Gundyabhaoo: October 2009

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Benefits of Rapid Prototyping Technologies

Rapid prototyping is being used in just about all industrial sectors, although there are probably more applications in the automotive industry than any other. This is not surprising, however, given the intense global competitive pressures that are being experienced by automotive firms. A number of diverse application examples from different sectors are described in Chapter 2 of the Management Report.

The application at Rockwell Automotive (see Chapter 2, page 38 of the Management Report) is a typical example of what many companies using this new technology are achieving. In Rockwell's case the technology was used to:

increase visualisation capability during the early phases of design by using rapid physical models;
detect design flaws before the manufacture of tooling;
rapidly create tooling to manufacture physical prototypes.

Rockwell claim that this allowed them to reduce by seven months the time taken to develop a prototype engine. They also claimed that cost savings were achieved on the development project.

Time and cost savings

The applications described in Chapter 2 of the Management Report show firms using rapid prototyping technologies to achieve both cost and time savings in the process of new product development. This is to be expected given the high emphasis that is being given in most industries to reducing both the cost of new product development and time to market.

In most cases firms using rapid prototyping have gained time reductions in the production of prototype tooling and parts, which is mostly how these time savings have been specified.

The figures for time reductions on prototyping vary greatly, ranging from 60 to 90%. On the whole this range is likely to be realistic given that the estimation of time savings, when compared to the conventional methods of prototyping, is a fairly straightforward matter.

Little information is provided in the public domain about cost savings. Clearly there is a potential for cost reduction. For example, if mistakes can be identified before commitments are made to expensive tooling, then the costs associated with modifying such tools can be avoided. However, the information on cost reductions should be treated with some caution. The cases where cost reductions are claimed do not provide sufficient details of the basis for the calculations or the assumptions that have been made.

Innovation

Whilst pursuit of time and cost reductions are necessary business objectives, it is evident from studying the application examples in Chapter 2 of the Management Report, that some firms are using rapid prototyping in more innovative ways than others. Included in these innovative applications are:

the development of new analysis and testing procedures (see, for example, the Andersen Corp. case, page 46 of the Management Report);
manufacture of production tooling (see, for example, the Buddy/L case, page 43 of the Management Report);
improving communications across product divisions (see, for example, the Square D Company case, page 42 of the Management Report); and
supporting customised manufacturing (see, for example, the Wright Medical Technologies case, page 45 of the Management Report).

Given the high capital costs of some rapid prototyping machines, especially the larger ones, these innovative applications are probably the key to the successful and cost-effective use of the technologies. It may be the case that rapid prototyping will only be seen as financially viable when these wider potential benefits are taken into account.

http://www.cheshire henbury.com/ rapid/benefits. html

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Global Supply Chain: Keys to Succeeding in China

Need for Relationships is Different in China; Avoiding Joint Ventures

SCDigest Editorial Staff

SCDigest Says:

Investing time and effort in building long-term relationships in China is essential for success there, experts say – and that includes the Chinese government .

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The growth of China, both as a supply base and potential source of market expansion, over the last 10 years or more has been phenomenal. But navigating the complexities of buying from or selling into China has never been easy, especially as the pace of change there is almost mind-boggling.

Still, the companies that have been doing business in China for many years have learned a number of lessons that can benefit others that have more recently made the move or are considering expanding their buy or sell efforts. Many of those lessons were discussed during a recent conference at Arizona State University and co-sponsored by AT Kearny, including a panel discussion that featured executives from Motorola, Emerson Electric, Harley-Davidson, ON Semiconductor and TPI Composites, as well as ASU faculty members. Those lessons are summarized below:

Leave your "Cutting Edge" Technology Behind: "Hit-and-miss IP regulation is a significant inhibitor to development in China," said W. P. Carey School supply chain management professor Philip Carter.

But companies shouldn't ignore China due to the IP risks, but rather go into China with older, "second best" technologies that present lower risks to the company if the IP is ripped off.

