Tag : manufacturing leader

5S sketch notes on blackboard

How to Implement 5s in the Manufacturing Workplace

The efficiency and the safety of a manufacturing organization are vital for improved productivity, quality production, and profitability. The 5S is a methodology aimed at optimizing the productivity and reducing waste at the factory. It makes use of visual cues and an orderly workplace to achieve consistent results. The 5S is implemented by small teams working together to achieve a higher goal of efficiency. It can be performed in any company that does manufacturing in the USA.

Steps in 5S implementation

1. Sort

The first S deals with getting unwanted obstacles out of the way to enhance speed in the production activities. All unneeded items should be kept away and the right people allowed to do the job at hand. In essence, the production workplace should only have items needed for the current operations in their bare form.

Why is it important to sort?

With enough space, time and efforts can be managed effectively as everything is in its place. In addition, it removes any annoyances and hindrances in the workflow management and lowers incidences of injury where there are moving parts in the production process.

2. Set in Order

The setting order involves arranging items such that they are in the area that they would be used. Each item is labeled for the ease of identifying it at the workplace.

Why is it important?

Setting things in order eliminates several kinds of waste that include;

· Waste of human energy as workers look for items across the facility

· Downtime as production activities await the delivery of the said items

· Difficulty in inventory management as some of the items cannot be traced.

US manufacturing school also teach the importance of putting everything in order as it lowers the chances that a wrong raw material may be used in producing a particular item.

3. Shine

Keeping the workplaces clean enhances efficiency and work morale. Clean machines and tools also work efficiently and do not break down now and then. The workplace and tools used daily should be cleaned each end of the day so that everything is set for the next work day. This applies to hand tools and CNC machining equipment at the workplace.

Why is it important?

· Clean machines produce items with fewer defects

· Puddles of dirt and oil are more likely to cause slipping injuries

· If machines do not receive regular maintenance, they tend to break down more often

4. Standardize

The above-said procedures should be maintained each day. The management of the workplace should standardize the processes so that the conditions do not deteriorate at any point. Similarly, the quality of the products should be maintained by such technology as CNC automation. CNC manufacturing ensures mechanical engineering products are cut to precision every time and products are of the same quality all through.

5. Sustain

The improvements on the procedures should be efficient in the long term. Inspections and audits help determine the effectiveness of any improvement in the production environment. US manufacturing schools teach on quality control especially in mechanical engineering and other production industries. If any improvement does not improve the quality of the product, lower the cost of production or make the work easier, it is not worth implementing.

There is high competition among competing firms in US manufacturing industry. One way a company can lead the pack is by cutting down the waste and maintaining the product standards. In addition to the procedures taught in mechanical engineering schools production managers should enhance optimal productivity by making the workplace efficient, clean and inviting.

high-speed machining

High-Speed Machining: What Is It and How Does it Help?

According to the US mechanical engineering schools, high-speed machining can be defined in two different ways. However, the most commonly used definition is based on the relative surface speed between the workplace and the CNC manufacturing tool. This definition is primarily a thermo limit since most of the CNC mechanisms depend on temperature. According to surface speed definition, high-speed CNC machining is favored by metal cutting researchers and toolmakers from US manufacturing department.

Researchers and tool makers define high-speed machining by indicating the range of a transitional region which is yellow, conventional machining region which is green and high-speed region which is red and depend on surface speed. The surface speed is in meters per minute, and its equivalent to v=πdn where n is spindle speed and d is the diameter of the milling work piece.

The second definition which is widely used by mechanical engineering schools is the DN number that is centered on the rotation capability of the loaded spindle bearings. D is the diameter in mm of the larger bearing bore, and N is the spindle speed in rpm.

High-Speed Machining Principles

High-speed machining operates on several principles. Keep in mind that not every type of machining will benefit from HSM, but most applications could from HMS with implementation of CNC automation and assumptions. Below are high-speed machine principles.

