Does line-production work well?

Does line-production work well? Here is the guide to take the decision.
This is not just a doubt

It is important to choose if to cut and deburr with a machine directly connected with the press or our of line (as usually).

That’s an important and difficult choice
It’ like choosing a car. Is it better to choose a super sports car or a family car?

I didn’t force the metaphor, but it is really so.

Let’s tell the truth, we all would choose the super sports car. But than thinking and seeing the real needs, family cars are the most sold ones.

It happens once in a lifetime, that we buy for pride and unconsciousness the wrong car but giving an unpayable happiness.

Foundry machines are the same thing.
Everyone’s dream is to have a magic factory.
Load the aluminium in the furnace and after 5 minutes the piece is ready to be shipped.
You can always achieve this dream.
But does it suit?
You have to weight decisions in order to have a company working efficiently.

Here are 4 questions to answer to choose the best solution:
What is your production batch?
How many items do you manage on the press?
What kind of operations do you have to do on the piece after casting?
What is the die casting cycle time and the one of the next steps?
Are you ready to turn your foundry?
What is your production batch?

To put the machine in line has ONLY sense if the batchs are important.
It depends on the complexity of the piece, how similar they are to the other piece you produce and how good your operator are.
This because every re-tooling is a stress for the operator. The machine does as much as possible in automatic mode., but the operator has to intervene in something. At a minimum, he has to decide whether the production is fine.
And if there is a problem he has to identify it. In certain realities, operators are trained, experienced and willing. So, they are able to manage the machines with frequent refitting. In other companies this is very complicated.

How many items do you manage on the press?
Automatization is much easier to put in line with press as few items you have to handle. If you have many different items, it will be much more complicated.
If you work few items but big quantities, you have to put it in line. Without doubts.

What kind of operations do you have to do on the piece after casting?
This is a very complicated question. No one ever knows what to do on the piece before putting it into production. No one knows exactly how the mould degrades and so what i twill cause. This question is fundamental to take the decision. Obviously, it can’t take more time in cutting and deburring as the casting needs.
So, if you make a mistake you have a production in line with a low production and you will not earn.
An unexpected disaster!
You have to have the right experience to know the cycle time. You must have already tried to automize a process like yours and know where the problems on the piece are.
What kind of operations do you have to do on the piece after casting?
You surely know the die casting cycle time. The problem is the cycle time of the rest of the operations. I’ll tell you about an experience I recently had. A client called me, because he wanted to buy a not in line machine. He told me what I had to do and that the machine had to be in line. There were no doubts.

I told him: Putting the machine in line you will earn a lot of money. And he answered: No, it is impossible!”
I was astonished! How couldn’t believe it. We have already done this many times.

Then he told me about his experience. Time ago a generic robotics company built him a machine and he had many problems without reaching the desired cycle time. Then he showed me the machine. It was obviously that it didn’t work. Even if the machine was similar to mine, they had underestimated the cutting, the spaces necessary for the processing, the kind of tools, the working time and the grippers.
A series of mistakes that could only give bad result. At the end, I convinced him to install my machine in line and the result was amazing.

Are you ready to turn your foundry?

If you are used having a deburring department and you want to put everything in line, your process will change significantly and the layout of your foundry too. You also have to change your mind-set, yours and the one of your team.
But the results will be truly amazing. Putting in line will give great satisfactions if everything works. The problem is that the error margin is minimal.