Let’s now discuss “Quality”, obviously “Quality” is a relative term and in many instances companies buy the wrong equipment because “Quality” is not well defined or if it is defined it is not a decision made by someone who understands the requirements of the product to be processed.
Please understand that I have been on both sides of the fence, I have been a Director of Quality for multiple companies and I have been a Plant Manager for multiple companies and I understand the argument from both sides. The Quality department wants a process that produces a part with as little variation as possible, the Production team wants a process that produces as many parts per hour as possible. There needs to be a meeting of the minds and a strong use of common sense when choosing a process / equipment to produce the product, and yes I know variation = waste and I’m not arguing that at all, what I’m saying is there is almost always a happy medium.
Let’s say that we are going to produce a widget that has a tolerance of +/- 0.50mm, you have to decide between a dedicated machine or a flexible automation solution. The dedicated machine holds a tolerance of +/- 0.02mm and the flexible solution holds a tolerance of +/- 0.07mm and for arguments sake let’s assume that both processes have the same cost (price + operating expense).I can tell you from experience that there will be a plethora of different opinions.
The Quality department will want the dedicated machine because they will show a better Cpk, Production wants to know what has the best cycle time, the Accounting department wants to know who will give us the best terms, the Project Manager wants to know who has the best timing to bring the project to completion on time, and hopefully the Engineering department will already be thinking about how the Sales Department can use this new technology as a Sales tool.So before we go any further let’s also assume that both processes have the same cycle time, both solutions offer equally appealing terms, both have the same lead time but to answer Engineering, flexible automation will almost always give the Sales Department a better Sales Tool because it can usually be built and designed to retool for another product where the dedicated machine limits the Sales Department to focus on other suppliers of similar products.
We know that the flexible solution can produce the same tolerances as the dedicated machine if we add vision, software options or laser technology, but now the cost is no longer the same. We need to ask ourselves some simple questions, do we need it to hold those tight tolerances? Does the “flexibility” have a value? Will the solution we choose give us an advantage over the competition?I can tell you from experience that if I have the choice between dedicated machines that will be obsolete at the end of the products life cycle or flexible automation that I can utilize for other products or retool at the end of the products life cycle, I will always go for the flexible automation.
Please understand that our company sells both types of automation and in many instances the dedicated machine is the “right” and sometimes “only” answer. My only goal here is to give you the tools and to start the thought process to make the right decision for your future.
TBD Enterprises is always available to help companies work through problems even if you are purchasing your equipment from someone else but want our opinion, we’d be happy to help, feel free to email us at sales@tbdenterprisesllc.com or visit the contact page at our website, www.tbdenterprisesllc.com to call.
Our next blog will be discussing cycle time and change over time.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Monday, August 3, 2009
Automation - Products & Processes, Making the Right Choice
The goal for our blog is to educate businesses to make the right decisions, no matter who you purchase from, we want US companies to be strong and viable, after all we are all in this together. As Zig Ziglar says, you'll get what you want when you help enough other people get what they want, and that's what we're here to do!
At TBD Enterprises, we have seen so many companies choose the wrong automation for their plant and later regret their decision. Whether it’s the wrong product, the wrong manufacture, or the wrong process, it’s never too late to change the direction to make your company more profitable in the future.
The decisions you make are all dependent on whether you’re focusing on short term or long term goals. The biggest mistake we see companies make is making decisions because “we’ve always done it that way”, ladies and gentlemen, it is a new day and time to make decisions because “they are right for the future of our company and our employees”!
Over the next few weeks we will publish our thoughts on “Automation for Manufacturing” and would appreciate your comments, thoughts and debates.
With so many choices available for automation now, how do you choose the right one? How do you determine if you should go with flexible automation, dedicated automation or manual processes? There are so many things involved in the decision(s):
· Price (Not the same as cost)
· Cost (Not the same as price)
· Quality
· Cycle Time
· Change Over Time
· Flexibility
· Short term / long term goals
In our following blogs we will discuss the pro’s and con’s of the different types of processes and products and the effects each one has on the future of your business. But lets start with Price vs. Cost!
PRICE vs. COST
As we discussed above, we want to educate everyone so that you can make the right automation decision for your business, so we are going to use examples to explain our thoughts clearly.
It doesn't matter what process you are planning to automate you'll have decisions to make, it could be welding and you may have to choose between robotic or dedicated GMAW or maybe robotic or dedicated GTAW automation, it could be material handling and you may have to choose between grippers or vacuum, it could be trimming and you may have to choose between WaterJet, Laser and Router.
