The Satellite Review Magazine The Satellite Review Magazine Vol 1 | Page 16
Mass Customization: Modular manufacturing
reaches materials handling equipment makers
By Guy Prendergast,
National Sales Manager- Industrial, Halfen USA
Interested in a modular approach to machinery design and
fabrication? Engineering and fabricating a one-off solution
to match each customer’s specific requirements leads to two
main problems.
We can’t change that now…
Before the design can be completed and fabrication of the
machine can commence, the customer needs to know most
final specifications of the machine and the work it will be
doing, along with the size and capacity of ancillary
equipment from other vendors such as bearings,
compressors, control equipment and drive motors – in the
real world customers are rarely in a position to know everything in advance and this means missed delivery deadlines,
or inevitable rework when fabrication commences before all
decisions can be made.
The second issue is flexibility in-service. Changes in
consumer tastes and the competitive environment mean
products that customers make on your machines have even
shorter life cycles. Customers need production equipment
which can be tweaked in-service, preferably at their
premises, to produce a wider range of goods. Lipped
mounting channel, used extensively in the rolling stock
industry instead of welding, or drilling and tapping for
mechanical assembly, is helping machinery makers address
these problems.
Faster design to delivery, plus cost savings…
Other benefits become apparent in the shop once this
method of connection is used. Hot-rolled mounting channel
is welded to a frame or chassis, which is then painted o r
galvanized. Equipment or another steel assembly is then
bolted on at any point. This allows the machine builder to
fabricate one frame or base to suit a range of equipment
sizes to meet different client demands. The producer is now
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The Satellite Review
a step ahead of his competitor, who must build the entire
machine from scratch. Our machine builder also has a wider
range of purchasing options, no longer being locked into
buying equipment which suits the original design –
differently sized equipment – either a cheaper model or
from an entirely different vendor altogether - can be fitted.
Access to a cheaper labor force is another key benefit
mounting channel brings. Workers only need to fasten a bolt
as opposed to laying out and drilling a closely toleranced
bolt pattern. We see it frequently – engineers love tight
tolerances, but they are expensive, leading to increased labor
costs, higher rejection rates and more expensive fabrications.
Modular production
These machinery makers have now taken a step closer to a
key strategic priority – moving from a customized ‘one-off ’
approach to designing and fabricating customer orders, to
a modular production system, where a range of (often
unknowable) customer requirements can be quickly met
with an existing design. A step closer to mass-customization.
Conclusions
Thinking outside the box – or making any change - can be
difficult. But in today’s competitive environment if your
machines adapt more easily to meet the varying demands
of your customer base this will keep you ahead of your
competitors. Industrial mounting channel creates a flexible
future.
www.WestfaliaUSA.com