Friday, December 4, 2009
It is Friday Daily Report
Just in a few days that I have been documenting my set-ups in the shop has open my eyes to the fact I probably could have been doing more. Maybe I subconsciously did not want to run the shop out of work. Also I don't have anyone to hold me accountable for my out put but me. Having your own business can cause you to do as little as much as you feel like. I always feel like I am busy but I have had open machines and a back log on the shelf. But in the past 4 days all machines have been loaded and between my wife and Katie we been burning the work out. The place we will notice the most should be the end of the month in sales. And an extra bonus was this we flew by.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Daily Set up Log 12/03/2009
Today was a good day, summary we did 5 set ups on 4 different machines, we finished the job on the Okuma and they are ready to ship. The Yang job is running good, I have to put a full radius on each end of a 1.5 inch thick steel block. All the aluminum mount parts should be done tomorrow.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Daily set up log for 12/02/2009
Today was a busier day than most and still have more to do so I am just going to summarize the day so far. Today I had to set up 7 jobs on 4 different machines. One was a completely new job needing programming and fixture set up on the Yang Eagle 1000. The rest were switching to next operations and adding a couple of tools. My wife and partner kept the machines running while I set up and ran the Okuma lathe. Tomorrow should be an easier day I will be having Katie to set some jobs up too.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Daily set up log 12/01/2009
12/01/2009
Another busy day, 4 new set ups today, Haas VF2 needed to be set up for another part of the assembly. Same jaws same stop and same zero, I need to set up 5 new tools. Set up and prove out and inspection took about 3 hours. Running 53 pieces they should be off machine tomorrow. Cycle time is 8 minutes including load time.
Katie set up the Haas Vf3 on operation 1 of J276, step jaws and an end stop and 8 tools, she did the set up in about an hour. Good work instructions make it much easier to repeat set ups.
Haas Vf1 needed op3 set up on J256. Same jaws same stop and same zero, I need to set up 2 new tools. Set up and prove out and inspection took about 1 hours. Running 55 pieces they will be complete this afternoon sometime. Cycle time is 3 minutes including load time.
I set up Okuma lathe on a 303 stainless steel job, material is 1 inch diameter. I will use a 5C collet to hold the bar; I will set it at 2.25 out of the collet. It has 3 ODs an ID and ¾-16 external threads. Cycle time is about 15 minutes for the first operation. Set up took a couple of hours to prove out and inspect.
Did paper work to ship part and I will deliver after work.
Another busy day, 4 new set ups today, Haas VF2 needed to be set up for another part of the assembly. Same jaws same stop and same zero, I need to set up 5 new tools. Set up and prove out and inspection took about 3 hours. Running 53 pieces they should be off machine tomorrow. Cycle time is 8 minutes including load time.
Katie set up the Haas Vf3 on operation 1 of J276, step jaws and an end stop and 8 tools, she did the set up in about an hour. Good work instructions make it much easier to repeat set ups.
Haas Vf1 needed op3 set up on J256. Same jaws same stop and same zero, I need to set up 2 new tools. Set up and prove out and inspection took about 1 hours. Running 55 pieces they will be complete this afternoon sometime. Cycle time is 3 minutes including load time.
I set up Okuma lathe on a 303 stainless steel job, material is 1 inch diameter. I will use a 5C collet to hold the bar; I will set it at 2.25 out of the collet. It has 3 ODs an ID and ¾-16 external threads. Cycle time is about 15 minutes for the first operation. Set up took a couple of hours to prove out and inspect.
Did paper work to ship part and I will deliver after work.
My daily shop log.
11/30/2009
Got back from Thanksgiving to nothing set up on the machines. Today is going to be a busy day. My day started at 5am and the first thing I have to do is start cutting material for job J256. I set the saw to cut 2 ½ x 1 ½ aluminum bar to 5 1/8 long, I need 50 plus pieces. Next I have a quick chance to check my emails and Facebook. I need to set up my Haas VF2 first, simple set up job J256 op1 set of step jaws in the Kert vise and an end stop and 7 cutting tools touched off top of part, upper left corner is zero.
