IET 330 Industrial Design Group 4 Improving Efficiency and Productivity at SealMaster Elizabeth McClain Richard Cantrell

SEALMASTER SEALMASTER is a manufacturing plant located in Morehead KY that creates ball bearings for companies such as General Mills and Wayne Supply.

ITEMS PRODUCED AT SEALMASTER

RATIONALE FOR CHOSEN PROCESS The rationale for the chosen process is to reduce setup time and fatigue for the operators and to reduce cost for the factory.

COLLECTING THE DATA Data was collected from SEALMASTER from mid March to early April. The data was collected by clock timing operators at each step of the process of the manufacturing of the ball bearing. A casting size of P313 was used when collecting this data.

COLLECTED DATA CURRENT GOAL: 1 HOUR SETUP 1. Remove tooling from VMC and CNC from previous run = 3 min 15 sec 2. Get setup cart = 35 sec 3. Place tooling from previous run on cart take to rack and get next run tooling = 3 min 4. Put setup cart back in place = 35 sec 5. Put new tooling on VMC (Mill and drill) = 3 min 15 sec 6. Level casting on mill fixture = 3 min 7. Adjust clamp in A axis for drill and tap operations = 1 min 8. Call down program and run auto offsets = 3 min Single block (one line of process at a time) = 4 min 10. Remove tooling from CNC (lathe) = 3 min 11. Put new tooling on CNC = 3 min 12. Adjust jaw pins for side to side even cut of bore = 3:30 sec 13. Call down program to CNC and run auto offsets = 3 min 14. Single block first part through program = 3 :30 sec 15. Visual check of side to side cut and adjust pins if necessary = 2:30 sec 16. Check C.D (center dimension of bore cut) = 2 min 17. Fit up bearing into housing = min (this also varies per size of casting and the torque required) 18. Check swing (bearing must move in housing a minimum of 2 degrees up and down) = 2 min 19. Make adjustments where necessary = 4 min 20. If second part checks OK 100%, start the run of the order Setup Procedure Machine A inch VMC / CNC Total setup time steps = 53 minutes

DATA ANALYSIS CURRENT LAYOUT Black Line = Table to Setup Cart. Blue Line = Taking Setup Cart to Tooling Rack Red Line = Tool Rack to Table Purple Line = Path from VMC to CNC This process is reversed to remove old tooling to place back on racks.

SETUP STATION / TOOLING RACK FOR A-178

SETUP CART A178 Workstation items go on cart (previous slide) and then to workstation on next slide

A-178 WORKSTATION

DISCUSSION  The goal is to cut down on time and effort taken to set up the A-178 workstation by elimination of steps.  This is achieved by building shelves into the middle and bottom of the workstation instead of having a separate location for the tooling rack.  This allows the operator to setup at the same location, see a cost savings for the company due to increased rate of productivity, increases available floor space, reduces time for setup and length traveled and lowers worker fatigue.

SUGGESTIONS / RECOMMENDATIONS Red = Direction to CNC Black = Direction to VMC In comparison to slide 7, you can clearly see a drastic reduction of steps taken in order to set up the machines.

REVISED DATA AFTER SUGGESTIONS CURRENT GOAL: 1 HOUR SETUP 1. Remove tooling from VMC and CNC from previous run = 3 min 15 sec 2. Put new tooling on VMC (Mill and drill) = 3 min 15 sec 3. Level casting on mill fixture = 3 min 4. Adjust clamp in A axis for drill and tap operations = 1 min 5. Call down program and run auto offsets = 3 min Single block (one line of process at a time) = 4 min 6. Remove tooling from CNC (lathe) = 3 min 7. Put new tooling on CNC = 3 min 8. Adjust jaw pins for side to side even cut of bore = 3:30 sec 9. Call down program to CNC and run auto offsets = 3 min 10. Single block first part through program = 3:30 sec 11. Visual check of side to side cut and adjust pins if necessary = 2:30 sec 12. Check C.D (center dimension of bore cut) = 2 min 13. Fit up bearing into housing = min (this also varies per size of casting and the torque required) 14. Check swing (bearing must move in housing a minimum of 2 degrees up and down) = 2 min 15. Make adjustments where necessary = 4 min 16. If second part checks OK 100%, start the run of the order Setup Procedure Machine A inch VMC / CNC Total setup time steps = 48:50 minutes Time Saved: 4 minutes 10 seconds per setup over 3-5 setups per employees per shift.

ELIMINATION OF MUDA DUE TO RECOMMENDATIONS We have eliminated, combined, simplified and rearranged the process. Movement is removed eliminating travel. The tooling rack is combined with the workstation. The overall process is simplified. The workstation has been rearranged by adding shelves to the workstation. Tooling is at point of use.

CONCLUSION We have been able to save the company money by implementing Lean Management and Motion Study Techniques. Taken into consideration was the fact that an in house welder is available to help implement these changes. With the time saved, an extra $ P313 finished product can be made per station setup for the company. Elizabeth McClain has actually suggested this to SEALMASTER and it has been accepted and is undergoing implementation!