CNC machine
Tool holders
Cutting tools
CAD system
CAM system

How Does High-Speed Machining Help?

Every machining shop desires high productivity and improved machining process. Machinists make complicated metal parts, shapes and need to run complicated programs to help them provide good services to their clients. Machinists use high-speed machining to make their work faster and easier. Here are some benefits of using high-speed machining.

Reduced Energy or Heat Loss

High-speed machining helps in increasing the rate and speed of material cutting which reduces excessive heat loss and transfer. When you reduce heat transfer, turnaround time and transmission are kept low which lowers energy consumption. Traditionally, time was provided for metals to cool down and form a hardened metal but in this case, the coolant is used in metal cooling which reduces heat loss and increases the speed of production since less time is spent on cooling.

Increased Productivity Rate

High-speed machining has driven manufacturers and machining shops to higher rates of productivity. Faster productivity rates mean the machines can produce more parts in a short period. However, the functionality of high-speed machining is often affected by the ability of the cutting materials themselves. Manufacturing in USA prefer the use of faster cutters since their productivity is high.

Even if all cutters are faster, the results produced by cutters of different materials are unique. For instance, diamond, ceramics, HSS, tungsten carbide and cermets cutters all provide different outputs. High-speed cutting tools can take a lot of time and may even lead to stress. The main problem that is associated with high-speed cutting tools is that they don’t manage heat effectively and require a coolant.

manufacturing marketing

5 Valuable Online Resources for Marketing Your Manufacturing Business

In a short period, the marketing landscape has changed dramatically. The internet, social media, and inbound marketing capabilities have assured that manufacturing competition is now global. Staying ahead of trends and having a substantial online presence bolstered by quality content is now mandatory. The reality is that your manufacturing marketing, and or, salespeople probably need some guidance to compete at this relatively new game. Here we will highlight five quality online resources that provide insights and instruction for marketers in the manufacturing sector.

Hubspot
Personalized advice & resources for your inbound business Hubspot is a fantastic resource if you or your marketing department are new to, or struggling with inbound marketing efforts. They offer different levels of service, tailored to your specific needs and allow you to upgrade the services as your marketing efforts grow. To start, Hubspot provides a vast array of services that you or your team can use to learn more about, and engage the inbound marketing approach. The free tools and courses alone, available for both sales and marketing teams, will get your manufacturing business up to date with the current trends of effective online and content marketing.

Content Marketing Institute

Leading global content marketing education and training organization Content Marketing Institute was founded by author and content marketing guru Joe Pulizzi, as part of an on-going effort to educate the masses about the present and future of marketing. CMI has an impressive list of companies with which they have worked. In addition to direct consulting services, CMI offers workshops, podcasts, events, a digital magazine, blog posts and an online University to provide you with the resources that you will need to expand your inbound manufacturing marketing strategy.

Thomas Marketing
With Thomas Marketing you will find a group that focused marketing strategy that is specific to manufacturing and industrial industry. According to their website, as many as 57% of business purchasing decisions are made before the first personal contact. These decisions are made solely on the content that you provide. At Thomas, they understand the importance of a robust inbound marketing strategy and where it fits into your industry. The Thomas Network allows you to list your business, with a limited amount of information for free, and Thomas Insights offers white pages, case studies, and articles so that you can stay up to date and get inspired.

Advantage Business Media
Having developed from a company focused on publishing to offering full-service marketing solutions, Advantage Business Media as an advantage over others concerning content creation. They create high-quality content in-house, and regularly collect and utilize data to ensure that they are targeting your ideal audience, and justifying ROI. The Blog and Playbooks, on their website, offer valuable free information and insights into inbound strategy and marketing efforts.

Marketing Profs
A massive platform offering information for manufacturing marketing individuals and teams, Marketing Profs is a go-to source for informative articles, podcasts, courses and interactive workshops.There is an abundance of helpful info available with their free membership. However, for a small membership fee, three members of your marketing team can access significantly more tips, tools, and discounted courses. Although not a manufacturing industry specific site it will be an excellent match for a manufacturing company with an established marketing team in place that could use help with the newest B2B marketing trends.