Set-up 2 was on my Okuma Lathe. Face and chamfer, drill and tap a 5/16-18 tap hole .75 deep. This set up took about a hour.
Set-up 3 was on the Haas VF1, special jaws to hold part on end. OP2 of J256 5 tools, zero is set at the .25 dia. hole. Set up took about a hour and the cycle time is 3.5 minutes.
Set-up 4 was OP2 of the Okuma part on Haas VF3. Part is held in a Kert vise with standard jaws and an end stop. Zero is the end and center of the bar. Spot drill and drill 2 holes. De burr and clean part is ready to ship when complete.
Received some good orders that are do the 14th of December.
Got back from Thanksgiving to nothing set up on the machines. Today is going to be a busy day. My day started at 5am and the first thing I have to do is start cutting material for job J256. I set the saw to cut 2 ½ x 1 ½ aluminum bar to 5 1/8 long, I need 50 plus pieces. Next I have a quick chance to check my emails and Facebook. I need to set up my Haas VF2 first, simple set up job J256 op1 set of step jaws in the Kert vise and an end stop and 7 cutting tools touched off top of part, upper left corner is zero.
Set-up 2 was on my Okuma Lathe. Face and chamfer, drill and tap a 5/16-18 tap hole .75 deep. This set up took about a hour.
Set-up 3 was on the Haas VF1, special jaws to hold part on end. OP2 of J256 5 tools, zero is set at the .25 dia. hole. Set up took about a hour and the cycle time is 3.5 minutes.
Set-up 4 was OP2 of the Okuma part on Haas VF3. Part is held in a Kert vise with standard jaws and an end stop. Zero is the end and center of the bar. Spot drill and drill 2 holes. De burr and clean part is ready to ship when complete.
Received some good orders that are do the 14th of December.
How start a CNC job shop part 3.
A customer by definition is the person or company that is going to pay you money for your services. Without customers you will not be in business very long. So like what everybody always says, your customer is always right, even if you know their not.
A couple of things not to do with your customers.
Never avoid your customers or their phone calls and emails. If your customer is trying to contact you, you need to respond. They may be trying to track you down on status of one of their parts. It could be a rejected part or maybe they want you to quote another job. The faster you deal with their issues the more they will respect and trust you. They will know their job will get done, this means more work down the road.
If your customer drops by your shop unannounced, this happens a lot with me, you need to give them the attitude that you weren't interrupted. I don't care if your machine just crashed and a delivery truck full of material showed up all at the same time. Your attitude towards them is great to see you. You stop everything and concentrate on their needs. The approach should be nothing short of, this is what I woke up this morning for, what can I do for you? Recently I had a new customer by to check out our shop, just before he arrived I was melting some plastic over an open flame burner, I gave him the grand tour to find my work bench engulfed in flames to the ceiling, I excused my self grabbed a fire extinguisher an put out the fire. We finish the tour, even with a smoke filling my shop. He got a kick out of the whole ordeal and became a great customer.
The checks you will cash are based off of one thing and one thing only......relationships. What makes you different then the next shop owner? The relationships you have with your customers. The respect you show them.
A couple of things not to do with your customers.
Never avoid your customers or their phone calls and emails. If your customer is trying to contact you, you need to respond. They may be trying to track you down on status of one of their parts. It could be a rejected part or maybe they want you to quote another job. The faster you deal with their issues the more they will respect and trust you. They will know their job will get done, this means more work down the road.
If your customer drops by your shop unannounced, this happens a lot with me, you need to give them the attitude that you weren't interrupted. I don't care if your machine just crashed and a delivery truck full of material showed up all at the same time. Your attitude towards them is great to see you. You stop everything and concentrate on their needs. The approach should be nothing short of, this is what I woke up this morning for, what can I do for you? Recently I had a new customer by to check out our shop, just before he arrived I was melting some plastic over an open flame burner, I gave him the grand tour to find my work bench engulfed in flames to the ceiling, I excused my self grabbed a fire extinguisher an put out the fire. We finish the tour, even with a smoke filling my shop. He got a kick out of the whole ordeal and became a great customer.
