Setpoint Systems Blog

We have had some questions lately as to what types of industrial automation Setpoint is capable of so below I have listed some of the capabilities that Setpoint has.

Filmless X-Ray Inspection Machine

We developed a non-destructive test and inspection machine using filmless x-ray technology.  This automated testing system was integrated on a high volume assembly line with complex equipment.  It was inserted in an already lean facility without any problems.  The end result was reducing wasted floor space by 75%, combining two machines into one automated machine, and decreasing labor minutes per unit by 50%.  Follow our link to learn more about filmless x-ray inspection using real time radiography.

Flexible Manufacturing Systems

A specific client needed a flexible torque station that would be able to accommodate quick model changeovers and be able to be modified for future growth and development.  The nesting system was developed so it could be swapped out in less than 30 seconds without needing any tools.  The end results were an auto cycle rate of 3-5 seconds, 30 second tooling changeovers, and orientation part sensing.  You can see a photo of the machine and more details about this flexible assembly equipment.

Turnkey Automated Swage Machine

We developed a hydraulic tube swage machine that came with quick change tooling, was able to process a wide range of bottle lengths, had a vision system verification of final product, and positive head pressure that prevented pump cavitations.  This swage machine had a high overall efficiency and a cycle time of less than 7 seconds per part.  This is another example of how custom automated machines can help increase efficiency and speed.

Lean Production Systems

We have many cases where lean automation and production were critical to the success of the project.  In each system we ensure that turn-key solutions can fit in as little space as possible while maintaining high quantity output and quality.  Tooling changes that can be done quickly ensures the systems are flexible.  A few examples of lean production systems we have developed are the real time radiography x-ray inspection and pyrotechnic powder loading and assembly machines.

I’ve been in the Industrial Automation business for over 15 years now and have seen quite a swing in the way manufacturers produce their products.   About 12 years ago I was working for a major tier 1 automotive components supplier as a process engineer.  The production lines were comprised of these large sophisticated machines that were all linked together with conveyors.  Parts were transported from station to station on small conveyor pallets and would stop at each station to either have value add work done or some sort of test or inspection performed.

There were several key issues with the large fully automated systems that produced our company’s products.

1. The lines were very expensive.  Many times ranging between $10-$15 million each.
2. The lead time for getting a full production line in place was anywhere between 15-24 months.
3. The machines were very complex and required a high level of engineering and maintenance support to keep them running.
4. The inventory of spare parts required to keep the systems up and running was huge
5. The systems, although “fully automated”, required more operators and support than expected to keep the systems running and clear all the faults, jams and other issues related to a complex system.
6. Changeovers took shifts if not days in some cases.  (Loss productivity and lots of labor for the CO)
7. The overall systems up time was terrible and in most cases ran in the 60-65% range
8. If one machine in the overall system went down, the entire line stopped while issues were resolved
9. The lines took up a huge amount of floor space and impeded process flow in many areas

Nice overview of traditional factory automation huh?   Well, the leaders of the company realized that this was not working out.  By the time a system was ordered, built, installed and commissioned, up to 2 years had gone by and many changes in both their product’s technologies and customer demands had changed. 

So lean thinking was introduced into the company and embraced by senior management.  This is ABSOLUTLY!! key for lean thinking to even have a chance.   The first task, after the basic 5’s stuff was out of the way was to find a better way to manufacture parts with simple, flexible equipment solutions that would address all the above listed issues.  Here is what happened.  I actually took part in this transformation and can vouch for how real and powerful Lean is.

1. The cost of the manufacturing lines went from $10-$15 Million to $850k-$2.5 million
2. Lead time for a lean line was around 6 months instead of 1.5 to 2  years
3. Machines were simple, flexible and easily reconfigurable because they were no longer connected via a vast network of conveyor systems.   Most machines were set up in cells in some sort of “U” shaped arrangement that allowed for easy access, flow and visual reference of what was going on in the cell at all times.
4. Spare parts inventory was cut by over 80% due to simple machine solutions.
5. Operators worked on the line to pass parts through the process but it offered the flexibility needed to handle a huge variety of products within a family.  We found that even though there was a manual interface requirement, the overall labor minutes per unit actually went down dramatically.
6. Changeovers from one model to the next were fast, efficient and mistake proofed.
7. Because the equipment was simple, easy to maintain and far less complicated, the overall uptime typically went from 65% to near 95%. 
8. If one machine in the overall system went down the other machines had small buffers that allowed the cell to keep running while individual machine issues were dealt with.
9. The floor space required for the cells was cut by over 75% in most cases.  This freed up valuable floor space for expansion for future business.

