New
Process without New Capital - An existing
customer needed to perform a hot-upset weld for a new
project. Due to the
flexibility of Tec-Option's design, only a new tool module was
designed for the part and put into their existing machine,
which was designed and built five years earlier. While we're unable to
predict the future, our flexible systems are designed with the
unknown in mind. How
many machines do you own that are capable of such a feat?
Contingency Planning of
Actual Manufacturing Volumes-
 All the
forecasting of automotive manufacturing volumes cannot predict
the cost of a gallon of fuel, which ultimately dictates the
vehicle market. For
example, when the cost of fuel rose to over $4 a gallon last
year, truck production went down. A customer with two plants
producing truck parts was able to ship the tooling from Plant
One to Plant Two, thereby consolidating the lower-volume truck
part production to Plant 2 to maximize machine time. This freed up their machine
in Plant One to make car parts, which were in higher
demand. The flexibility
of the Tec-Option system allowed for maximization of
resources, following the change in the market without the need
for new equipment.
Double Production / Less
Space Demands of Existing Process-
 Requiring higher
volumes than currently able to produce, a customer purchased a
set of Tec-Option
Flexible Systems to duplicate an existing process. Our design allowed for twice
the current production rate, required half the number of
operators and used a fraction of the floor space ' all with
definite cost savings. As an extra bonus, the robots used for the current
process were dedicated to a new process, saving the company
the expense of new robots!
Maximize Capital
Investment with Full Utilization of Machine Time-
 A customer had
the necessity of making a large variety of parts (27) with
volumes that did not require 100% available machine time. In addition, all the parts
required a fastener to be attached. Due to the large variety of
similar fasteners, the plant required automatic feeding
equipment to reduce human error. The solution was to buy
three machines and eight tool modules, set up so that the
parts and volumes would maximize the machines' usage for the
plant. Parts using
common fastener types were assigned to the machine with that
equipment to reduce the number of unique fastener feed
systems. The savings
were tremendous when compared to traditional machine building
techniques- reducing 27 machines to 3- requiring a fraction of
valuable floor space, sharing common fastener feeding
equipment, utilizing unused machine time - all while saving
capital and labor costs.
Floor
Space / Delay of Capital Investment of over $1.4M-
 A new
customer had the problem of a longer than usual production
ramp-up time period that involved 26 parts. Because of the modular
design, the tooling was easily separated from the capital
equipment, allowing the real tooling costs to be identified as
the end customer's responsibility. The flexibility allowed the
initial purchase of only one machine, saving on capital
spending. Each of the
tools were built and developed on this single machine. As the volumes increased,
the customer was able to realize return on investment and then
afford to increase capital spending until the final count was
achieved. This customer
ended up with 26 tools and 22 machines but saved money over
the long ramp-up period. In addition, floor space was utilized only when
required to manufacture parts.
Three
Value-Added-Process Parts in a Single Flexible Tooling
Module-
 This
particular solution allowed the customer to spot weld two
parts together, pierce a hole, then weld a fastener over the
hole in one tool module. All this was completed in three cycles and would yield
a finished part every cycle during production. The operator loaded a fresh
set of parts in the first station (left), where they were spot
welded together. After
the cycle was completed, the welded part was moved into the
second station (center), and the first station was loaded
again. The second
station pierced a hole in the part, readying it for the next
process. After the
cycle was completed, the third station (right) was loaded with
the pierced part, the second station was loaded from the
first, and new parts were loaded into the first station. The third station would
auto-feed a fastener and weld it over the pierced hole, then
unload the part onto a conveyor. For every cycle, each
station would apply its process to the part, completing one
part per cycle. Not
only did this reduce WIP and part handling, but the cycle was
completed in less than 7 seconds and with a higher level of
quality control than if performed in separate machines by
separate processes. Automatic part tracking would enable/disable the
appropriate stations for lead-in or run-out, reducing operator
intervention.
Engineering Changes
Easily Managed-
 A
customer in Mexico had a PPAP due date only weeks away, yet
required an engineering change to their project. Due to the modular design,
only the tool module was required to ship to Tec-Option for
the changes, saving time, shipping charges, customs
inspections and the resources normally used to connect and
disconnect the machine's utilities. Because of the complexity of
the change, the design also eliminated the necessity of flying
in support personnel to make changes onsite, eliminating all
the associated travel expenses. While the tool was in
transit, the additional purchase items were ordered and
received. The changes
were made, verified in a test machine at Tec-Option, and the
tool was turned around and received by the customer in less
than a week. This
allowed for a successful, timely PPAP and satisfied the
requirements for acceptance of the part on
schedule.
Next Day Shipping
(special situation)- A Tec-Option customer called needing
to increase part production; they did not have any available
machine time and were paying employees over $10,000 a week in
overtime. They were desperate for more machine time and wanted
to know how soon they could obtain another machine. Because of the flexible
design of our modular system and the standards used in the
building process, they purchased Tec-Option's test machine on
our production floor one day, and it shipped the next
day. In less than three
days, the company was building parts to order at the new
volumes. The only
incompatibility of the machine shipped was that the paint
color did not match their specifications! (This was not an issue.) Although next-day delivery
is the exception to the rule, it was possible because of the
flexible design and standards that are used in building our
systems.
Manufacturing Volumes Not
to Quoted Rates- Many customers have purchased one machine
and multiple tooling modules for lower volume projects. When the volumes increased
to a point where one machine was not enough, additional
machines were purchased to handle the extra volume as
cash flow improved.
Reduce
Cost by Eliminating Auto-feed Fastener Equipment-
 Some customers
have a need to affix fasteners but do not have the budget to
purchase the auto-feeding equipment. By creating dual-station
tooling with part auto-unload in one machine, there is more
time available to hand-feed fasteners in one station while the
other station is in process. The dual-station not only allows extra load time, it
also is continuously processing parts in the opposite
station. This
effectively eliminates operator load time and the cost of
auto-feed equipment, and realizes 100% machine time as
well.
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