Matsuura UK Customer, Stuart Solomon of Medley Precision, has a long history with Matsuura machines and our UK customer service. Investing in machines from across our range over two decades, Medley utilize everything from single table 5-axis MX machines to a fully automated H.Plus-300 PC15. Mr. Solomon explains how Matsuura’s flexibility allows his company to respond to the needs of the market.
Flexibility is a strategic goal for many manufacturers, as those organizations that demonstrate flexible operating models tend to claim industry-leading positions.
While many manufacturers outsource to reduce production costs, more progressive companies seek flexibility in their manufacturing processes to manage costs and expand their customer bases. This flexibility supports financial resilience in difficult economic times.
Automatically managing tools and pallets with software enables high-mix, low-volume production – where parts with a high value are produced on a single machining center – that can flexibly respond to the machining needs of the market.
True flexibility empowers manufacturers to stay in tune with their market, replacing rigid and static operating models with levels of control and responsiveness never previously possible.
Some advantages of High-Variation/Low-Volume production are better tailoring to specific customer demand, improved responsiveness and lower inventory requirements for finished goods.
In addition, High-Variation/Low-Volume companies can often take advantage of contract work for limited or small quantity product runs from High-Variation/Low-Mix companies, which may be either domestic or foreign.
This flexibility provides High-Variation/Low-Volume companies the ability to make investments and continue to grow. These companies adjust setup and processing procedures to create simplified workflows by implementing lean practices into assembly procedures. As a result, High-Variation/Low-Volume manufactures have become more capable of withstanding economic downturns and changes in market spending.
Matsuura’s automated, lights-out production enables many companies to take on low-volume jobs for various industries. With a wide variety of work, minimizing setup times is key to success.
An emphasis on quick changeover—the ability to quickly convert from running one product to another—is essential for a manufacturer that has a highly variable mix of product.
In small lot production, elimination of set-up time is the primary goal. Shaving a few seconds or even minutes of cycle time per part when making 20 or 30 parts is insignificant. The savings and the profit improvement come from reducing set-up time from hours to zero and by running parts unattended overnight and on weekends.
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