The checks you will cash are based off of one thing and one thing only......relationships. What makes you different then the next shop owner? The relationships you have with your customers. The respect you show them.
Starting a CNC job Shop.
As I said in my last entry there is quite an investment in starting a CNC job shop. You can minimize that investment by starting small. When I started RayGinn I had some friends in the business that I could bounce some ideas off and get some short run work. I borrowed time on a friends vertical CNC until I could buy my own. Great friends were key for me in starting RayGinn Mfg.
Buying an established CNC shop is another alternative. You can find shops for sale by looking in trade magazines or on the internet under commercial real estate but most likely none of these will be in your area. So what I would do is start by just knocking on doors of small job shops in your area. You will find quite a few older shop owners out there close to retirement or well past retirement who would sell their business to the right person and for the right dollars. Some shop owners will sell to employees or family so they can stay involved, don't be afraid to ask the owner of the shop you work for. That is how my wife and I purchased our first CNC job shop.
Now you have to decide what you will specialize in, like milling, turning, EDM or grinding. Make sure you start with what your are good at. Starting with something your not that familiar with will cost you a lot of time and most important a lot of money. Once you have an idea of what you are going to specialize in it's a good idea to test the waters for customers. If you can not find any customers, then your haven't lost to much. Some of my customers were from cold contacts and being in the right place at the right time. But by far my most productive customers have come from word of mouth. My name is my best asset. I will elaborate more on the importance of how you treat your customers at a later time.
If you decide to start from scratch, first thing you need is an address to start from. Try to keep it close to home or at your home if your town allows. The reason for this is you will be there many hours. Going home once in a while for a break or to remember what the wife and kids look like is a necessity. Make sure you get the right space, a good floor is very important, 4 inches minimum of reinforced concrete is a must for any machine to make accurate cuts. It should have 3 phase power, most machines run with 220 volts 3 phase power. There is an alternative that is available called a phase converter, but I don't recommend this because the power is not as reliable and may cause damage to your machines and the converters are expensive. You also want to make sure you have a garage door large enough to move your equipment through. Having neighbors that are not residential and who don't mind the noise helps also.
Next time I will talk more about setting up you shop.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contribute. It will help make this blog better.
Buying an established CNC shop is another alternative. You can find shops for sale by looking in trade magazines or on the internet under commercial real estate but most likely none of these will be in your area. So what I would do is start by just knocking on doors of small job shops in your area. You will find quite a few older shop owners out there close to retirement or well past retirement who would sell their business to the right person and for the right dollars. Some shop owners will sell to employees or family so they can stay involved, don't be afraid to ask the owner of the shop you work for. That is how my wife and I purchased our first CNC job shop.
Now you have to decide what you will specialize in, like milling, turning, EDM or grinding. Make sure you start with what your are good at. Starting with something your not that familiar with will cost you a lot of time and most important a lot of money. Once you have an idea of what you are going to specialize in it's a good idea to test the waters for customers. If you can not find any customers, then your haven't lost to much. Some of my customers were from cold contacts and being in the right place at the right time. But by far my most productive customers have come from word of mouth. My name is my best asset. I will elaborate more on the importance of how you treat your customers at a later time.
If you decide to start from scratch, first thing you need is an address to start from. Try to keep it close to home or at your home if your town allows. The reason for this is you will be there many hours. Going home once in a while for a break or to remember what the wife and kids look like is a necessity. Make sure you get the right space, a good floor is very important, 4 inches minimum of reinforced concrete is a must for any machine to make accurate cuts. It should have 3 phase power, most machines run with 220 volts 3 phase power. There is an alternative that is available called a phase converter, but I don't recommend this because the power is not as reliable and may cause damage to your machines and the converters are expensive. You also want to make sure you have a garage door large enough to move your equipment through. Having neighbors that are not residential and who don't mind the noise helps also.
Next time I will talk more about setting up you shop.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contribute. It will help make this blog better.
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