Case Histories

Case History 1 - Customer Saved $5,000 and 216 Hours

In the example below, a machine-ready blank eliminated 11.12 minutes of time spent pre-machining a rough blank and 15 minutes of operator intervention time spent making five clamp changes. Machine-ready blanks cut $5,000 off the cost of the job even though purchasing machine-ready blanks cost slightly more than starting with raw stock. Plus, the total amount of machining time saved by using machine-ready blanks in this application increased capacity over 216 hours and freed up a month of production time. This customer had originally placed an order for 100 parts, saving them $1000. Within weeks, they had placed a blanket order for 500 more parts after realizing their savings.

Rough Blank

Material: 3/4 X 9 7/8 X 16 3/8 (Oversize)
Quantity: 500 pcs
Prep Machining: 11.12 min
Operator Intervention: 15 min (such as changing clamping)
Finish Machining: 54.83 min
Total Run Time: 81 min

Machine-Ready Blank

Material: .625 X 9.700 X 16.250
Tolerances: +/-.001” Thickness, +/-.002” W/L
Flatness: within .002”
Quantity: 500 pcs
Prep Machining: 0 min
Operator Intervention: 0 min (such as changing clamping)
Finish Machining: 54.83 min
Total Run Time: 54.83 min

Results

Machining cost savings: $40 / part
Material increase: $30 / part
Total cost savings: $10 / part

Total job savings: $5,000
Throughput increased: ≈26 minutes/part or 216 hours of machine time freed up for more jobs