All in all, Lean Automation has made a huge impact for those manufacturers who have adopted the Lean philosophy and have strived to keep their competitive advantage intact through out the years of their specific business evolution.

So the theme I’m seeing here is, Go Lean or Go to China.  You decide.

If there was an easy way to make your company more profitable would you do it?  Most people know that a solution is out there but they are either too afraid to venture down that path or don’t adjust well to changes.  Unfortunately, in order to even survive in the business world we must adapt and be ready for change on a continual basis.  For the past three weeks Setpoint has given me the opportunity to read a very interesting book, Lean Thinking, written by James P. Womack and Daniel T. Jones, which puts the focus on changes that most any business should do to achieve greater success and profitability.

Lean Thinking is dedicated to guiding the reader by showing us how to get rid of “muda”, or waste as we know it, from every aspect of the organization by following five small and simple processes which are Value, the Value Stream, Flow, Pull, and Perfection.  You must begin by determining what is valuable to the customer from their perspective, then map out all the necessary steps to achieve the value stream.  The next step is to make sure the parts flow through the value stream in the most efficient way so that once a customer places an order it can instantaneously by pulled through the stream.  Finally, always remember to strive for perfection.

This is a proven method that has worked time and time again.  Womack and Jones used case study examples from mass production organizations across the world and in different industries but their thinking could literally be applied to any business or process.  There are always ways to look at processes and eliminate waste.  Setpoint has a great team working towards this ultimate goal that I know we are going to achieve and I’m glad I had this opportunity as it has really opened my eyes to old but new ideas that I can begin implementing in my department.

Following the status quo has never pushed people to greatness.  Imagine if things always stayed the same, there would be no iPhones or iPods, no cell phones or pda’s, no electric vehicles or vehicles period.  There is a quote by Marechal Ferdinand Foch a Professor of Strategy that embraces following the status quo and not integrating the innovative technologies in our lives.  He said “airplanes are interesting toys but of no military value.”  When I read this statement I think of how the world has changed because of the use of airplanes in the military.  World War I was where they were first used by the military and nations realized they could influence the outcome of a war by using them, World War II followed up using airplanes to drop the atomic bombs that devastated a nation.  Today we wouldn’t think about going to war without the air force and our airplanes.

If you look at the innovations made in the computer industry, I remember using the 3 1/2″ floppy disks that only held 1.2 MB; I thought they were so great because they had the hard case over them unlike the 5 1/4″ floppies.  Then came the Zip Drives followed by recordable CD’s.  Today we can store 32 GB of information on a flash drive that is as small as 2″. 

At Setpoint we focus on eliminating the TWIT mentality which means it “Takes What It Takes” because it takes the focus off of being innovative and lets you get away with just going with the flow and following the status quo.  Check out our video on YouTube where Clark talks about it.

Recently a question was posted in the “Machine Design” forum asking “How can America get the manufacturing back from China?”

I pose the question…why did America’s manufacturing move to China and Mexico, and can we ever get it back?

Here are my thoughts:

As more and more companies move to outsource manufacturing offshore looking for short term gains in labor rates what may be the long term consequences of these moves?

As shareholders demand a return on their investments, CEOs and CFOs look for ways to be profitable, after all this is how and why companies stay in business.

Mistakenly believing that labor per unit (LMPU) is the only factor to consider, and all other things being equal, many companies turned to lower labor rates in developing countries, with deficient environmental policies, safety standards, and often low product quality and substandard controls.

Recent examples are all around us, lead in paints, inferior steel, disease outbreaks in imported fruits and vegetables, staggering increases in emissions from these developing countries and rampant pollution.

Most of the companies’ leaders do not have technical backgrounds and do not realize that the problem of expensive labor could be solved here at home with automation, and the associated increase in quality that is inherent with automation.  Instead they focus on short term payback, and are further deterred from an automation solution because of the high initial development and installation costs.

Only after companies make the move offshore do they start to realize all the overlooked factors and start to insist on changes.

Unfortunately these companies are no longer in the United States so there is no recourse when trademarks, copyrights, patents, and just about all other intellectual property protection laws and rules are of no consequence to foreign governments who see this as an opportunity to increase their own standard of living.  Who can blame them?

They have learned manufacturing processes and assembly techniques.  They can maximize profits using the same cheap labor Americans were hoping to exploit and in the end get further gains by not having the constraints from environmentalists, labor unions, quality standards and regulations, nor do they really have to give back anything to the “American” company who showed them the technologies to start with.

So long term American greed, limited technical understanding, and short sightedness is the root cause of the decline of Americas manufacturing resources.

We did this to US!!