Medical Device Manufacturers

4 Latest Innovations in Medical Device Manufacturing

Saving lives requires a high degree of precision. No field requires CNC machining more than the medical device manufacturers. The application of CNC precision ranges from necessary MRI scans to cardiac catheterization. Currently, there are numerous ongoing researches, and some results have been produced.

Medical device manufacturing is on the brink of unleashing breathtaking technologies if it hasn’t yet. Here are four states of the art medical devices that revolutionize the industry thanks to CNC precision:

3D Tissue Printing
A few years ago if one mentioned the possibility of developing 3D bio-printing of tissues, it was seen as pigs flying. The tech is here with us. The entire process relies on the liquefaction of donor cells or a patient to provide the required nutrients and oxygen. With high precision, the cells are put on a scaffold in small layers that are characteristic to that of the patient. Incubation follows until viable tissues are obtained.

3D printing opens room for surgeons to carry out tissue and organ repairs by relying on the patients’ mature cells or a perfect donor. Gone are days that they depended on foreign tissues.

Smart Scalpel and Probe

With medical device manufacturers, CNC precision equipment such as smart probes with smart scalpels gives hope to patients who have cancer. Due to their high precision and small size, they can be made tissue selective a crucial necessity in targeting cancerous cells especially in nerves or vascular tissues.

Once the smart probes are inserted into the body tissue, they can be directed and guided to the tumor location. At the tip of the probe are sensors capable of distinguishing between healthy tissues and cancerous ones. They have been tested and found to detect up to 7 signs of breast cancer.

The high-end technology sends tissue information in real time, giving surgeons and radiotherapists’ accurate data.

Electromagnetic Acoustic Imaging

It has been a journey for medical technicians looking for better and safer ultrasound devices that the commonly used CT scanners. Electromagnetic acoustic imaging is a top-notch technology that employs bio-electromagnetism and acoustics.

The combination produces quality MRI images and is safe. Moreover, physicians can comfortably differentiate malignant tissues from healthy ones.

The science behind the high sensitivity is that different tissues react differently to stimuli. Physicians use light, electromagnetic and ultrasound energy to stimulate tissues. Healthy tissue will not respond the same way to the infected one. The differences can then be projected on an ultrasound detector for interpretation.

Cancer tissues have high conductivity as compared to normal tissues. Electromagnetic radiation penetrates deeply into the body tissues making it ideal for acoustic imaging. Due to its high penetration, it can detect tumors located deep inside body organs or bones.

EMAI has the following benefits:

-Safe
-Portable equipment
-Effective
-Fast
-Less expensive

Nanobots
Apart from being the 5th killer, stroke causes disability in the long term. Living with the condition is heartbreaking and costly to both the infected and the affected. It is caused by the blockage of blood vessels delivering oxygen and blood to the brain. Consequently, the brain cells die.

Nanobots are now being used in the treatment of stroke by unblocking blood clots. The removal of clots also creates passageways for drug delivery with the aim of reversing stroke effects.

Tag Team Manufacturing is a leading manufacturer located in Colorado specializing in CNC precision for various industries including medical device manufacturers. Contact them for all your CNC Machining solutions.

Precision Machining

Precision Machining for Medical and Aerospace Industries

Most industries are concerned about quality machining for manufacturing industries. In the same way, precision machining for medical and aerospace industries is very important. And did you know that aerospace and medical machined parts should meet certain criteria of quality and tolerance for them to perform efficiently?

Tag Team manufacturing company has been in the manufacturing business for a considerable amount of time. We started this company in the year 1987, and since then, we have continued to grow and develop our experiences as well as processes. For that reason, we can produce even the most challenging and intricate medical and aerospace industry machining parts.

Why work with Tag Team Manufacturing?