We'll pick a process to start with, let's look at trimming solutions and for the sake of argument we'll say that we have a choice between robotic Router and robotic WaterJet for trimming a composite part for the marine industry. Now most times one process will far out surpass the other in the area that means the most to you but for this example let’s say that both processes have been proven to give us acceptable cut quality, cycle time, change over time, flexibility and are equally environmentally clean processes.
You have picked a supplier that can offer you all of your automation needs and they have quoted a robotic Router cell for $200k and a robotic WaterJet cell for $300k, no brainer right? Wrong! The $100k difference is in the price not the cost and your work is really only half done.
If you don't take in to consideration the cost of consumables, power consumption, maintainability, required spare parts inventory, mean time to failure, mean time between failure and mean time to repair, you could make the wrong decision.
Many times when trimming composite parts, the router will require a diamond compression bit that may be in excess of $200.00 each and if we find that it fails at an average of every 300 linear feet of travel and we trim 600 linear feet per shift you may spend $400.00 per shift on that one cutter alone. Now multiply that by 2 shifts per day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks per year that means the difference in price may be made up in one cutter in less than 6 months.
Obviously this is an example and we didn’t take in to consideration the orifice and coil failures of the WaterJet but we hope you get the idea. We are just trying to tell you that you need to take all of these things in to consideration when making your decision.
Just imagine if this was a 5 year project, that one oversight could be a 1 million dollar oops. We can tell you that we have seen companies that have a lot of those 1 million dollar oops going on and many times is the difference between a successful company and a bankrupt company. You need to do the due diligence up front, for you, your company and your employees, you'll be happy you did.
At TBD Enterprises, we give you all the tools needed to make the right decision, we can assist with simulations to determine cycle time, test samples to determine process quality and capability, and we can help you to calculate the “costs” involved to create an accurate ROI so that you make an educated decision when trying to choose the right automation process for you and your business.
If you have questions, please feel free to send us an email or call us, we'd be happy to help you with your project.
Bernie Ritchey
bernie@tbdenterprisesllc.com
(248) 496-2368
Tom Washburn
tom@tbdenterprisesllc.com
(248) 535-6737
At TBD Enterprises, we have seen so many companies choose the wrong automation for their plant and later regret their decision. Whether it’s the wrong product, the wrong manufacture, or the wrong process, it’s never too late to change the direction to make your company more profitable in the future.
The decisions you make are all dependent on whether you’re focusing on short term or long term goals. The biggest mistake we see companies make is making decisions because “we’ve always done it that way”, ladies and gentlemen, it is a new day and time to make decisions because “they are right for the future of our company and our employees”!
Over the next few weeks we will publish our thoughts on “Automation for Manufacturing” and would appreciate your comments, thoughts and debates.
With so many choices available for automation now, how do you choose the right one? How do you determine if you should go with flexible automation, dedicated automation or manual processes? There are so many things involved in the decision(s):
· Price (Not the same as cost)
· Cost (Not the same as price)
· Quality
· Cycle Time
· Change Over Time
· Flexibility
· Short term / long term goals
In our following blogs we will discuss the pro’s and con’s of the different types of processes and products and the effects each one has on the future of your business. But lets start with Price vs. Cost!
PRICE vs. COST
As we discussed above, we want to educate everyone so that you can make the right automation decision for your business, so we are going to use examples to explain our thoughts clearly.
It doesn't matter what process you are planning to automate you'll have decisions to make, it could be welding and you may have to choose between robotic or dedicated GMAW or maybe robotic or dedicated GTAW automation, it could be material handling and you may have to choose between grippers or vacuum, it could be trimming and you may have to choose between WaterJet, Laser and Router.
We'll pick a process to start with, let's look at trimming solutions and for the sake of argument we'll say that we have a choice between robotic Router and robotic WaterJet for trimming a composite part for the marine industry. Now most times one process will far out surpass the other in the area that means the most to you but for this example let’s say that both processes have been proven to give us acceptable cut quality, cycle time, change over time, flexibility and are equally environmentally clean processes.
You have picked a supplier that can offer you all of your automation needs and they have quoted a robotic Router cell for $200k and a robotic WaterJet cell for $300k, no brainer right? Wrong! The $100k difference is in the price not the cost and your work is really only half done.
If you don't take in to consideration the cost of consumables, power consumption, maintainability, required spare parts inventory, mean time to failure, mean time between failure and mean time to repair, you could make the wrong decision.
Many times when trimming composite parts, the router will require a diamond compression bit that may be in excess of $200.00 each and if we find that it fails at an average of every 300 linear feet of travel and we trim 600 linear feet per shift you may spend $400.00 per shift on that one cutter alone. Now multiply that by 2 shifts per day, 5 days a week, 50 weeks per year that means the difference in price may be made up in one cutter in less than 6 months.
