Production Techniques Made Easy Part II...

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Hey guys,Here's another episode for any of you who work in a job shop or production environment. This is another technique for producing multiple products with repetitive consistency.This will be a bit long & there will be (28) pics to illustrate the setup & operation with descriptions for each pic. I'm gonna need (6) responses to get it all on, so PLEASE WAIT TILL ALL THE POSTS ARE ON.....A brief description as to illuminate methods that will increase your output & help reduce manhours, thus costs. Jigging & fixturing is utilized by most job shops to maintain a good profit margin, eliminate most repairs, & makes assembly a breeze. This is the largest fixture I designed & built for our company to make the doorframes for our office systems we manufactured. About a month after I started, we got a large contract that needed to have (260) doorframes fabricated. Of these, (100) of the frames had to have a 12" glass sidepanel incorporated for the sidelight frame. I had made (4) 2' X 4' shuttle carts w/2 shelves, to manuever material around the shop for several operations. Each cart held the material sizes of the various sub-assembly pieces that were cut, milled, & drilled/CS. These frames used (3pcs)1.5"W X .75" rect. tubing, (4pcs) 1.5"W X 1/8" flat stock, (2pcs) 1.25"W X .187" X 2.5"L flat stock, & (3) steel hinges. Each cart has the different pieces so the weldor could simply place all the parts into the fixture, clamp into place, & weld. After completion, some of the welds were ground to flush for the aesthetics & the frame was complete.The initial job order was started & when I observed our weldor having a bugger of a time getting it all in position on the welding table, & trying to keep everything square, & only being able to weld a sub-section at a time, I made him stop. I told him I would start cutting material, laying it out in the floor, & he was to tack it as I set each piece into place with a large square. I had some fun with him as I kept him guessing what I was doing. It took (2) hrs to fabricate & when finished, I showed him what it was for & then a tutorial on the assembly of the pieces into place, clamping, positioning the hinges, & welding/grinding.In the beginning, when he was assembling/welding the frames from start to finish, it was (2)hrs....he could do (4) a day. I gave him my wristwatch, told him to time me from start to finish & watch very intensively each movement I made so as to understand the sequence of assembly & the entire fabrication to completion. He said: "Go".... I started. I did the entire frame unit in 13.5min..... he was speechless. I told him his goal was to do it in 15min. or less. His turn..... He had a couple mis-steps quickly corrected, & proceeded to do it as I did. His time on his first one was 16.5min.. I told him to go ahead & keep goin' & I would time his progress. After the 3rd one, he was down to 14.5min.....Yup! He got it. We were now in a position to produce (4) an hour.......The grumpy supervisor tried to raise he11 with me about not getting frames done & I told her to take a hike. She flipped out & got the owner to come to dicipline me for "insubordination" & disrespect to her. I simply told the owner to grab a stool, sit, & watch to determine if I was wasting company time. He did..... needless to say, he was almost in shock to see the improvement in production. He went into the office & ripped the supy's a$$ & told her to never hinder anything I was doing & get me anything I ever needed without question. Oh, BTW, the company had an incentive program that paid a Christmas bonus each year for cost savings.... mine was superb.Ok.... here's the sequence of setup & assembly to completion.Pic 1:  Door frame components      2:  Rect. & flat stock drilled & CS....no measuring as d/p set up with Starrett ruler tape for spacing/positioning for holes    3/4:  Template for location of slots in the top of the frame      5:  Template for door latch opening location on one of the long rect. pcs, scribed for milling.Ok..... going to next post..... GONNA BE (5) MORE POSTS.... PLEASE WAIT TILL ALL ARE ON.....Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:2nd Group....Pic 6- 10:  Milling operation for latch opening....Ok.... (4)MORE POSTS.... PLEASE WAIT!!!Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Group 3:Pic 11:  Finished latch opening      12:  Door frame jig outside because of size... 80"L X 36"H      13:  Legs put on outside...wheeled into shop. Welding surface is kept clean with a coating of WD-40      14: Start of assembly into jig...flat stock in place      15:  Top & side rect. tube in placeOk......(3) MORE POSTS TO GO.... PLEASE WAIT!!!Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Group 4:Pic 16:  Positioning of spacers installed... top corners toggle clamped & top piece 'C' clamped.      17:  Frame totally clamped      18:  Hinges located & clamped w/bottom spacer(1/8")      19:  Ready to weld..... Miller Challenger172, V-tap 3(26v), w/f 80(276ipm), C25 @ 15cfh, .035 70S-6.      20:  Top corner joints welded firstOk.... 2 MORE POSTS TO GO....PLEASE WAIT!!!Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Group 5:Pic 21:  Hinges welded in position      22:  Frame welded completely....1" beads approx. 10" spacing      23:  Welding finished, clamps removed      24:  Threshold jig to locate/weld vertical tabs....tack in place      25:  Tabs tacked in positionOk..... 1 MORE GROUP..... PLEASE WAIT!!!Denny Attached ImagesComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Group 6:   Last group. Pic 26:  Both tabs outside welded....inside tack ground flush      27:  Hinge welds ground flush. These button welds are run HOT! for a complete fusion      28:  Finished doorframeI hope these pics & descriptions may help those in a shop production environment learn how jigging & fixturing may help you. It is not difficult to learn to evaluate a job & then examine ways to setup to have multiple runs to produce a quantity of like items. Don't hesitate to query something you may need to do to make more than a couple items. Generally, a jig should be considered for any production of (3) or more. Sure makes it easy....Denny Attached ImagesLast edited by yorkiepap; 12-27-2010 at 01:44 PM.Complete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Steel door frames for a metal building?Ok, that's not the purpose of the thread.  Why a free standing jig  & not one on the welding table?  Or was this made so it could be used at different times of the year as orders come in?  Lastly, can it be adjusted for width?  I.e. 30", 32", 34", 36" door frames?  Or would that be too much to ask from this jig?Just curious, I've found making the jig the most time consuming part of the job.  Once it's done, everything else just "falls" in place.  I like the design too, lightweight & portable/storeable.MarkI haven't always been a nurse........Craftsman 12"x36" LatheEnco G-30B MillHobart Handler 175Lincoln WeldandPower 225 AC/DC G-7 CV/CCAdd a Foot Pedal to a Harbor Freight Chicago Electric 165A DC TIG PapaLion's Gate Build
Reply:If I did my math right your door jig saved something like 3 months of labor and got the job done in a week and a half! Nice production savings! Congrats on the bonus!
Reply:Nice post.I'm all for making jigs and I'll do it religously for anything that requires more than 2 of obviously depending on a few variables.What really gargles my insides in when you're 3/4 of the way thru something and have already moved onto the third or fourth stage/jig and someone will come up and say" we need one more". They don't seem to realize that although it took say 10 hours to make 10 pieces it'll take 3 hours to make one. Happens all the time.....Mike
Reply:Very nice My motto is "If I have to make more than 3 I need a jig" Shop I worked in before this job was paid by piece rate, no jigs = no eating that week.
Reply:Hey guys,Thanks....I'll try to answer your ??? to clear up the size parameters & the Westinghouse Office System design that is the most widely used office system there is. Initially, Westinghouse designed & implemented their own system for their office complexes to be configured as a modular system that could be added to or downsized without any kind of modifications. I was nothing more than a huge office "Lego" system & the pieces would all interchange even if different size with height & width of the office panels. These office systems(common term="cubicle") could be open, multi-height/width, enclosed, glass paneled, or glass half-panels. The enclosed units all had doors configured as to "right" hand or "left" hand opening towards the inside of the office. They were always one size.... a 32" door. The other options were the 42" handicap doorways, & the 32" door frames with 12" glass sidelight. Westinghouse had 3 modifications....initial was the Equity System, 2nd version was the Wes Group system, & the 3rd was the ASD version. Each had a slightly modified size change that was less than 1/2" & that allowed for the use of easier components that could interchange with all 3 systems. Worked really well.To MarkBall2:  Yes, all the doorframes were steel, the doors laminated with a particular woodgrain laminate as to customer selection, & used entirely inside office complexes. The only difference was the direction of opening. The doors were made according to the incoming job orders & sometimes the fixture wasn't used for a month, so no need to use the welding table that had other components being welded. The 42" hdcp doors were for entrance areas or an office/cubicle for a hdcp worker. If you look at the fixture in pic 13, you can see the left side with the 42" width placement, & the outermost horiz. extensions had small vertical tabs for the rect. tube frame for the sidelight version. If we would have made varying sizes of door widths, I would have fabricated a telescoping instead of fixed support to shift position. Quite easy to do. I can remember discussing that option. The free standing was made as it was set in a particular area just outside the welding room & could be slid around on the floor as it had a full lower frame. When the company closed, the owner told me to take all the fixtures/jigs/templates home so I could continue to do some sub-contract work for them.....he gave me everything as he felt since I designed/fabbed them, they were mine. When I brought it home, it was just too large to store in the shop, so I cut the bottom portion off & made the legs so I could wheel it in & out with ease. Besides, I had to store (81) other jigs/fixtures/templates. You also can see the variance in sizes from the frame fixture to the threshold tab jig.To forhire: Yes, the incentives were great. Each production improvement I did had a separate value & was in the bonus. The 2nd year, I made 28 jigs/fixtures.....that bonus check was "WHEW"!....  It all went into my 401 for my "now" retirement.To Mike: He man....I know you're like me....JIGS!!!! Yup....sure make work so much nicer & productive.I do hope that anyone, especially the youngsters/newbies, who have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. Especially if you work in a job shop. Pose your query & maybe someone can help you make your work more beneficial to you & the company. Believe me, companies LOVE those who can increase their bottom line. Remember, PROFIT is what keeps you employed. Besides, it does make for asking for a raise much easier as you have proven to provide a value. Think about it...DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:another time saver is to estimate the goal of how many you are going to make that day.  You then cut the material for said goal in stages.  All latch jambs, all hing jambs, all head jambs, all thresholds, etc.  after you have cut them all you have left to do is assym.  I find I don't make as many foot steps this way.  I had my trim guys doing this for doors.  The would count the doors and cut all rights, lefts and then cut the tops for the appropriate widths of the given doors.  I didn't use insert doors and jamb assymblies.  Most all of our work was high end and built in place.  I did use nail guns which many of my purest carpenters hated.  I told them when they are paying the bills, they can swing the hammer all they wanted.It is remarkable how much time is eaten up by walking back and forth with material.
Reply:Great post.   Can you tell us what were they doing to take 2 hours per door?  I would be interested to hear more on the specifics of what you implemented vs what was being done.  Thanks.
Reply:Hey guys,Good questions. I like to provide details & add info. that will help the job shop/production fellows get a better understanding of how to get & be more effective. Don't stop...To Scott Young:  Yes, your approach is correct. Repetivive operations(cutting/drilling/boring/reaming/etc.) have to done to produce needed quantities for the total volume required. I had several youngsters in the metal dept. who were temps & I had to go thru a few to get a couple good ones that would work well once they understood what was needed & I wasn't going to put up with whiners. One did all the cutting on the dry cut saw that I had setup for correct lengths. I had the saw set up that he could cut (2) of the rect. at the same time positioned vertically in the jaws & not horizontally.....saw cut so much easier. The 1.5" flat stock could be cut (10) at a time....those really got done fast. He would stack the cut pieces on one of the shuttle carts till it was full. Then it was moved to the drill press area for drilling & C/S. One youngster drilled the small holes on one d/p, put the piece on another shuttle cart, & the 3rd youngster on the 2nd drill press did all the C/S. Those pieces were then put on another cart to go to the mill for the latch slot milling. With (260) frames, (130) had to be milled. Once the milling was done, the piece was slid onto the bottom shelf of the cart. It was all set up in a sequence of operations that worked quite smoothly. Each operator knew the quantity needed as there was a card on the cart with # needed. Once all the prep work was done, the shuttle carts were lined up in front of the weld room next to the jig & all the weldor had to do was take each piece, place it on the fixture, clamp, weld, grind in an easy fluid motion that made it quite simple. While he was welding the frames, I was welding all the thresholds to have them ready to put on. They went together really well. We had the paint prep area clogged for weeks. The boss loved it. The prep & paint guys did get some OT they wanted. Hope that helps understanding how to set up different operations to work in unison towards the final goal.DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Hey joiseystud,When I first observed our weldor putting the frames together, he would put one flat stock on the bottom, one side & the top on the welding table, clamp, check for squareness that had to be maintained, tack, & then do the other side. Then, he had to measure & mark each location for the hinges, place the spacer, clamp, weld, & grind each one. On the fixture, the hinge locations were etched on the side of the fixture so that no measuring had to be done. He had to continually keep shifting the frame on the weld table, making sure of squareness, to do the finish welds as the frames are 80" long. That meant removing the clamps, re-positioning, checking square, & re-clamping. With the fixture, you were inside it, the entire frame was set square & clamped, & you just had to take a small step to the next weld position. No moving of the frame. Remember, each operation takes time if the piece has to be moved for every step. The fixture eliminates all those xtra steps thus eliminates wasted movements & procedures. Good question.... hope I have cleared up your query. Keep it coming....Hey guys.... I have all this data stored in memory & no one else to give it to. I'm here to give it away....all of it....FREE!  BTW...I have (80) other jigs/fixtures left to go...Want them too?DennyComplete Welding/Machine/Fab. ShopMobile UnitFinally retired*Moderator*"A man's word is his honor...without honor there is nothing.""Words are like bullets.... Once they leave your muzzle, you cannot get them back."
