In all the years of my career in the world of machine tools, I have always been obsessed with understanding the dynamics that help some companies get more orders than others.
It has always been my obsession.
There are companies that struggle to get a few small orders, while others get thousands.
For years I have been studying a method to give a definitive answer to this question.
“How can I help my customers get more orders?
How can I help them win more orders, while keeping margins high? “
Questions I thought there were no answers, yet I was wrong …
If you are an operator, an entrepreneur or if you work for a company that uses Machining Centers in battery for metal milling, this article is for you.
How can you become more competitive than your competitors?
Which strategies do you use today to get the best and win more orders?
Producing more is not the only solution. You must also pay attention to other aspects that would make your production department more sensitive and responsive to the market needs.
After all, there are two things that really matter to win more orders.
WHAT YOU SHOULD NOT DO TO REDUCE THE FINAL PIECE COST
Let’s start with what you must NOT do, because I realized that most manufacturing companies are used to “the old way”, that is, they focus attention only on some aspects.
The 2 aspects on which most attention is paid are:
- the price of the machine;
- the calculation of the cycle time.
The first element is the price of the machine.
Be careful! I am absolutely not saying that this indicator is of little use. I want to try to make you understand that it is an important element, but it must be placed within a more complex strategy.
The cost of the machine itself must be evaluated and based on cost-effectiveness, because a machine tool could be more expensive than others as it is capable of producing more long-term results, perhaps not so obvious in the short term or if you do not have meticulous management control of numbers and real production costs.
If you use Machining Centers in battery and are considering the purchase of a new machine to increase performance and become more productive, it may be necessary to evaluate a more expensive system, such as a 3-spindle machine tool.
The single machine itself would be more expensive than a Machining Center, but behind this kind of expense there are many benefits that few consider and that would make a big difference to business and production results.
Compared to classic Machining Centers in battery, the machine tool with 3 independent spindles allows you to obtain a series of benefits such as:
- Energy saving
- Less occupied area
- Savings on tooling costs
- Optimization of specialized personnel
- Cycle time reduction
Benefits that in the mid-long term would help your company to obtain more margins and recover liquidity to be reinvested in the company.
Once production has started, the cost of the machine would be amortized, indirectly, in a short time, thanks to other tangible second-level benefits.
So, it is necessary to move from the old COST/MACHINE model to the new PIECE/COST approach.
The second aspect is the cycle time that, in a hyper simplified way, refers to the speed with which a raw component becomes a finished product, ready to be put on the market.
The cycle time is a very important indicator, but this cannot be to the detriment of the flexibility that a machine must guarantee.
Often those who use Machining Centers in battery tend to evaluate Twin-spindle or Transfer machines to increase productivity and satisfy the production of medium batches.
The difference compared to the PORTACENTER with 3 independent spindles is concrete.
Compared to twin-spindle machines, the PORTACENTER has 3 independent machining operations and one single process, instead of 2 processes working in parallel. This allows it to be more efficient and precise because all the spindles are completely independent.
In short, a daydream for toolmakers who will no longer fall into depression like when they have to set up a Twin-spindle machine. Moreover, keeping one process under control, instead of two, costs less and is easier!
Compared to Transfer machines, which are certainly more productive, the 3-spindle PORTACENTER allows you to maintain high flexibility, with production change in just 15 minutes and high capacity to satisfy different component families.
Focus is on the piece cost!
The 3-spindle PORTACENTER allows to produce at least 3 times faster than a single Machining Center (and often the final result is even faster).
THE 5 CRITICAL POINTS TO CONSIDER TO REDUCE THE PIECE COST
If you use Machining Centers in battery, you know that the corporate cost structure is one of the hottest and most critical issues to manage.
Fixed costs are increasingly on the rise, especially those related to energy and specialized personnel, so the market forces companies to find alternative solutions to optimize costs and be more efficient.
Becoming more efficient means cutting costs.
Cutting costs means becoming more competitive.
Becoming more competitive means winning more orders.
However, to reduce the piece cost, it is also necessary to consider other important points, 5 to be precise, which make a production department more competitive.
These 5 points are:
- EQUIPMENT COST
- AUTOMATION COST
- SPECIALIZED PERSONNEL COST
- ENERGY COST
- COST OF OCCUPIED AREA
WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO TO REDUCE THE PIECE COST
Finding the solution to this dilemma today is no longer a choice, but a real duty if you want to save your company from an increasingly aggressive and competitive market.
The solution is hidden in two magical ingredients:
- Change mentality
- Invest in new technologies
Producing in “the old way”, with the same tools used by competitors, will bring the same results obtained up to now.
We need to change mentality, start thinking outside the usual patterns and develop a differentiating strategy compared to that of competitors.
We need new tools that replace Machining Centers in battery with more efficient systems, in order to reduce the piece cost and be more competitive.
A good production strategy should take into account the 5 critical points listed above, to optimize them one by one.
If Machining Centers in battery are not the best solution to reduce the piece cost, what can I do?
The solution to reduce the piece cost and better manage these 5 critical points, are machine tools with 3 independent spindles, of which the PORTACENTER is the undisputed leader. With more than 3 machines per month produced, Porta Solutions S.p.A. has developed a standard machine, produced in series, reaching an exceptional level of reliability.
If you need to increase productivity while maintaining a lean cost structure, machine tools with 3 independent spindles are the right solution for you.
The 3-spindle PORTACENTER allows you to produce 3 times faster than a single Machining Center, optimizing department costs. In this way it is possible to reduce the final piece cost, allowing your company to get more orders.
Here are the advantages of the 3-spindle PORTACENTER compared to 3 Machining Centers in battery:
- EQUIPMENT COST> More machines means higher and increasing equipment costs. In this case we go from 48 clamps for 3 Machining Centers to 4 clamps for the PORTACENTER.
- AUTOMATION COST> Three machines to be automated, and not only one, with a 2/3 reduction in robot costs.
- SPECIALIZED PERSONNEL COST > Having many machines (and more and more) involves the need for more specialized personnel, increasingly difficult to find and train.
- ENERGY COST> Each added machine means more energy costs, but with the PORTACENTER you can reduce the energy cost by 57%.
- COST OF OCCUPIED AREA> Do you want to increase productivity with Machining Centers in battery? This implies an increase in warehouse areas to place new plants. With 3-spindle machines you can increase productivity, reducing by 60-65% the area occupied.
At this link you can watch a 4-minute video that sums up these advantages:
PORTACENTER VS MACHINING CENTERS
At this point, I think that the solution to increase productivity, reduce the piece cost and win more orders is clear.
Remember: if you want to get more orders, you have to change mentality and invest in new technologies that allow your production department to obtain tangible competitive advantages, which differentiate you from users of Machining Centers in battery.
Same tools = Same (or worse) results
New tools = New winning results
Now it’s your turn!
Do you want to continue investing in classic Machining Centers in battery?
Or do you want to reduce the piece cost and get more orders and money for your company?
Ask for a FREE consultation with one of our TECHNICAL TUTORS.
Phone: +39 030 800673
Email: info@portaproduction.com
To learn more about Competitive Production and PORTA Production Method
CLICK HERE >>> www.machiningcentersbook.com <<<
My book dedicated to users of machine tools who want to make the leap in quality is waiting for you!!!
To your results, Maurizio Porta
Master Trainer PORTA PRODUCTION METHOD
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