204.663.9142 MENU QUICK CHANGE AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AT CUSTOM CASTINGS WHY SPEND HOURS ON A JOB WHEN YOU COULD DO IT IN MINUTES? No more long changeover and greater ownership over the process — welcome to quick change tooling. At Custom Castings, we take advantage of point-of-use tooling wherever we can, and have implemented it in as many areas of our shop as possible. This allows us to produce our products quickly, and without sacrificing quality. These systems allow for greater ownership of the process, where cell technicians are able to schedule their own work and know when the current job will be done. They’re also able to plan and prepare for changeover. The mold is preheated offline, while another casting is in production, as that run is completed, the molds swap position and the next casting begins production. This has reduced downtime from two hours to just ten minutes. In some areas, we have a storage and retrieval system, which allows for almost no setup time. The technician simply uses a computer to request a follow-up, which grabs the part, brings it to the station, and loads it. BETTER TOMORROW We’ve already made huge strides in boosting our efficiency, but we continuously strive for improvement. Here are some examples of quick change Continuous Improvement (CI) programs happening at Custom Castings right now. CNC Machine Shop Designing and building a cart that allows us to make changes even more efficient Automating robotics for machine loading and unloading, keeping spindles turning more frequently. We have a CI project in place to increase the amount of point-of-use tooling stored within the cell, reducing setup time in areas that don’t have a complete quick change system in place. Pulley cells We’ve created a CI project to improve the ability to get molds in and out of the storage rack from our pulley cell. Cellular transformation Part of our cellular transformation plan includes relocating our sand core area, allowing us to implement a quick change system that will save time. If you have any questions, comments or concerns, get in touch. ARTICLES YOUR INTRODUCTION TO HEAT TREATMENT QUICK CHANGE AND CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT AT CUSTOM CASTINGS BELOW THE SURFACE: HEAT TREATMENT AT CUSTOM CASTINGS MATERIAL SELECTION: SWITCHING UP THE STATUS QUO SPEED AND COMPETITION: HOW WE KEEP UP WITH RECREATIONAL VEHICLE TRENDS SIZE DOESN’T MATTER: HOW WE MOVE BEYOND THE NORM PUSHING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT ONE STEP FURTHER KNOW WHEN IT’S TIME TO MOVE ON FROM DIE CASTING CONTACT US TODAY AT 204.663.9142 OR REQUEST A QUOTE [CONSIDER IT DONE] WHAT WE DO ABOUT US DESIGN ENGINEERING PERMANENT MOLD CASTING CNC MACHINING SURFACE COATING ALUMINUM PULLEYS WHY CHOOSE US SINGLE-SOURCE EQUIPMENT LIST ISO CERTIFICATE SAFE WORK CERTIFICATION CASE STUDIES BLOG NEWS ARTICLES VIDEOS REQUEST AN ARTICLE CONTACT US INQUIRIES CAREERS STAFF High-quality Teflon™, powder coating, and specialty surface finishes to aluminum, zinc, iron, and steel. Specializing in production of aluminum castings through sand casting and permanent mold processes.