However, it is worth noting that IP protection in China has become better and likely will continue to improve. That's in large part because as Chinese companies themselves continue to move up the value chain, they also will be looking for greater protection of their IP. In fact, in 2007, China's Premier Wen Jiabao said, "The competition of the future world ... is the competition of Intellectual Property Rights."

Focus on Recruiting and Retaining Management Talent: Finding basic factory and unskilled labor in China is easy, but supervisory and management talent is a lot harder to come by – yet, that management talent is obviously key to success.

"You need to have people on the ground in China who can interact with the government and move quickly," said Peter Yam of Emerson Electric. "Delegate decision-making to people on the ground -- to senior executives who are actually based in China."

Companies must invest in finding good managers and keeping salaries and opportunities attractive, and keep a strong and consistent focus on middle and upper management staffing.

Understand the Importance of Relationships: Relationships are different and arguably more important in China than in Western economies. The Chinese term guanxi, meaning "connections," is indicative of the role that relationships play in Chinese business.

Investing time and effort in building long-term relationships in China is essential for success there, experts say – and that includes the Chinese government.

"Our great relationships with the Chinese government have been critical," said Ronald Hutchinson of Harley-Davidson at the conference. "The ultimate authority over a company's success in China is the government, and there's always a veiled threat of retaliation -- that's why building relationships is so important."

One risk: understanding when you might be crossing the line in terms of corruption or related issues in China itself or your home country's laws, especially as bribery and anti-corruption laws in China continue to change rapidly.

It is also important to work hard to really understand the Chinese culture and embrace its reality. Many companies have failed by trying to fight those cultural differences.

Think Sell, not Just Buy: While making products in China either directly or indirectly for export back to Western markets can dramatically reduce costs, companies must really look at entering the domestic Chinese market as well, despite the challenges, those with experience there say.

This is again where relationships with government officials is key, as it may smooth the way to joint ventures and even 100% ownership by Western companies of businesses in China, as Motorola was able to achieve with its operations there.

But beyond the ownership and regulatory challenges, Western companies must also work very hard to understand China's heterogeneous market, experts say, though that is not easy given the relative lack of publicly available information.

Procter & Gamble, for example, has hired hundreds of research managers living with Chinese families in cities and on farms to learn how they use everything from detergent to toothpaste, habits that can vary dramatically from region to region.

Be Careful with Joint Ventures: While, in many cases, a joint venture with a Chinese company may be the only path into China, such moves have to be done with care and the right strategy to avoid creating a competitor and losing IP.

"The best model to incorporate in China is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the American or multinational company," says Gary Took of Motorola.

However, in some cases, the only deal that can be struck is a joint venture. In that case, ensure you have a majority stake, and that there is a clear path to increasing that share. The experts also advised against forming a joint venture with a Chinese competitor.

Look for Win-Win: Companies likely will find more success in China if they look for opportunities that are not only good for their companies, but also good for China. That's a different approach than is needed in the West – but may be the key to building relationships with government officials and accelerating official approval for new plans and development.

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Managing Spare Parts

Proven, controversial, and new approaches are part of an effective asset management program.

Proper planning and control of spare parts inventory is a critical component of an effective asset management program. If the right parts are not on hand when needed for routine maintenance or repairs, downtime is prolonged. If too many parts are on hand, the enterprise absorbs excessive costs and the overhead of carrying the inventory.

There are tried and true strategies to manage spare parts in support of effective asset management, along with some that can be considered questionable, and a variety of new and innovative practices. Advanced enterprise asset management (EAM) solutions support the proper implementation of these capabilities. Following are examples of each.

Proven strategies
Item search. It can be frustrating to a maintenance planner who is not familiar with item numbers to locate the appropriate part in a computer system. Nouns and qualifiers are a way of simplifying a search. A noun is a simple, meaningful name for the item, for example "pump." The qualifier adds more detail, such as "hydraulic." A search on this combination will bring up all hydraulic pumps in the stock item master file.

An assortment of captions and a detailed item description can provide an increasingly narrowed search that considers make, model, size, formulation, capacity, etc. If the part can be substituted with an alternate or equivalent part, that reference also should be stored in the stock record.

ABC and XYZ analyses. The generally accepted 80:20 rule illustrates that approximately 80 percent of any storeroom's volume is associated with only 20 percent of the items in inventory. It is important to pay extra attention to that critical 20 percent.

ABC and XYZ codes are commonly used to identify those parts. The codes are assigned based on value or quantity of stock movement, and each code will have an associated "upper limit." Highest value parts, for example those that cost more than $5000 each, can be assigned the ABC code of "A," and fastest moving parts can be assigned an XYZ code of "X."

Automatic replenishment. Automating the thought process related to reorders has generated proven savings. Suggested reorder functionality creates requisitions based on reorder points (ROP) and reorder quantities (ROQ) that are stored in the inventory record. Once inventory levels for a part fall below the reorder point threshold, a suggested reorder is placed for the reorder quantity, which in turn creates a requisition. This saves time and prevents the delays and errors that can occur with manual purchasing processes.

When a simple ROQ value is not enough, an economic order quantity (EOQ) algorithm can be used to calculate the right quantity of a spare part to purchase when replenishment is needed. The EOQ can consider volume discounts, the cost of placing an order, carrying costs, and other factors.

Vendor service levels. Capturing supplier service level data within the inventory record helps bring to light the most efficient, dependable, and cost-effective vendors. Preferred suppliers can be identified based on historical lead times, pricing, quality, number of short- or over-shipments, how often goods are received damaged, frequency of backorders, and other criteria. Preference can be given to these vendors in the procurement process.

Where used. A view of where a part is used, for example on which assets a certain ball bearing is installed, provides benefits to both the plant floor and storeroom. This view enables inventory personnel to understand how extensively a part is used throughout the operation, and helps the maintenance planners to determine the item number and quantity of parts installed on an asset.

Multi-stores capability. Taking where-used one step further, a multi-stores capability enables an enterprise-wide view of spare parts inventory that is stored at more than one warehouse or off site by a third party. In a multi-plant environment or when maintenance departments are distributed, visibility into inventory at the various storerooms permits monitoring of parts availability and service-level agreements across the enterprise as a whole or on an individual basis.

Controversial methods
Just-in-time (JIT) replenishment is a popular but sometimes controversial concept of storing minimal inventory in the warehouse and replenishing it only when and as needed╛just in time. Although enabling significant carrying cost savings, there are risks involved. The best replenishment formulas cannot predict an emergency breakdown, a vendor going out of business, a carrier going on strike, or a sudden shortage of raw materials. Being too conservative in stocking levels can result in the inability to repair equipment in a timely manner or to keep the production line running.

In asset management, the criticality of a part determines whether it is a candidate for JIT. A criticality code in the EAM inventory record can be used to identify these items.

Lean manufacturing is a similar concept with a broader scope. Lean manufacturing means doing more with less, cutting time to market, and eliminating unnecessary processes. This impacts maintenance and the storeroom by stressing improved efficiencies, better planning, and reduced costs╛and running an operation with far less inventory.

A comprehensive lean manufacturing program can be costly to implement, but a number of steps can be taken to support lean inventory levels. EAM inventory analysis tools, catalog management, and automatic replenishment can be used to reduce on-hand inventories, track where individual items are used, how they are used, and where they are stored, so that inventory maintained is matched to inventory needed.

New approaches
Purchasing through the Internet is an effective means of acquiring indirect items and hard-to-find, inexpensive, or short-notice spare and replacement parts. Almost all OEMs, brokers, distributors, manufacturers, and machine shops have Web ordering capabilities. Most companies are now purchasing indirect materials online, about half are purchasing direct materials online, and about a third use industry exchanges and e-marketplaces such as Pantellos and Enporion for utilities and ChemConnect for chemicals and plastics.

