#foxmachinery

[foxmachinery]

7 Tips to Extend the Life of Your Dependable “Dinosaur” Machine

Older machines, when taken care of, can be reliable, dependable work horses for your shop. Prolong the life of your older machine through early detection of inconsistent behavior.

1. Stay on top of operator training

Machinery wear and breakdown are often made worse by unskilled handling. Many machines have multiple operators, increasing the chances of “use & abuse”. Identify a list of best practices and reiterate it often to your team.

2. Add and test lubricants

Lubricants reduce friction around any moving part. A schedule of good lubrication maintenance extends the life of large machinery equipment and parts

Check the manufacturer’s recommendations for type of lubricant and consider purchasing onlyhigh-quality fluids to keep your older machine running smoothly

Consider having a fluid analysis completed - experts analyze particles in the used oil which canindicate parts that may be suffering from wear or breakdown

Lubrication prevents corrosion and water is a major course of corrosion. Maintaining seals andreplacing filters will help keep lubricants free of contaminants

Keep a close eye on oil usage

Sudden reduction in oil use can mean a clogged lubrication line

A sudden increase can indicate a leak somewhere

3. Check for signs of wear

Age affects many key components of your machine. Over time belts will warp, seals will dry/crack,bolts will loosen and stretch out of shape. Vibration, shock, high temperatures, friction and age allcontribute to the breakdown of parts in heavy machinery.

4. Maintain a clean environment

There are many seals and filters in place to keep working parts clean and free of contamination.Seals should be inspected regularly to make sure they’re in good condition. Filters should beinspected and changed regularly.

5. Plan, schedule, and keep good records

Know what needs to be inspected and when.

Components break down, and wear is inevitable. Establish forecasts for the expected life of all components and replace them on schedule.

A maintenance log should also be kept ensuring regular checks are not missed and compliance is measured.

Set aside an emergency fund. Even if you have insurance, it is ideal to set aside emergency funds to cover the cost of unexpected, urgent repair and maintenance work.

6. Get creative

Eventually your older machine will need a part replaced that is no longer available. Turn to yourservice technicians, local fab shops and the creative folks you employ as resources to get yourmachine up and running. This may be a better option then replacing your machine.

7. Keep an expert in the loop

Schedule a full service inspection on your older machine to get a base line and start the monitoring process. Schedule annual or biannual inspections to keep on top of fluids and signs of wear.

[foxmachinery]

6 New Years Resolutions for your Manufacturing Business

By now you may have set your personal 2018 Resolutions – some of you might be going strong, while others already have their hand in the cookie jar… regardless, it’s not too late to consider Business Resolutions for 2018. You can focus on “losing weight”, “getting it done” and “making free time” in the office, shop or plant.

1. Be More Active

Just as you may have set a goal to be more physically active, wouldn’t it be great to see your machines do the same? Assess your needs and potential setbacks ahead of time. Come up with a plan to stay ahead of lost productivity, downtime, supply reorders, assess tooling needs, schedule PM’s, etc.

2. Use Your Weekly Planner

Make proactive business planning a weekly event to help achieve and stay ahead of the curve. Consider preventative actions like weekly maintenance on your machines as well as identifying supplies and standard machine consumables that need reordering such as filters, bearings and o-rings. This can help to avoid costly mistakes and keep you ahead of schedule.

3. Learn Something New

Invest in learning for yourself, your employees and even your machines! Education, including software upgrades, helps employees and their mechanized counterparts work more efficiently. Consider obtaining certifications, attending training sessions or purchasing new software. Often new advancements enable technology to become more affordable. Give thought as to how “shiny and new” might impact your business and save you time and money.

4. Quit Making Do

We all have that dreaded piece of equipment that is one wrong move away from “machinery meltdown”. Quit making do and work toward replacing frustration with production. Whether it’s a faulty control or hiring a new employee, stop putting off getting what you need to get the job done right the first time.

