Proper implementation of plate processing technology can be game changing to squeeze down cutting costs significantly. While operators often overlook the costs involved as the accounting is more complex than it appears. If you are producing parts in large-medium volumes, cutting costs should be seriously considered.
But before connecting business objectives to manufacturing metrics, its important to understand that
Productivity increases when manufacturing processes are executed as quickly as possible which also means minimizing the non-productive segments of the manufacturing cycle. When all the time associated with manufacturing—the fabricating process itself, non-process in-cycle time, out of cycle waiting time, downtime, and secondary operations—is minimized that productivity is maximized. Efficiency relates to quality of work, which include creating output with less waste, using fewer resources or spending less money. To study each shop-floor economics, costs should be divided into three categories: 1. Labor : Costs associated with running the machine, including the time to handle raw material, finished parts and remnants, and attending the machinery while it's running (when required). To place a value on these costs, you must know the hourly cost of an operator, the amount of time it takes to run a part on each machine, the percentage of time allotted for machine setup, and the percentage of time an operator actually attends the machine. These factors all may be unique for each application or facility. 2. Operating : Costs associated with operating the process, including gas and power consumption, consumable items, maintenance and repair, and tooling. These costs occur only when the machine is operating. 3. Depreciation : Costs associated with the equipment purchase. It may be a monthly lease or loan payment or the initial price of the equipment amortized over a specific amount of time. These costs also include the estimated value of the machine at the end of the payment schedule. Since depreciation costs are fixed, they occur whether the machine is working or idle.
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Gone are the days when fabrication shopfloor capabilities were just limited to cut to length and holes operation. Today's requirement in the energy, infrastructure and construction sectors demand capabilities to produce complex parts to support innovation in structural design and analysis. The excellent distribution of the material around the centroidal axis of closed structurals exhibits remarkable strength qualities, and thus offers decisive advantages in its applications. Compared to conventional sections, hollow sections result in reduced use of steel. Square and rectangular hollow sections were shop fabricated by welding or jointing together structural plates and sections. This involved expensive fabrication, restricting architectural expressions to traditional steel forms. |