An e-procurement solution that is tightly integrated with a company's EAM system checks to see if the item is already in stock, automates the approval of purchase orders, and alerts the buyer to exceptions. By negotiating better prices and terms with e-sourcing, companies have been known to save 10-15 percent on direct goods and 20-25 percent on indirect goods and services, while slashing sourcing cycle times.

Mobile computing is becoming more sophisticated and is increasingly popular in the storeroom. Warehouse personnel can conduct cycle counts without halting operations by automating parts identification with bar codes. Wireless technology can capture inventory through bar codes and transmit the data in real time to the corporate network. Critical material availability is easier to track, resulting in timelier asset management.

With a wireless system, real-time information flows throughout each key process in the warehouse, including receiving, put-a-way, picking, issues/returns, and bin movement activities. For one energy company that implemented mobile asset management, errors were slashed, pick time was cut by one-third, on-time picks were improved from 64 percent to 98.89 percent, and overhead costs were reduced by 20 percent.

Key performance indicators (KPI) are increasingly popular decision support tools. For example, an EAM solution can calculate a KPI on inventory turns by dividing inventory expenditures by average inventory level. When problem areas are flagged, notification can be sent automatically to the plant and storeroom managers for escalation. Other supply chain KPIs can include vendor performance, obsolescence, items available but not used, supplier pricing, and more.

Supplier relationship management (SRM) is the newly branded concept of developing and managing long-term relationships with suppliers of specialized equipment and replacement parts. In asset-intensive industries, some suppliers enjoy a near-exclusive position because of the uniqueness of their replacement parts.

These relationships support the automatic electronic procurement of required parts, offsite storage of parts, or onsite storage with vendor ownership. SRM requires establishing the two-way visibility of parts requirements and availability, which is built into advanced EAM solutions.

Vendor-managed inventory (VMI), where suppliers own raw material inventory until needed, is a strategy that reduces inventory and administrative costs, while meeting the demand for parts and equipment. The collaborative capabilities within advanced EAM solutions support the two-way visibility and transaction flow required by this strategy.

Outsourced asset management and maintenance follows the trend of using partners for the execution of noncore businesses. In asset-intensive companies, the extensive infrastructure and deep knowledge base required to manage certain strategic assets can be beyond their capacity. Collaborative commerce (c-commerce) and Internet-enabled collaboration within enterprises now supports remote asset monitoring and proactive maintenance services. Advanced EAM solutions can support this business model by providing the ability to share the necessary real-time information within and outside the enterprise.

Clearly, effective spare parts management plays a critical role in asset maintenance, which in turn keeps the operation running. A combination of tried and true inventory and warehouse strategies, strategically aligned with new and controversial methods that are properly implemented, can result in tremendous benefits for the enterprise. MT

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Supply Chain : Supply Chain Value

Developing an effective supply chain is not easy. A company must have the right technology and the support of the best suppliers for it to work. However even once that obstacle has been overcome, another major issue may still loom ahead: finding real cost-reduction in the supply chain. Unfortunately, the unanticipated costs of running the supply chain often surprise managers and force companies to make some tough decisions. Thankfully, understanding what causes or drives these costs is half the battle.

There are actually six main causes of cost problems in supply chains. Usually a supply chain will not exhibit all of these problems but they commonly do have a combination of numerous ones since many of them are related. One of those causes is simply that the business and its partners have not clearly thought about what they are doing. Anyone who has ever put together a supply chain knows that it is a truly ambitious endeavor that is truly worth doing right. However, many companies lack sufficient direction to accomplish such a goal. Along those same lines is a second cause: confusion. When so many different elements come together, confusion is almost inevitable initially, especially if there was not enough planning, training, or communication among those elements.

Another problem deals with the way supply chain success is measured. Too many companies continue to use outdated financial yardsticks as the sole indicator of the success of a project or of the business. This approach does not work for supply chains since its main goal is not necessarily to only to improve profits but to balance supply and demand among all of the chain's elements. Using profits and revenues as the main unit of success measurement means that many partners may begin to sacrifice quality or to make other drastic changes which seem to help the bottom line but which destroy the supply chain's foundation.

