Local News & Events | Haas Factory Outlet

Much of what we do in a CNC shop should be aimed at maximizing profit so we can reinvest in the business, reward our people and ourselves. However, profit dollars are only useful when in hand, not just on the books. Because, if the cash isn’t continuously flowing into the business you can’t meet your obligations.

By nature, CNC machine shop owners tend to be practical people. After all they spend their days making quality parts or products for their customers. They also invest in new technology and competent employees. With a lot of hard work and no small sacrifice they build a successful business, and often hope to bring in their children or other family members as next generation owners.

1. Automating material loading and part unloading. Whether you’re machining bar stock or blanks, reducing the involvement of the machine operator saves considerable labor cost and frees the operator to manage multiple machines. For example, automatic bar feeders safely and reliably load bar stock and reduce vibration in the cutting zone, while palletized systems and robots efficiently load and unload even very large and heavy parts.
2. Customers demand agile manufacturing. Many CNC machine shops are asked to perform short runs, handle large families of parts and quickly adjust to product design and material changes. Plus customers expect rapid responses to any changes. Responding to these demands requires flexible, versatile machine tools and accessories.
3. Customers want solutions, not just new machines. With the demand for agile manufacturing comes the need to quickly adapt to new machining challenges. For example, working with difficult-to-machine materials like titanium requires an understanding of both machine tool capabilities and optimum tooling choices. Your Torrance Haas Factory Outlet can help you with both.
4. Better equipment maintenance. As CNC machine shops add more advanced machine tools and accessories, they have an increased need for predictive and preventative maintenance. Moreover, with customers demanding faster turnarounds and greater agility, equipment failures can create major problems. Plants need planned preventative maintenance programs, either developed internally or provided by a trusted supplier like your Torrance Haas Factory Outlet.
5. Lights out manufacturing. To keep up with customer demands many shops operate multiple shifts, which can drive up labor costs. Running an unattended overnight shift is one proven labor saving strategy. However achieving efficient lights-out production is not as simple as we might think. Your Torrance Haas Factory Outlet can guide you through the process. Simply call (310) 381-0750, email: jphillips@haasfactoryoutlet.com, or visit www.haasfactoryoutlet.com.

For the past five years Gardner Business Media, has annually surveyed CNC machine shops to find out how the top performers get that way. The 2015 study participants break down this way: 46% are independent job shops performing short run and non-repeating work; 38% are shops that have contracts for repeating work; and 16% are captive shops of larger manufacturers.

If you’re like most CNC shop owners you’re a hands-on person who probably started out running jobs yourself. Nowadays, however, you may find yourself everywhere but on your shop floor. You meet with customers and suppliers, track down job opportunities, keep up on the latest machining technologies and sift through paperwork.

At a recent roundtable discussion attended by a dozen Ohio CNC machine shop owners, a main topic of discussion was the difficulty filling shop floor jobs. All agreed that there is a dearth of qualified candidates for a number of reasons including:

There are many young people struggling to decide on their career choices, and some have the aptitude to become the next generation of manufacturers. Unfortunately, they often have misconceptions about the nature of modern machine shops. They may even see them as dead-end jobs with unpleasant working conditions. That’s why it’s important to participate in Career Days and other events that offer the opportunity to give these youngsters these facts:

Why are some CNC shops more successful than others? There could be many reasons why an individual shop fails or succeeds, but what are the common denominators among higher performing CNC shops? Surveys conducted by Gardner Research help us understand what highly successful shops are doing to grow by twice the national average with gross sales 20% higher.

When Toyota developed its Total Production System (TPS), generally known as “Lean”, it identified 7 areas of waste that must be continuously monitored: