Neat ripple effect: Heat Control in Medical Machining

Lindquist Machine Corp. is a custom-machinery builder that relies on its CAD/CAM system to keep its workflow flexible, break bottlenecks and reduce lead times. The Green Bay, Wis., shop has one programmer to do complicated programming, but most of the workers on the shop floor can write, or at least modify, programs.

The shop’s machining team leader, Adam Robarge, said most programs were previously written offline by dedicated programmers, or machinists programmed conversationally at their machines. Today, everyone has a computer at their work cell, which typically includes two machines, where they can access Mastercam Mill and Lathe CAD/CAM software from CNC Software Inc., Tolland, Conn. They can use the software to write new machining programs or modify existing ones downloaded from the network. This has enabled Lindquist to shorten machining cycles and build more machines.

“The ripple effect is kind of neat,” Robarge said.

Adam Robarge, the machining team leader at Lindquist Machine, encourages machinists to step out of their comfort zone to attempt something different when writing machine programs. Images courtesy CNC Software.

In the machine shop, 18 machinists on two shifts operate 26 CNC machines. More than half have training in Mastercam.

Robarge said Lindquist designs its work cells to be flexible, because one machinist might see 10 different part numbers in a day. “We look for guys who are able to run software, do their own programming and run the machine, which is different from a lot of shops where they have a dedicated programmer,” he said. “Our machinists understand what needs to be done and how to make it happen. While a machine is running, the machinist is writing another program.”

A machinist can assign those programs to any machine in the shop. Therefore, work can be efficiently redistributed according to the contingencies at hand.

“Anytime we have a bottleneck, we start flexing parts or flexing people,” Robarge said.

Because the company adheres to a tight delivery schedule, regardless of how many machines it is building at a given time, the pace of work is usually intense but under control. Often there are more parts in the queue for machining than the company can realistically produce. Nonetheless, all parts arrive on time for assembly, because the overload is handled by flexing workers to the most overscheduled projects or subcontracting parts manufacturing to outside vendors.