In support of the Machine Tool Genome Project, BlueSwarf has created the Center for Tooling Research and Logistics (CTRL) in State College, Pennsylvania. Logistics is defined in Wikipedia as “the management of the flow of goods and services between the point of origin and the point of consumption in order to meet the requirements of customers”. Not coincidently, the acronym for our new center is also the abbreviation for CONTROL. The CTRL is adjacent to Penn State University. There we are working with the University’s Center for Supply Chain Research, Center for Manufacturing Enterprise integration and the Institute for the Study of Business Markets to discover new processes related to the cutting tool supply chain. We will test new processes, techniques and packaging. BlueSwarf is also partnered with the Boeing Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre, MTConnect, the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining and the Charlotte Research Institute at the University of North Carolina.
The reason for creating the CTRL?
With the advent of industrial vending machines and tool data management systems, manufacturers are getting near real time visibility into their cutting tool consumption, perhaps for the first time. What is discovered is that cutting tool use spikes dramatically, even if the part output remains relatively stable. Why is this? Cutting tool consumption is dynamic, subject to constant variation, rather than being static and controlled. An example of a static product is a cap screw. If a part requires four screws and the customer produces 1000 parts per month, the supplier will need to deliver 4000 screws each and every month. Easy to forecast, procure and deliver. That same part may require 100 carbide endmills to machine those 1000 parts one month, need 200 the next and only 80 the month after that. Let’s assume that the customer maintains one month’s worth of inventory on hand. In order not to risk a stock-out and a stoppage of production, their stock level will be based on the worst case scenario, that is, the highest usage rate or 200 endmills. This means excessive inventory costs of as much as 60% in this example.
The cutting tool industry is highly fragmented with no one manufacturer having a greater than 20% market shareaccording to the Frost & Sullivan World Machine Tool-Cutting Tool Market Report. The supply channel is equally fragmented with many competing distributors, as described below in MSC’s 2010 Annual Report:
“…a large, fragmented industry characterized by multiple channels of distribution. We believe that there are numerous small retailers, dealerships and distributors that supply a majority of the market. The distribution channels in the MRO market include retail outlets, small distributorships, national, regional and local distributors, direct mail suppliers, large warehouse stores and manufacturers’ own sales forces.”
What this means is that due to multiple sources, pricing, backorders or obsolescence, substitution of tools, toolholders and inserts are a frequent occurrence. Tool assembly dimensions are not standardized, nor are they tightly controlled as on-machine probes and presetting machines connected to the CNC control allow tool length or diameter variations to be automatically compensated. Therefore, tool assemblies become frequently ad-hoc, with varying individual components and/or dimensions. Though similar, slight changes in design, dimensions or geometry will create a frequency change at the tool point. Different toolholders have different stiffness and damping properties, as do machine tools and their spindles. Workpiece materials have different properties that impact tool point behavior. Due to breakdowns or bottlenecks, jobs, part programs and tooling are moved from one machine to another. Any of these changes will result is a change in the tool point dynamics and in the stable speeds or “sweet spots” for that particular application. The process moves from stable to unstable and chatter occurs. Trial and error tweaking at the CNC control, as described above, injects variation into the performance of the operation and the consumption rates of the tools fluctuate.
What we recommend is for distributors to create their own Tooling Logistics Centers (or TLC's). It is our contention, and based on the science of Machining Dynamics, that every new tool asembly be sold "ready to run" (assembled, balanced, preset and packaged) and with the exact science-based information of "how to run" (Dashboards). While this requires an investment of capital equipment, it is a high margin, revenue generating concept. Not every customer has the financial or manpower justification to acquire a balancing machine. But, should they be excluded from the benefits of balanced tools? Even customers with their own fully equipped tool cribs will value receiving fully assembled tooling, using the existing crib facilities for re-loading. Take a look at the two images below. Which tooling delivery would delight your customer?
With a TLC and Dashboards, you can overcome any interruption in the tooling supply chain (backorders, product obsolescence, substitutions, price concessions) and deliver to your customers ready to run and where to run tool assemblies.
