Advancing cellular manufacturing: Turning Performance

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END USER: Kennametal Inc., (800) 446-7738, www.kennametal.com. CHALLENGE: Reduce lead times, manufacturing footprint and costs when making toolholders. SOLUTION: Work cells employing advanced multitask machine tools. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Methods Machine Tools Inc., (877) 668-4262, www.methodsmachine.com

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Many manufacturers are struggling to reduce inventory, increase customer service levels and decrease lead times—all while remaining profitable. However, addressing one goal often contradicts another.

Manufacturers often employ cellular manufacturing to address those goals by minimizing work in process, decreasing setup times and removing waste from the machining system. Typically, dedicated work cells efficiently produce a family of parts, but they may not have the flexibility to quickly respond to customer needs and market changes. Latrobe, Pa.-based Kennametal Inc., a manufacturer of tooling, engineered components and advanced materials, faced this conundrum at its toolholder production facility in Solon, Ohio.

Recently, a challenge came from Kennametal management to create a work flow that decreased lead times, reduced costs and increased customer service levels across a large offering of products. In addition, management wanted to reduce the manufacturing footprint and procure a system that delivered value. “These were very demanding goals,” said Jim Stanko, engineering manager at Kennametal. “We started by challenging our machine tool partners to propose a solution that would allow us to achieve these goals.”

Courtesy of Methods Machine Tools

Kennametal uses Nakamura-Tome Super NTX mill/turn machines with robotic material handling from Methods Machine Tools to produce toolholder blanks at its Solon, Ohio, facility.

Kennametal’s original plan entailed purchasing six to eight mill/turn machines. The first set of four mill/turn machines would produce a semifinished product called a “blank.” Stanko said, “A blank is typically a club of metal with either a KM, HSK or steep-taper back end. We planned to manufacture them in economical lot sizes with at least 50 to 100 pieces per run.”

The finished blanks would then be stored in a “supermarket” by blank style, with each blank style servicing approximately 30 to 40 different line items in the company’s catalog.

The second set of mill/turn machines would primarily serve to create the front-end features of the part, such as a TG/ER collect chuck, endmill adapter or shell mill adapter. The operator would simply pull the required number of blanks from the supermarket for the order, which might range from one piece to 20 pieces. The machine would then be set up to produce the required items and quickly changed to run the next job.