We have a team of specialized industry experts who are passionate and dedicated to their job as the core of our company have been with us 10+ years. When you reach out to us, one of our well trained and specialized staff members will attend to all your machining needs from blue print to completion.

Tag Team Manufacturing has access to a wide range of secondary vendor services as well as quality machining capabilities, and that gives an upper hand when it comes to producing demand products. Therefore, if you are looking for a company that can cater to all your needs, Tag Team is the place to be.

To make sure we deliver blue print specific designs, our team will review the design and discuss any questions before we begin your project. From there, our developed CNC automation and CNC precision machining will ensure that we deliver aerospace and medical machining that meet your expectations. You can rest assured that we will use all the available modern technology to craft what you need made.

Lastly, we have a quality department that ensures all products and services meet the required statutory, customer and regulatory standards. With this department in place, you can relax knowing that any product you get from us is of good quality. We always ensure that all the processes and procedures are followed to the later. In that way, we ensure that all the products have the right measurement and match your blue print exactly. Nothing leaves our facility without inspection.

CNC Machining services for medical Industries

The medical industry is very precise on what kind of machines they need regarding quality and design. Even the smallest machine parts are essential to the success of various lifesaving progresses in health care. Before we give you the end product, we always make sure that it meets your expectations and blue print 100% as the medical machines are very sensitive and are used for very crucial things.

CNC Machining services for aerospace industries

Tag Team Manufacturing has had extensive experience in CNC Machining of components for the aerospace industries for over 30 years now. We can produce even the smallest instrumental parts needed to kick off any project. We work with most of your alloys among other materials needed by the aerospace industry, including aluminum, stainless steel, carbon steel, brass and copper.

And just like in the medical industry, we always make sure every part made for aerospace meets your expectation and the specifications 100%. So, if you are looking for high precision machining in the aerospace industry, Tag team is the place to go.

Contact Us

If you are in need of quality and high tolerance precision machining for medical and aerospace industries, do not hesitate to contact us. We offer you quality products and services and at a competitive price and on time. Therefore, do not miss out on this opportunity, give us a call today at 303-841-5697.

Manufacturing Facility

5 Tips for Staying Safe and Healthy in the Manufacturing Facility

Ranging from poorly maintained tools to fatigued workers, manufacturing setting is riddled with hazards, both out in the open and some hidden. If you do not know a place to start checking out, then such risks may lead to injuries and sometimes death. Below are five tips to help you stay safe and healthy in a manufacturing facility.

1. Ensure Proper Use and Maintenance of Machinery and Equipment

The first step to ensure everyone is safe in a manufacturing setting is to ensure machinery and equipment are properly maintained. Failure to constantly ensure the equipment works properly can pose risks to every employee in the facility.

It is important to know that even tools with fail-safes are prone to malfunction if you do not do regular check-ups. To ensure proper functioning, ensure that the equipment undergoes regular inspection. Your employees should know how to check whether the equipment works optimally. Contacting a professional to inspect your equipment can help.

Proper use of manufacturing equipment will ensure that the machinery works well without posing any danger to those around the manufacturing facility. You should, therefore, ensure that only those qualified to handle a certain equipment are the only employees who work on it and handle it with professionalism.

2. Permanent Hazards Need Special Consideration

Numerous equipment in a manufacturing facility poses a risk to anyone regardless of whether they are functioning as required. Chemicals, for instance, will remain dangerous to anyone even when regular inspections are done. However, you can minimize these risks by labeling, and give every employee the right protective gear when handling these chemicals.

It is important to also clean spills. This will ensure that there are no health risks that are exposed to employees. Carefully cleaning up spills will ensure there is no gas emitted into the atmosphere. Some gases may pose a health risk as well as act as a respiratory irritant.

Wearing safety equipment while in a manufacturing facility is crucial. This will prevent any visitor, employers, managers, subcontractors, and contractors from hazards. For instance, wearing an eye protection such as goggles will help you prevent metal or chemical splash into your eyes.

