drill-inserts-p-1209/