A third cause of extra costs involves barriers. Those already involved with supply chains probably already understand that small changes are magnified at each level of the supply chain. A minor price cut at the distributor level may be a major problem for vendors supplying the raw materials. In order to minimize these effects, businesses must be able to overcome the barriers that exist between each separate organization involved in the supply and between the different departments operating within one's own company. Unfortunately crossing these boundaries is not always as easy as it sounds. However, dealing with these situations before they arise and choosing supply chain partners who are open to that level of collaboration can help alleviate many of these problems.

Finally, supply chains often suffer because either one or several links in the chain are unable or are resistant to change or when attempts are made to make everyone involved in the link adhere to strict guidelines. Being willing to adapt and to be flexible is one of the biggest challenges supply chain partners must face. An insistence that the status quo be the way to go will ultimately cost all parties involved a great deal and might actually destroy the supply chain.

While there are a number of ways to avoid these cost problems, they all boil down to one thing: take pre-emptive action. When a supply chain waits for a problem to arise then deals with this problem, the consequences have already occurred and the damage may not be able to be reversed. Instead, companies need to sit down with their supply chain partners and discuss issues like flexibility, barriers, metrics, and direction. By going over these concepts in advance, the companies can ensure that everyone is on the same page and that anyone who is not willing to be part of the group can get out before they get too deeply involved.

Overall supply chains can be tremendous assets to companies and their vendors, but they often come with a price. Businesses must be willing to change their attitudes, their routines, and their ideas of how things need to run. A failure to do this means that not only will the supply chain fail, but the businesses involved will likely lose a great deal of money in the process.

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Fw: [indusnmfg] How to Calculate Bend Allowance for Your Press Brake

How to Calculate Bend Allowance for Your Press Brake

Calculating the correct flat pattern layout is crucial to getting a good quality finished part from your press brake. Yet, many CAD and CNC programmers have no idea how to calculate the required values. Years ago, the real experts created cheat sheets and tacked them to the wall. They only taught the new apprentice how to apply the results shown on the cheat sheet, not how to calculate the numbers. Well, now those experts have retired and it's time for a new generation to learn the right way to do the calculate the correct flat pattern layout.

Calculating the flat pattern length from the 3D part really isn't that difficult. Although you may find several different formulas that claim to calculate the Bend Allowance (SeeBending Definitions), they usually are the same formula, only simplified by filling in the angle or a K-factor. Oh, and yes, you do need to know the K-factor to calculate the Bend Allowance.

Let's start with a simple L bracket. The picture shows that the legs of the bracket are 2" and 3". The material thickness is 0.036", the inside radius is 0.125", and the angle of bend is 90 degrees. The flat length is the total of the flat portion of both flanges plus the length through the arc of the bend area. But, do you calculate that on the inside of the material or the outside? Neither! This is where the K-factor comes into play. The K-factor is the percentage of the material thickness where there is no stretching or compressing of the material, for example, the neutral axis. For this simple L bracket, I will use a K-factor of 0.42.

The formula (See Bending Formulas) is: Bend Allowance = Angle * (PI / 180) * (Radius + K-factor * Thickness). Plugging in our numbers, we have: Bend Allowance = 90 * (PI / 180) * (0.125 + 0.42 * 0.036) = 0.2200999813105009. If you don't have a calculator handy, try the Bend Calculator.

So the flat pattern length is 2" + 3" + 0.2201 which is equal to 5.2201. So if you add up the flat length of all the flanges and add one Bend Allowance for each bend area you have the correct flat length of the part.

But look at the drawing. That is not how we normally dimension a sheet metal part. The dimensions are usually to the intersection of the flanges or the Mold Line. This means that we have to subtract two times the material thickness plus the bend radius (also known as the Setback) for each bend area. For this set of dimensions, it would be easier to calculate the Bend Compensation value. The Bend Compensation value lets you add up the length of each flange using the Mold Line dimensions and then add one Bend Compensation per bend area to the total. Don't bother with your calculator. Just go to theBend Calculator and get the answer. It is -0.1019, a negative number, which means you will subtract this amount from the total of the flange lengths, 5", to get 4.8981.

