Shops and plants committed to lean manufacturing often speak of the “lean journey. ” In this journey, one step reveals the next step, as the shop solves big problems to uncover problems that are not quite as big, and on and on.
Go beyond crib books. Using a CAM-based knowledge library does more than just speed programming—it can also make machining more consistent throughout the shop.
A shop developed this simple solution for turning long shafts that have straightness error. A fixture holds the bowed shaft out-of-round in the steady rest so that the two ends can still turn concentrically.
Before I wrote for Modern Machine Shop, I was one of its readers. I can remember a column that Mark Albert wrote during that time, on the subject of his turning 40.