"We have a lot of holes to drill in beams," says Jeff Lane, a manufacturing processes, maintenance and welding supervisor at Cambridge. For one particular large project, "we had preps for welding beam to beam. We had copes from the C-channel to weld into the beam. There were all kinds of different configurations that were required," he says.
The multiple tasks required for such projects meant Cambridge workers had to move each beam from station to station as they prepared it--a timely process that took up space and caused safety concerns.
Additionally, the challenging economic market has tightened the profit margins of many projects in the industry. In today’s market, projects are selling for 70 percent of the going rate of two years ago, and many fabricating shops have downsized considerably, says Lane. Fabricators that can produce products quickly and can work on multiple projects at once have a competitive advantage.
Because of these issues, Cambridge wanted to replace its multistep process with an automated machine that would perform most of the prep work in one pass, says Lane. About three years ago, the company installed at its Brantford, Ontario, location a PythonX structural fabrication system from Burlington Automation Corp., Hamilton, Ontario. Since then, it has experienced improved material handling, faster turnaround times and more precise fabrications.
Improved material handling
With the PythonX system, "we handle a beam once through," says Lane. "We stock it, put the job numbers on it and we ship it to the respective plant or job." Previously, it was not uncommon to see between 10 and 15 workers at stations, each drilling, torching or grinding, he says.
The PythonX automates most of what a structural steel fabricator needs to do to a beam, channel, square/rectangular tube, angle or plate, says Paul Kwiatkowski, sales manager at Burlington Automation. "Things that used to take you hours by hand are now only minutes on the machine," he says. Besides automating difficult operations, there is also a material-handling benefit. Typically, a company would have to physically move a beam to various work stations using a crane or transfer system, "but whenever you lift and move a 2,000-lb. piece of steel, you have not added value to it. It’s a complete waste of their time and effort," says Kwiatkowski.
The system increased production speeds drastically at Cambridge, says Marlon Almanza, a programmer in production control at Cambridge. "Previously, we used to prep everything manually, [and] a beam would take about an hour to prep, cope and drill 10 holes," he says. "If we run it through the Python, it only takes about 10 minutes. The amount of time it saves is huge."
The PythonX system is in line with lean-manufacturing principles, which aim to eliminate wasteful processes that do not add value, says Kwiatkowski.
Clients pay a fabricator to put bolt holes, copes and slots in a beam, and as long as the work is finished in time, they do not care how many times a beam may move among stations on the shop floor, he says. "You could put it on our machine one time, get it through, and it’s all done, or you move it four times, which costs you money [and] effort," says Kwiatkowski.
The machine requires only one operator, and it operates according to data from a 3-D model loaded directly to the machine. "Nobody is manually programming the machine, telling it where a bolt hole should go or how long the piece should be cut or anything like that. Everything is just going directly into the machine from the 3-D model," says Kwiatkowski. Based on the 3-D model, the machine generates a sequence of operations to produce the piece. The operator loads the raw material, and the machine performs the functions.
The structural steel fabrication field is very competitive in local areas because the high cost of shipping necessitates builders use fabricators in their communities, says Kwiatkowski. "Every area has their own group of guys they compete with," and many of the competitors’ costs are similar, he says. They all basically pay the same in raw steel and labor costs, "so the only thing they have left to get more efficient in is their actual production."
Some PythonX users experience revenue benefits because they can perform a higher volume of work without hiring additional staff, says Kwiatkowski. "We’ve seen sales double at some shops after they get the machine," he says, noting Burlington has installed more than 70 PythonX systems.
Ripple effect
When a company streamlines its material-handling process, it also experiences improvements in other business areas. Automation causes a ripple effect, says Lane. "It carries on down, right from the prep when the beams come in. We have less space [devoted to prepping], QA has become more efficient [and] we have less errors," he says.
Installing the PythonX meant eliminating multiple work stations, which took up massive amounts of square footage, from the shop floor, says Lane.
The PythonX system can perform the tasks of five pieces of equipment: a drill line, band saw, angle line, coping machine and plate machine, says Kwiatkowski. "You put them all in a very small space, and your shop space is being utilized to much better efficiency," he says. "Cambridge Pro Fab has more of their bay to use for welding and painting."
Safety also is improved because Cambridge no longer is moving large steel beams from station to station. Near misses in the past with the old methods exposed safety concerns. When working on beams manually, "guys are trying to flip beams on horses. There is a huge safety issue there," says Lane.
By eliminating the potential for worker error, the automated system also delivers highly precise fabrications for Cambridge. With manual preparation, there is a chance the worker may prep the wrong spot or drill in an incorrect location, says Lane. Preparing a beam exactly right with the proper degrees and welding joints makes assembly easier, and the fitter does not have to go over the structure again to clean it up and make it fit, he says, noting the company now is able to spend less time on quality-control checking.
Burlington sends representatives to plant locations to train operators on how to set up and use the machine. "It usually takes less than a week to train an operator," says Kwiatkowski. "Because a lot of the system is on the computer, it’s just like learning a piece of software."
At Cambridge, the learning curve was steep because the company never had used a CNC or robotic machine, says Almanza. "We have spent a lot of time with [Burlington] back and forth learning" how to operate the system, he says. "You can call them up, and they are willing to answer any questions or fix any problems that you have."
Ultimately, the PythonX is about streamlining companies’ operations, says Kwiatkowski. "If you’re taking too much space doing something, then that’s a waste. If you are doing too much material handling, that’s a waste. If you have too many operators, that’s a waste," he says. "We’re trying to absolutely eliminate waste from everybody’s operation." FFJ
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