Reply:Yes!!!  I love rummaging though old men's minds.  You never know just what you will find.  Almost everything I know started with the instructions givenby old men who were onery curmudgeons.  Some times I would have to work harder to catch up cause once they got to opening up and giving instructions and advice, it was like taking a drink from a fire hydrant.  We always got our work done but we had to push to get it done.  I have a couple old men now dead that I can hear in the back of my head as I work.  everynow and then I hear one of them come out my mouth.I would rather have a crew of 60 year olds than a crew of 20 somethings.  Once the pecking order was established which happened pretty quick, the 60 year olds would work circles around the other crews.  I use to pit them against each other in competitions.  you can tell alot by how a crew wins and loses.
Reply:.....the 60 year olds would work circles around the other crews
Reply:Originally Posted by yorkiepapHey joiseystud,When I first observed our weldor putting the frames together, he would put one flat stock on the bottom, one side & the top on the welding table, clamp, check for squareness that had to be maintained, tack, & then do the other side. Then, he had to measure & mark each location for the hinges, place the spacer, clamp, weld, & grind each one. On the fixture, the hinge locations were etched on the side of the fixture so that no measuring had to be done. He had to continually keep shifting the frame on the weld table, making sure of squareness, to do the finish welds as the frames are 80" long. That meant removing the clamps, re-positioning, checking square, & re-clamping. With the fixture, you were inside it, the entire frame was set square & clamped, & you just had to take a small step to the next weld position. No moving of the frame. Remember, each operation takes time if the piece has to be moved for every step. The fixture eliminates all those xtra steps thus eliminates wasted movements & procedures. Good question.... hope I have cleared up your query. Keep it coming....Hey guys.... I have all this data stored in memory & no one else to give it to. I'm here to give it away....all of it....FREE!  BTW...I have (80) other jigs/fixtures left to go...Want them too?Denny
Reply:Any tips on how to make a jig?
Reply:Denny:Glad to see your  posts again. Always full of information and years of experience. I noticed your chop saw stand made it over to their shop.....I appreciate you every time I use mine......80 more jigs eh? Well it will be good reading, I look forward to it.I do a bunch of computer programming (part of my telecom engineering job). Like you have said, jigging saves a ton of time. I do the same thing with computers. Rather than mindlessly enter stuff I can usually come up with something to "automate" the process. All this means I usually have more work than I can handle (bosses ask me for more automation) and I never have to ask for a raise.Thanks again Denny.Sign on East Texas payphone: Calls to God 40 cents......it's a local call...
Reply:Originally Posted by StampederDenny:Glad to see your  posts again. Always full of information and years of experience. I noticed your chop saw stand made it over to their shop.....I appreciate you every time I use mine......80 more jigs eh? Well it will be good reading, I look forward to it.I do a bunch of computer programming (part of my telecom engineering job). Like you have said, jigging saves a ton of time. I do the same thing with computers. Rather than mindlessly enter stuff I can usually come up with something to "automate" the process. All this means I usually have more work than I can handle (bosses ask me for more automation) and I never have to ask for a raise.Thanks again Denny.