KC2IXE
Flashaholic*
I've recently noticed a few links to articles at MMS Magazine. I've always liked it, even for my tiny home shop that does the occasional job shop job. Folks should take a lokk, but remember one important thing - it is really geared towards production work. "How to lower cycle time" etc. When you're working in the world of "One off" jobs, you have to stop and think - OK, I can run this job with X tooling/fixtures, and the actual machine time is 2x as long, OR I can make a jig/fixture, eat say 50% (or even 100% or more) of the time savings (and have materials cost), and cut that part cycle time down/save on tooling life.
If the job is REALLY "one off", the answer is usually obvious (aka no fixture unless needed to actually hold the tolerances needed/speced). What becomes fun is when you think you might get a re-order (or gee, that one off has been ordered 2 times or 3 times now...)
BTW There is a really good book on jigs and fixtures, but of course I can't remember the exact title (it's at home) but it's basically "Jigs and fixtures"
If the job is REALLY "one off", the answer is usually obvious (aka no fixture unless needed to actually hold the tolerances needed/speced). What becomes fun is when you think you might get a re-order (or gee, that one off has been ordered 2 times or 3 times now...)
BTW There is a really good book on jigs and fixtures, but of course I can't remember the exact title (it's at home) but it's basically "Jigs and fixtures"