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The Benefits of Inert Lubricants

Inert lubricants are widely used in industry because they present a number of benefits which aren't present with petroleum- and chemical-based lubricants. These lubricants have special properties that make them a much better option for industrial purposes than many other greases and lubricants, allowing lubrication to be put in locations and on materials that would otherwise not be able to be effectively lubricated.

Defining Inert Lubricants

In order to understand the benefits of inert lubricants and why they're so vital to industry, it's important that you first understand exactly what inert lubricants are. An inert lubricant, also known as a PCTFE (polychlorotriflour oethylene) lubricant, is one that has been saturated with halogen in order to make it chemically inert. This means that the lubricant isn't going to react with chemicals in order to form new compounds such as dangerous gasses. The process of making the lubricants inert also renders them nonflammable, meaning that using them eliminates the danger of fire that can be associated with petroleum-based lubricants. Other features of inert lubricants include a high thermal stability, high density, and a low compression factor.

Usefulness of Inert Lubricants

As mentioned above, inert lubricants are nonflammable. This makes them ideal for use in high-heat environments where traditional lubricants could not be used because of the danger of ignition. The high thermal stability of these lubricants is very useful in these environments as well because the lubricants will continue to do their job even when less stable lubricants would have broken down or become too thin to be very useful.

Because the lubricants do not react chemically with materials they can be used on metals which are generally quite reactive in order to prevent oxidation and to provide necessary lubrication. This allows the inert lubricants to not only keep machinery working by keeping the parts lubricated but it also can greatly extend the life of chemically-sensitiv e parts by preventing unwanted chemical reactions such as rust which can greatly damage those parts and reduce their functional lifespan by years.

The low compression factor of inert lubricants can make them very useful in hydraulic systems. Because the lubricants don't compress very much when pressure is applied to them, they can provide significant resistance in hydraulic drums (which in turn gives more power to the hydraulic system as a whole without the need for a larger amount of fluid in the system.)

Inert lubricants also have a high density as compared to some other forms of lubrication, which allows them to serve as a better lubricant that is much more likely to coat the system that it is used in. Combining the high density with the high thermal stability of these lubricants lets you see how the lubricants can be effectively used in engines and other heavy machinery in order to provide adequate protection for the system without the fear of a loss of viscosity or thermal breakdown which could cause the lubricant to become too thin to use effectively.

Along similar lines, inert lubricants also have what is known as a high dielectric strength; this means that they can resist a significant amount of electricity before they start to break down (in much the same manner as they can resist heat.) This allows them to be used effectively in the lubrication of electrical systems where a short or exposure to voltage might cause other lubricating materials to break down much sooner.

Other Benefits

In addition to the benefits that are mentioned above, inert lubricants provide an alternative to some other petroleum-based lubricants. They are made from specific polymers instead of being produced directly from petroleum, meaning that they do not have the same dependence on fossil fuels that a number of other lubricants have. Because these inert lubricants aren't going to react chemically with the materials that they're used on, they can also be used more freely without having to worry about causing accidental damage to some sensitive equipment.

Aside from the reduced reliance on fossil fuels, inert lubricants also are much less likely to cause environmental damage that usually results from large fires or the release of hazardous gasses because of the inert properties that these lubricants display. This means that they can assist industry in reducing its environmental impact and having a reduced carbon footprint.

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Gundyabhaoo

Saturday, October 24, 2009

The Benefits of Rapid Prototyping Technologies

The Benefits of Rapid Prototyping Technologies

Time and cost savings

Innovation

Global Supply Chain: Keys to Succeeding in China

Managing Spare Parts

Proven, controversial, and new approaches are part of an effective asset management program.

Supply Chain : Supply Chain Value

Fw: [indusnmfg] How to Calculate Bend Allowance for Your Press Brake

How to Calculate Bend Allowance for Your Press Brake

The Benefits of Inert Lubricants

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