CWU
MET
Analysis
Initial requirements of this new process are:
-
The process must be able to mill 5 parts at a time.
-
The overall process must be able produce 50 parts per hour.
-
The process must have 95% success rate on go/no go quality control.
-
The parts must be able to be made for less than $1.50 a part.
There is two options which satisfy the requirement. One nesting option yields 11 parts while another yields 17 parts. The next consideration would be time spent on machine using different cutters.
Since these bottle openers may potentially be sold as a fundraiser source, they must be profitable. The initial requirement is that they must be made for under $1.50 per part. Machining will be done at CWU for free, therefore that cost factor is not included.
Using the same material provider to standardize material cost, the most cost effective method would be to use the 1/8th inch cutter and 3/16"x4"x12ft stock pieces to generate parts at about $0.61 per part. The 1/2in cutter with 3/16"x5"x12ft method also allows the parts to be made at $1.10 per part, which surpasses the requirement. The current method makes parts at $1.14 per part, so both methods would also surpass the current standard.
Since most of this project is about making a better method for creating the bottle openers, the analysis uses the previous method for many benchmarks. An important manufacturing idea is waste material. The less material wasted means the stock sizes are being used more effectively.
The current method utilizes only 10.7% of the material. The new method could use up to 25% of the material.
The verification tool in the CAM software for the new and old process gives an estimation on time it takes for the machine to complete a cycle. The old process takes 11 minutes and 9 second per part where as the new process takes only 52 second per part. This is then used to find the estimated parts per hour, which turns out to be 64 parts per hour.