The scara robot Setpoint will be integrating into station 1 on the new MGG machine has a spindle (z axis) with an internal diameter of Ø11mm.  All cables, tubes, and wires routed to this tooling must pass through the spindle.  Specifically, the tooling must have one sensor cable, one Ø5/32 airline, and two Ø1/4 air lines - one for vacuum and one for exhausting air. 

Obviously, this will not all fit through the spindle - we recognized this issue early in the design stage.  This resulted in a drastic redesign to develop an end effector that can function under either 80 psi pressure or 10mmHg vacuum while being plumbed through the same port.

We have now designed, prototyped, and tested a configuration of the tooling that is fully functional and all wiring/tubing fits through the unforgiving 11mm spindle shaft.  Central to the success of our first solution is vacuum generator M20A6-BN made by PIAB.  All prototype components were printed on Setpoints 3D printer out of natural ABS plastic.  Initial testing of this prototype unit is complete and ready to mount to the Scara robot.  We are now refining the design further to improve upon those points of the design that required compromise during critical redevelopment phase.

Through the years here at Setpoint we have seen automation companies come and go, and here are some of the things that we have learned as an industry leader. Anybody who is looking for automation should know the following 10 things - but if you don’t, that’s okay; we’ll guide you through it.

1. Automation can be a practical alternative to overseas labor.
Automating processes can decrease labor costs associated with producing products by combining multiple steps into one compact machine, making it cost effective to remain at home.

2. Costs twice as much and takes twice as long as you think.
When automating processes, the inclination is to look at the big components like robots or electrical control systems, add up their costs, and then factor in some engineering hours. What is forgotten, however, are important items like light curtains, safety guarding, brackets, pneumatic valves, hoses, cables or rails to move the robot back and forth as well as the items that are required to make all components work together. Lead times on robots can be 16-18 weeks, with most lead times on major items averaging around 8 weeks. With the lead-time on components being so long, a project can take twice as long as you are anticipating it will.

3. Cheap and fast, or good and reliable: which one do you want?
If you don’t want to pay a lot and still get a Mercedes Benz product, chances are it will be broken and rusting away in a corner. If you want a fast solution, you’re rushing through the design and assembly, risking the chance of excluding some critical safety or quality measures that you need. The good and reliable solution is like getting the Mercedes Benz at the proper cost and in a timeframe that allows for proper lead times and a good design to be built.

4. Technologies are constantly changing.
Just because you bought something 5 years ago, and it works well, it doesn’t mean that it’s still the best technology on the market. Think about how many updates and upgrades there are with the typical computer; there is always some upgrade or new version that makes it function better. The same holds true for automation, products are improving and new technologies are constantly emerging.

5. It’s difficult for companies inexperienced in automation to articulate and visualize what is needed.
If you can’t articulate what you want, you don’t need it. For companies just starting down the automation path, there are a number of processes and capabilities that they do know, but hundreds more that they don’t. A good automation company can help suggest better options to make your process run smoothly.
Reveals flaws in processes and part consistency — inconsistent parts don’t work well with automation.

6. Processes and tolerances must be tightened up
When automating a process, tolerances, dimensions, and part accuracy are critical. Processes must be consistent. If not, the automated process won’t work and you will hate the machine.

7. Just because you can build your parts with a hammer and an anvil, it doesn’t mean the process can be automated.
Although we would love to be able to automate every process, sometimes the cost of the machine versus the payback makes it unwise.

8. Chances are that your automation vendor will be out of business within 2 years.
Most automation companies are small businesses that design machines one at a time and then pass on all intellectual property to the customer along with the machine. When purchasing machines, 60-65% of the price is for materials needed to build the machine. If the machine is not paid for until the end of the project the automation company runs the risk of paying for the machine and the design of it until it is complete. This practice, along with taking on machines that are risky for the company because they may not specialize or have experience in certain areas, can put companies out of business. Be prepared to put money down on a custom automation project.

9. Lean automation still means you need labor.
Automating processes does reduce your labor force, but does not eliminate it. Lean automation still needs someone to run the machine that has the ability to stop the production line if parts are being processed incorrectly or if an error is occurring.

10. A full automation effort will require maintenance and spare parts to sustain reliability and a high uptime.
All machines need to have routine preventative maintenance performed on them. Spare parts need to be maintained to replace those parts that wear out. Sensors and vision systems need to be adjusted and tightened back into place to maintain the reliability of the machine.

11. Automation will never call in sick, show up late, or create a sexual harassment lawsuit for your company.
This one just speaks for itself.

I know that was actually 11, but since we’ve automated most of our processes around here, I had to do something with my extra time.