3. Employees Should Undergo Regular Training

It is said that your firm is as safe as those people who work in it. Every employee should undergo training regularly on every contact they will be handling. You should make sure that they can spot warning signs such as burning wire smells, scraping or grinding noises, abnormal wobbles, or anything that may sound abnormal. If you find out any machine that is unsafe, then shut it down.

4. Sufficient First Aid

In case of an emergency, you need to have easy access to a first aid kit. Your manufacturing facility should be stocked with medical equipment including first aid kits for general purposes as well as those customized to meet the specific needs of your working environment.

You need to ensure every employee undergoes training to have at least some level of knowledge on how to use a first aid kit. In some cases, you will need to have your staff members specially trained to offer CPR, first aid as well as conduct a confined-space rescue.

5. Wear Proper Clothing

Having a protective gear in a manufacturing facility may not be the only preventive measure available. In fact, you should always wear proper clothing, not loose clothing that may be caught in or on the machines. Wearing a closed shoe is also an important part of ensuring you remain safe while in a manufacturing plant.

If every employee follows these tips, then your manufacturing facility will be a safe place for both your employees and those visiting.

Manufacturing Shop

Tips for starting your own CNC machine business

Just like any business, starting your CNC manufacturing shop can be challenging. However, often are the times when CNC machining and CNC automation operators ask themselves whether it is time to start their own machining business or offer their labor to other companies.

If you feel that it is time for you to own your own machine shop, it is best that you do it. Nevertheless, no matter the motivation, it is not always easy to start your own business especially one dealing with us manufacturing products. A manufacturing shop requires a lot of capital and therefore, you need to have a lot of savings and if not, you need to have the credit worthiness to obtain a loan .You need money, resources and most of all you need to find customers which is the most challenging part.

In this article, we take it upon ourselves to educate you on the most essential tips needed to own your CNC manufacturing shop.

Be aware of the risks

Before you get into any business, you need to identify the risks associated. You need to know whether you have what it takes to mitigate those risks or to survive the perils. You probably know of the statistics that most businesses fail in their first year of operation. More so, manufacturing in the US is not such an easy industry to penetrate due to the competition. So, before you venture into this business analyze the risks.

Prepare your business plan

Once you have established the risks, write a business plan and make sure it incorporates all the risks. In your business plan, focus on the factors likely to affect your business such as competition among other threats. Also, plan on your sales and marketing strategies. At the same time, determine the rate in the market so you can know how to price your products.

Start small

Once you have your business plan and everything under control, start small. It is normal to want to have a large shop because you think people are more attracted to businesses that look established. However, it is not advisable to do that since you have no idea how the market is. First, test the market and your team by starting small. Have some few machines and from there build capital.

If need be, first start your business with a used machine before buying a new one. In that way, you will know how to use the tool efficiently before you buy a new one. However, it is not a must you buy a used one especially if you already know how to use the machines. But, don’t rush to expand without understanding the market.

Develop partnerships

When starting a new business, it can be very tricky finding customers. However, that depends whether you are starting from scratch or if you are buying an existing business. If it is an existing business, it is good you learn to maintain the customers and if it is new, learn how to get them. So, it is very important to create connections whether by having your friends help get clients or by partnering with other business. Make sure you have good relationships and nurture them even after your shop expands.

Research shows that the type of manufacturing shop or what you looking to produce plays a major role in obtaining customers. Therefore, you can create partners by targeting segments in your marketplace. For example, develop connections with people who buy your products at a good rate or those who are in most need of your products.

Structure your business

Starting a business can be costly and so, it is expected that you will try to cut cost as much as possible. However, as much as you want to cut cost, remember that you cannot work by yourself. You cannot control sales, control finance and at the same time produce goods. So, structure your business in a way that you have the best team needed to steer a machining shop.

With the above tips, you can relax knowing you are headed for success. All the best as you start your Manufacturing Shop.