Obviously this is an example and we didn’t take in to consideration the orifice and coil failures of the WaterJet but we hope you get the idea. We are just trying to tell you that you need to take all of these things in to consideration when making your decision.
Just imagine if this was a 5 year project, that one oversight could be a 1 million dollar oops. We can tell you that we have seen companies that have a lot of those 1 million dollar oops going on and many times is the difference between a successful company and a bankrupt company. You need to do the due diligence up front, for you, your company and your employees, you'll be happy you did.
At TBD Enterprises, we give you all the tools needed to make the right decision, we can assist with simulations to determine cycle time, test samples to determine process quality and capability, and we can help you to calculate the “costs” involved to create an accurate ROI so that you make an educated decision when trying to choose the right automation process for you and your business.
If you have questions, please feel free to send us an email or call us, we'd be happy to help you with your project.
Bernie Ritchey
bernie@tbdenterprisesllc.com
(248) 496-2368
Tom Washburn
tom@tbdenterprisesllc.com
(248) 535-6737
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Where did TBD Enterprises LLC come from?
Tom Washburn of TBD Enterprises LLC and Bernie Ritchey of Bernard Ritchey Enterprises LLC have merged to create a new TBD Enterprises LLC. Tom Washburn and Bernie Ritchey have known each other and collaborated on projects together for over 20 years. Bernie said “we have respected and trusted each other for all of these years and have been discussing a partnership for some time and the time seemed right to do it now”. He went on to say “I always said that I would never enter a partnership unless it was with Tom, I know him and trust him and I know all of the outstanding qualities that he brings to an organization”.
Tom Washburn said that “the new combined resources of the 2 organizations will allow the newly formed TBD Enterprises LLC to offer our customers with a more diverse offering of products as well as a more comprehensive knowledge of the products we sell and markets we serve”. Tom also said that “we decided to combine the companies to create a stronger organization that can promote the “buy Michigan” theme; our goal is to do our part to bring more business to Michigan Manufactures through our well organized network of suppliers, manufactures and support service companies”.
The combination of these two companies brings together over 50 years of experience in automation, robotics, manufacturing and industry support.
When asked what he thought of the merger, Mike Hahn of Lee Industrial Contracting said “I’ve dealt with both Tom and Bernie for nearly 16 years and both are honest, loyal and extremely professional and I have no doubt with two of them working together that they will be extremely successful in helping their customers get the highest quality solution for their need”.
TBD Enterprises LLC is a Representative Firm serving the Manufacturing community. TBD Enterprises LLC represents some of the highest quality most cost effective companies in Robotics and Automation, Metal Fabrication, Metals, Plastics and Composites Manufacturing, Plant Services including Machine Moving, Rigging, Plant Electrical Services, Air Compressor and Piping Services, Plant Technical Support including Programming and Software Development, Support Systems including Project Management, Supply Chain Development, Contract Negotiation, Quality System Development and Implementation, Inspection Services including CMM, Weld Verification and Validation, 2D & 3D Reverse Engineering, CS1, CS2 and GP12 Inspection.
To read more about TBD Enterprises LLC please see their website at www.tbdenterprisesllc.com
Tom Washburn said that “the new combined resources of the 2 organizations will allow the newly formed TBD Enterprises LLC to offer our customers with a more diverse offering of products as well as a more comprehensive knowledge of the products we sell and markets we serve”. Tom also said that “we decided to combine the companies to create a stronger organization that can promote the “buy Michigan” theme; our goal is to do our part to bring more business to Michigan Manufactures through our well organized network of suppliers, manufactures and support service companies”.
The combination of these two companies brings together over 50 years of experience in automation, robotics, manufacturing and industry support.
When asked what he thought of the merger, Mike Hahn of Lee Industrial Contracting said “I’ve dealt with both Tom and Bernie for nearly 16 years and both are honest, loyal and extremely professional and I have no doubt with two of them working together that they will be extremely successful in helping their customers get the highest quality solution for their need”.
TBD Enterprises LLC is a Representative Firm serving the Manufacturing community. TBD Enterprises LLC represents some of the highest quality most cost effective companies in Robotics and Automation, Metal Fabrication, Metals, Plastics and Composites Manufacturing, Plant Services including Machine Moving, Rigging, Plant Electrical Services, Air Compressor and Piping Services, Plant Technical Support including Programming and Software Development, Support Systems including Project Management, Supply Chain Development, Contract Negotiation, Quality System Development and Implementation, Inspection Services including CMM, Weld Verification and Validation, 2D & 3D Reverse Engineering, CS1, CS2 and GP12 Inspection.
To read more about TBD Enterprises LLC please see their website at www.tbdenterprisesllc.com
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