5. Automate Processes

Take a look at your repetitive tasks – are you losing valuable time answering similar questions, relaying details or searching for information? Consider videos, software, databases or even a good filing system to streamline and focus on growth. Manufacturers are leaders in automation, but may not be thinking past what’s already in the shop. Uses of advanced robots go far beyond their traditional implementations, and your imagination is the only limitation. Set a goal to implement at least one advanced workflow system in 2018.

Give your goals some thought and write them down. Look beyond this list - how are you going to achieve lower costs, focus on new IT initiatives, improve communication, or create visibility?

[foxmachinery]

Service 101: best practices when your machine needs service

Before making “the call”

1. Identify “what happened” before the machine malfunctioned. 2. Check your machine for electrical shorts and blown fuses. If you are comfortable, open the electrical cabinet to check for loose wiring and connections. 3. Familiarize yourself with the troubleshooting portion of your Owner’s Manual. This, paired with a call from a tech, may be enough to get your machine running. 4. Are you able to take video and/or pictures? This is HUGELY helpful in determining the cause of a breakdown or identiofying a faulty part. 5. Keeping notes on errors and problems will help relay accurate information to a service tech.

When calling “9-1-1”

1. Be ready to provide the machine’s Make, Model and Serial Number. 2. Having as many details as possible on hand helps us assign the right person to the job: a. What exactly isn’t working – what is it doing? b. What material was used when the machine malfunctioned? c. Do you have video or pictures that can be shared? d. Verbalizing specific concerns allows the tech to form a “plan of attack” before getting to your shop. 3. We recommend assigning one shop rep as the contact for the “fix” – providing a direct line (cell is best) to that person allows for accurate communication.

Help has arrived

1. Make sure the area around your machine is clear. 2. Be patient while your tech is working on your machine. Our goal is the same as yours – have the machine running smoothly at full capacity as quickly as possible.

We hope you never have to call for service in a panic – but if it happens – following these tips will get you up and running faster.

[foxmachinery]

Hire Your Most Reliable Employee: Automated Technology

Good help can be hard to find. With the shallowing talent pool of qualified machine operators and increased workloads, manufacturing companies are faced with a dilemma.Not only has it been difficult to find good help, it is difficult to find any help at all. The Manufacturing Institute and Deloitte Consulting claims:

“Over the next decade, there could be a shortage of 2 million manufacturing employees” “Seven of 10 manufacturing companies reporting a shortage of workers with adequate technical and computer skills” “69 percent say applicants lack problem-solving skills”

No one can argue, Time is Money, and with an average of 70+ days to recruit skilled workers, money is being left on the table and jobs are backing up or being refused. With advances in today’s technology, the answer to your hiring woes is literally at your - and your operator’s - fingertips.

SOFTWARE AUTOMATION AND INTEGRATION

Thanks to advances in CNC technology, machine operators are able to accomplish more with less (time, experience, and headache) by utilizing heavily guided assistance that increases accuracy and productivity.

Press Brake Manufacturer, Accurpress, has focused their operating program (ETS 3000, Vision 3D, and MOSES) upgrades on ease-of-use. Operators are given visual cues and guides during job set up, with the machine red-flagging foreseen errors, such as incorrect tonnage requirements, tool specifications, parameter or bend issues. Automatic tool selection, bend-sequencing and full integration with programs like Solidworks and Inventor eliminates the guesswork and streamlines the workflow from conception to completion. This software allows for other automated systems, such as sheet followers, backgauges and conveyors, which increase safety and streamlines productivity.

FULL AUTOMATION SYSTEMS

In a word-Robots. Robots are the final step in complete automation. They take the operator’s role to gauge, change tools, reposition, reload, compensate and stack.

CLICK HERE

to explore other automation options. The Boston Consulting Group predicts that “investment in industrial robots will grow 10 percent a year .. . through 2025.” It is hard to argue when automation can be reprogrammed and updated faster than workers can be retrained. As talented workers become scarce, consider how automated technology could be utilized in your future workflow.