SHOPTOOLS UP WITH AUTOMATION

摘要

Eight years ago, RFM, a unit of Mitsubishi Materials USA, transitioned from a special-order job shop to a high-volume manufacturer of indexable, multi-pocketed milling cutters, end mills and drills. Since then, the Brighton, Mich., shop has quadrupled its annual sales and increased production output 25 percent by judiciously applying automation to its machining processes. Even after expanding its facility, upgrading its CNC machines and adding a second shift, RFM was hard-pressed to keep up with increasing demand for its products. Rather than increase facility size or simply add more equipment, RFM vice president and general manager Rudy Meffert and his team realized they had to "do more with less."