Posted: 6/21/2012 1:22:20 PM EDT
| I have a part time gig at a small machine shop near my house. The last time I was up making parts I started to wonder, how much time does it take to make a lower? |
| Are you talking to write the program, enter the information into the CNC, or just hit start and watch the machine do the work? There is a few videos on google of a guy making his own lower. Looks like it takes a while, but hes not using the kind of CNC machine LT is using either. |
| Just wondering how long the machine takes to work. I was at the shop last week making some do-dads that were about half the size of a lower. The run time on the first side was over 45 minutes. After that we still had the other 5 sides to run. Given the range of prices you can buy a lower for, is any profit being made or are we getting a smoking deal? |
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Don't know about LaRue but his cycle time for each lower should be much lower than that. CNC don't really help much if you have sloppy code and slow machines. Better programming, faster spindles, better tooling, right coolant, good carbine, ganged fixtures, stiffer mills....Total process design and control will lower cycle times dramatically.
A shop I work in has very sloppy code and makes some other bad choices. They take 20 hours of machine time to cut an 90# stainless steel part. I've done tests outside in other shops, same part with better overall final tolerances done in 45 minutes. 
Been told it's not possible by old timers and corporate suits. Even though I have two parts, with inspection reports, and video of machining being done. Each part done by independant machine venders. That's priceless 
Hell, I have a company I purchase parts from talking the other day about their cycle time on a waterjet cutter. I told the guy something is wrong with his machine because he should be making those parts at least 3 times faster than that. I offered to come over after hours and trouble shoot the machine. I used to work in a waterjet research lab during college and I have a problem when machine tools are not working correctly. Poorly maintained machines perform bad and give shop managers incorrect opinions on machine types or brands. His opinion is correct for his situation but it's often not the machine that is the root cause it's the operator or programmer for the machine. |