Job / Setup folder organization

[laka]

Looking for some suggestions anyone may have on good methods of organizing jobs that come into the shop. Here's the breakdown of our company:

ISO Certified, 3 CNC mills, 2 CNC lathes, Waterjet, and a few manual machines. We are a job jobs, mainly production runs from 50 to 200 pcs. Our total catalogue of jobs is probably 50 repeat jobs throughout the year.

I'm looking for ideas on how other people handle their setup sheets, programs, etc.. Right now setup sheets, programs, and tools are a mess throughout the shop. Each time a job comes in people are searching through programs to see what tools are needed, where to take offsets etc.

I was thinking of having no programs stored on the machines except for the one currently in use. After each job is completed the program is off-loaded to a main server, along with an accurate setup sheet and any changes are saved. Each time the job comes back we will have one person that deals with handing out folders for jobs and making sure they are returned with all valid information.

I just hate seeing 1 hour setups being stretched out for 4+ hours just because nobody knows how it should be done.

Enough rambling Any input is appreciated.

[jeffery71]

I think you have the right idea.

Here is how I do it. I do alot of custom jobs and some repeat jobs. I keep everything on one main computer and my folder breakdown looks something like this.

Jobs.....John Doe.....Drawings,Setup notes,Cam,Gcodes,.... Basically I have one folder that all the jobs go under... then each customer has their own folder personal name or company name whatever you want to name it.... in under that folder I Make another folder with each part they order.... That folder contains all drawings setup notes gcodes anything I need is under that. Makes it easy to find everything I need. I can then copy whatever I need to the machine or print out notes or whatever is needed

Makes it easy to backup also. I have it setup to automatically backup every night to a second harddrive. I also have it networked to another building and back up at the same time each night... Fire in the first building I have a backup in the second building and vice versa. I use a program called SyncToy to back up makes it quick and easy.

Jeff T.

http://www.3dcarvestudio.com

[roundman]

Currently we have programs on the main server in mastercam. Such programs are supposed to be fully edited and ready to load in the machine tool up and go. In actuality changes get made to programs in the first run and should be also done in mastercam and written down for this purpose. Each job comes with tools and a tool list to load up the tools for the job. The notes often do not currently give many specific details such as jaw location or so on. Each job has a router with each operation to complete the parts and often notes on various things. We currently have notes in the program notes on tooling to set up with the router (which does not necessarily coinside with the actual tools used in the actual program) and notes in the router itself. We have no specific setup folder but probably should have all pertinent info in one place. We have a system where if everyone did what they should do it would go fine. In reality it haqs not worked this way. When a job is taken in a woman who knows nothing about machining fills out our 1st article inspection report and most of the time makes it confusing as hell. Machinists should do this for it to be valid. she selects about five things to check on each op chosen at random. I have seen it done good and I have seen it done half a#$ and when it is done in the proper way it saves time and money. Currently as you can guess where I work it is not good and I have offered to do it myself but they are happy the way it is. I make my on notes and actually I am thinking of one of those small personal computers to do my own for the jobs I run. Sorry if I am venting. You are on track to improve what you are doing I commend you and when you do something it will pay. Nice to see someone want to actually get competitive in their shop. Good luck.

[metlcutr55]

i used to maintain folders of stuff, recently switched to 100% computer, using a system much like jeffery71.

open the corcoranmachine (thats me) folder, 6 subfolders - masters - quotes - processes - open po's - closed po's - yearly data

yearly data contains yearly subfolders w customer name subfolders containing quote letters and important correspondence

masters includes form letters, inspection reports, yada for use as templates, also a "process/quote" master spreadsheet which allows me to plug in matl & subcon costs, setup & cycle time ea operation, and allows me to retrieve multiple calculated values for time/$ for ea operation, and overall, for any qty plugged in.

quotes contains subfolders for ea customer, when i get an rfq, i copy over the master spreadsheet, make my quote and save it

if i get a po i scan it, store in "open po's", create a folder in "processes" with the part# (sometimes this folder already exists for repeat jobs), scan the drawings into that folder. copy the "quote" spreadsheet into the "part#" folder to use as a basis for developing the detailed process record, and for correcting the quoted times with the actual run times. i put a lot of detail into the operation descriptions. if setup sheets or manufacturing sketches are needed, they are put in here too. as are the cnc programs developed. a side note to cnc programs, editing them to contain as much tooling, setup and offsets data is time well spent next time you go to use them. and be sure to save your final cnc progs with all the edits there, not the initial ones.

when the job is done, i cut the po from "open folder" and paste in "closed" folder

next time a job comes up, all the stuff needed is up to date in the "part#" folder in the "customer" folder in the "processes" folder. the only paper i maintain is drawings too big to be scanned. any paper i need at the machines is generated from the computer, no more boxes and piles of paper round the shop. or at least they are disappearing as i go from a paper based system to a computer based system. everything is so much easier to find.

i also maintain a schedule spreadsheet for open jobs so i can juggle them and estimate completion dates, and a closed jobs spreadsheet, where i can search a part# over many years, see how many times, how many parts, est time vs actual, and pertinent notes.

[laka]

Thanks for all the great ideas guys.

I wish the the CAD/CAM guys would make it a lot easier with their setup sheets sometimes. We use Gibbs and Mastercam and they are both OK, but a pain when you want to make changes. We have a person dedicated to QC here, so I'm planning on printing all setup sheets to PDF then the guys can print them out, run their job, and when they're finished they hand back in the paper setup sheets (and proven program) and the QC gal can make any changes to the PDF file for next time - and file the proven program away for next time. Will take a little while to sort it out but I hope it goes smoothly.

I just get sooooooooooo annoyed when guys get hung up on stupid issues because nobody takes the time to write down notes. I hope this will streamline the process and make setups a lot smoother. After all, you're not making money when you're loading tools into the machine.

Does anyone know if someone makes any type of software specific to this purpose?

[titanium frost]

We use the Tool Wall system, which tracks and manages tools and jobs. It has saved us a bundle of time on our setups and forces the operators to only have one file in the machine at a time. The "master" g-code is written a little differently than traditional methods. Each tool in the shop is individually numbered with a unique number and that number is used in the g-code (we have over 300 tools in the system at the moment). The Tool Wall software then scans the g-code for the unique tool number and can tell the operator where the tools are...if they are in another machine, in the storage rack or in the machine that they are setting up. The software tracks where the tools are so operators are no longer looking for tools or relying on one guy to tell them which tools to use.

A setup file is then generated after the tools are put in the machine. The software will even automatically position the tools for the most efficient movement of the tool carousel (love that feature!). Once The tools are installed, the master code is copied and rewritten with the pocket number the tool is in. We use the software in conjunction with a external tool presetter and have reduced our setup times by a ton.

Also, having all the tools stored in one place is a big time saver. We are a small shop (3 machines), but our jobs generally involve short runs and lots of tools. The system permits forces the operators to have the tools in 2 places only. A machine or in the Tool Wall storage rack. No more tools scattered all over the shop.

Tool and program management takes discipline. Our setups used to take hours, with only one person in the shop knowing which tool went with this or that program. Not anymore. Because all tools are uniquely numbered and those numbers are used in the g-code, any operator can setup any job.

[beege]

http://www.predator-software.com/pre...m_software.htm

[titanium frost]

Predator = $$$$$
Tool Wall Data = FREE!

We had to purchase a Tool Wall storage rack to get the g-code manipulation module unlocked, but I'm not complaining....The storage is very compact (important in a shop our size)...plus no more tool cart clutter!

[TruePrecision]

Check this out. They have a quote package that looks promising, and is only $125.

http://www.machinist-toolbox.com/

Here is another one called "sorterbox". It also looks promising as a way to organize lots of files and costs $100.

Good luck!

I use Carbonite Online Server, 2nd harddrive, and external harddrives for automatic backups.

For folders, etc...I use an executable program I wrote that automatically organizes folders each time I get a new job. It creates the folder structure for me, basically.

http://www.ebair.com/sorterbox.htm