Achieving Efficiency at the Component Level

No Standardization Department Required

Achieving Efficiency at the Component Level

Design engineers often find themselves in similar situations during machine builds. Common practice is to initially think about the components needed for the machine build and then move towards looking at the custom parts needed to complete the machine. This is when the real work begins. Drawing, sizing, measuring, specifying are all common components for developing the complete list of components needed to complete a machine build. This process takes precious resources to complete, especially in the areas of time and money.

This leaves machine builders constantly striving to achieve the utopia of improved productivity, efficiency and quality. To help achieve this goal, large machine builders have heavily invested in the concept of standardization. The cornerstone to this concept is efficiency, while the vehicles to efficiency are lead by reducing costs and time through a library of compatible components. Through the creation of standardization departments, these companies have focused on value added engineering projects dedicated to standardization to streamline every aspect of the design, build and procurement of a machine. In turn, this has reduced the overall cost of each system and its lead times. The result has been addressing the three most important factors when choosing the right company which are the project lead time, the cost of the system, and the design itself. Evidence of success can be found in the large machine builders who have invested in such a department and have seen the project cycle reduced to the point where in some cases it is as much as 50% shorter than it was a couple decades ago. In addition, many machine builders have created a modular concept for their machines, which has lead to a certain level of consistency and increased the ease of doing business with many customers.

So, where does this leave the medium to small machine builders who can not afford to create a department so they can achieve improved productivity, efficiency and quality through standardization? Many of these machine builders are finding it progressively harder to compete in the world of automated machinery. Often these machine building companies can not afford to even invest in the standardization concept. This is especially true when many of them produce a range of unique automation machines that do not lend themselves to commonality between designs.

Besides medium to small machine builders struggling without a standardization department they are also under pressure from increased build costs in other areas. One area where build costs can increase is in the internal machine shop. The rising costs from an internal machine shop can have a direct impact on the company, especially with the medium to small machine builder. As you know, the characteristics of a machine builder are similar to the constant contracting and expanding of the human heart, except in business, it’s easy for a machine builder to sometimes disappear during one of the contractions. When a machine builder finds itself between jobs the management often faces hard decisions. The need to maintain a talented employee base is one of the most if not the most crucial decision.

Between jobs many medium to small machine builders are forced to part with these talented individuals, leaving them under resourced when the next job is assigned. So, increasing the cost of a project can not only affect that project, but often it affects the entire company. These types of crucial decisions are made everyday whenever a machine builder is involved with a challenging project, especially, when it comes to project budget. After a component is designed the machine builder is often faced with the dilemma of purchasing the component and leaving the internal machine shop idle, or manufacturing the component through the internal machine shop. The machine builder does not want its internal machine shop to remain idle, so the machine builder will manufacture the component through its internal machine shop, which typically increases the overall price of the machine. This type of scenario is too common and continually makes it more difficult for a machine builder to meet project budgets. This is just one type of scenario that can occur, but the internal machine shop can become a major drain on a machine builder simply through the standard costs of people, time and machine maintenance as well as the paperwork and space that is required to keep this department running at an efficient level. These types of costs can impact a company in many ways.

Today, hope is on the horizon for medium to small machine builders as suppliers begin to offer the configurable component in addition to a plethora of non-configurable components. In the world of factory automation there are three major types of components (See Figure 2). First is the custom component, which is when a design engineer draws a component and has it manufactured. Then there is the non-configurable component, which is typically manufactured and sold at high-volumes. Now there is also the configurable component, which enables the design engineer to specify components through various design parameters. The configurable component allows machine builders to work towards achieving efficiency at some of the same levels a large machine builder might achieve through an entire standardization department. While design engineers are earning their degrees, they may hear professors talking about the future of lean automation component supply chain that would efficiently and quickly manufacture the component to the design engineer’s specifications. This is because the future of factory automation supply chain lies with the configurability of components, which is also referred to as mass customization. Those machine builders that utilize configurable components will be able to work within parametric standards for various components used by the industry and greatly reduce the need for a machine shop. The component suppliers will be able to produce even small quantities of components configured to the design engineer’s specifications. In addition, these configured components will offer pricing and lead times that are competitive with high volume non-configured components offered by various catalog vendors today. In addition, with a flexible footprint of manufacturing, configurable component suppliers are able to offer no minimum ordering quantity so there is no need to stock components.

This concept becomes more of a reality as machine builders learn how to use the configurable component to their benefit. For example, a machine builder might use an angle plate on almost every machine build project. However, the design engineer is not able to simply create a standard and stock a few angle plates because the hole locations and overall size may vary from project to project. Now with suppliers offering configurable components design engineers can simply set the parameters and use supplier CAD configurators to configure the hole locations and size dimensions for the angle plate then download the native CAD file and insert it into their assemblies, complete with part number, cost and shipping time. The machine builder can then use supplier web ordering systems to place the order for the configured angle plate so it arrives on-time for the machine build. And all of this can be accomplished at a fraction of the cost it would take to draw and manufacture the component in-house or through an outside machine shop. This is possible because the configurable component supplier has a flexible manufacturing system that allows components to be configured in many types, shapes, styles, sizes and materials. Thus, design engineers no longer need to calculate specifications and draw a custom component, but instead can configure size specifications by very precise increments. By offering multiple configuration specifications, suppliers can meet a wide array of needs by supplying the engineering community with a wide array of components. The result makes perfect sense as design engineers simply configure the component they need, which nearly negates the need for custom components (See Figure 1).

For nearly 20 years the configurable component supplier has set configuration specifications for components and as a result has thrived on the other side of the globe. Noticeable differences can be found when comparing the machines builds from Japan and machine builds from the US. Most notably the machine builds from Japan are nearly modular even though they might be built by different companies. In other words, the Japanese factory automation machines are very uniform in design, look, feel, performance and compatibility to the point where the machines look as if they were designed by the same team of engineers. It’s close to the exact opposite in the US where nearly every machine looks unique, even machines from the same company and even the same team of engineers. One could argue the advantages and disadvantages of each approach however the fact that the Japanese machines are highly efficient is an undeniable point. The reason Japanese machines are highly efficient is because the design engineers are utilizing configurable components from common suppliers. In the US design engineers might use a group of major component suppliers, but the difference is the design engineers in Japan are able to choose from a much larger group of commonly procured configurable components. Japan does not always rely upon the machine shop for components but instead relies upon configurable component suppliers for their machine builds. Thus, the efficiency objectives typically achieved through standardization departments can be achieved through configurable component suppliers, which is especially important to machine builders. Within recent years, one Japanese configurable component supplier further expanded its global presence by opening offices in the US. MISUMI USA, Inc. offers 400,000 metric and inch components for factory automation. Customers are quickly becoming familiar with MISUMI due to this suppliers ability to offer configurable components with reliable delivery and cost-effective prices. Some of the most popular configurable components available from MISUMI are linear shafts, linear guides, urethane rollers with shafts, rotary shafts, locating pins, posts, washers and collars. In addition, metric and inch components can be configured using either the MISUMI catalog or website.

As design engineers know, the typical design process, after the conceptual stage, usually starts with the final machine build. The design engineer then calculates what types of forces and motions are needed for the operability and performance of the machine. Next, decisions revolve around the size of the motor and specifying as many components as possible. This is when the work really begins as the design engineer then starts solving the many issues involved in connecting the various components together using custom designed and manufactured components. This stage is where most efficiency is lost. It only makes sense that with a very large variety of configurable components, the design engineer can greatly reduce the amount of custom details. Configurable components not only help reduce design time, but also help lessen compatibility issues and performance compromises that are typical when using non-configurable components that are close, but really don’t offer the fit needed for a quality machine build. But, due to time, performance and cost pressures, many machine builders are forced to accept such compromises.

Lastly, the parametrical aspect of configurable components typically allows them to fit together with extreme ease and little effort, which produces great efficiency in the machine build. When examining a system, it’s easy to spot these efficiencies at the component level. This is especially true when many of what previously were custom components are now replaced with configurable components. Additionally, these configurable components easily snap together, which has revolutionized the components in a typical machine build. With configurable components, a design engineer would start by obtaining the configured linear shafts and linear bushings. It’s then an easy next step to design in the configurable ballscrews, which offer machined ends that fit non-configurable shaft supports. The ballscrew nut bracket can be designed to fit the nut and the height can be configured with fine increments. This allows the ballscrew to adjust for the height of the shaft assembly without the need for custom components. Furthermore, plates and brackets can be configured and machined to the design engineer’s specifications, all the way down to the location and size of the machined holes. Once the motor is sized, the design engineer can easily select a coupling with holes that have inner diameters which can be configured in either inch or metric. Even hybrid couplings can be configured. Normally many of these components would be custom, but with configurable capabilities sizing a component such as linear shaft in one millimeter length increments is a possibility. Even components such as washers and collars have configurable OD and ID along with thickness and other various alterations.

The efficiencies produced from the ease at which configurable components typically fit together are especially evident where they are used most. It is typical to encounter a Japanese machine builder with a small work cell, a few design engineers and absolutely no stockroom of parts and no machine shop. There are a few reasons for this phenomenon:

• With configurable components, the need for a machinist is decreased as the volume of custom machined components is decreased.
• No standardization department is required as the configurable component supplier allows the medium to small machine builder to achieve efficiency at some of the same levels.
• Configurable component suppliers offer no minimum ordering quantity so there is no need to stock components.

The results are clear as a medium to small Japanese machine builder is able to sustain a healthy business and grow due to maximized efficiencies producing minimized overhead. The great news is that the configurable component supplier has arrived in North America and is ready to revolutionize the life of the design engineer and breathe life into the entire factory automation industry.

Figure 1

How the configurable component supplier is changing the industry

	The Old Way	The New Way
Design Engineer	Model the Part	Download Model, Part Number, Price and Lead Time
	Create Manufacturing Drawing
	The Old Way	The New Way
Procurement	Create a Request for Quotation	Instant quote & Place Purchase Order
	Receive Quotation
	Place Purchase Order
	The Old Way	The New Way
Machine Shop	Acquire Blank	Receive Part
	Create Routing Sheet
	Machine the Part
	Quality Control
	Release PO for Coating Services
	Sent to Outside Vendor
	Receive Part

Figure 2

Types of Components

Custom (Drawing) ------------------ Standardzing ------------------- Creates 2 Types of Components:

1. 1.Configurable - Allow the engineer to specify critical dimensions through various design parameters.
2. 2.Non-Configurable -  Fixed dimensions; usually stocked components.