Detroit-Area Company Increases Productivity and Supports Lean Initiatives with New Robotic MIG Gun |
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There
are regular job shops. Then there are job shops that go far beyond basic
fabrication, ones that design, machine, laser cut, manufacturer and inspect
specialty components from start to finish. Watson Engineering, Inc. of Taylor,
MI, is just such a one.
What began as a one-person fabrication
shop nearly thirty years ago is now a full-service manufacturer of prototype
tubular and sheet metal components, along with products for the automotive and
commercial industries. And whether its welding operators are retrofitting race
cars with roll cages or manufacturing high-volume runs of heavy equipment
components, Watson prides itself on one simple philosophy set forth by founder,
Chuck Watson: "Customers come to Watson Engineering with problems they need
help with, and we make the problems go away." The company has been able to
achieve this goal through a lot of hard work and even greater innovation. Not to
mention, this job shop is lean. Every tool, every bin and every piece of welding
equipment has its place, and that place has been chosen for maximum efficiency.
In fact, the entire organization of Watson's facility has been the result of all
of its employees' commitment to the company's lean initiatives, from concept to
painting and shipping.
Not surprisingly, as part of its
ongoing innovation and its lean initiatives, Watson decided to look as closely
at its robotic welding cells, too. In doing so, they decided to convert to
Tregaskiss' TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Robotic MIG Gun in order to solve a long-standing
problem: finding a durable gun that could maintain its accuracy after a
collision. They also added several of Tregaskiss' air-cooled TOUGH GUN Robotic
MIG Guns to other welding cells. After adding the products, they were surprised
to find a few extra benefits that directly support their lean initiatives and
have also contributed to a 25 percent increase in Watson's overall productivity.
Time
to Fix What's Broken
Watson prides itself on the ability to
produce components that have exceptionally intricate or complex designs. Not
surprisingly, such designs can pose some particular challenges to the welding
process, especially when the components are comprised of a wide range of
materials and material thicknesses. According to Rafael Velasquez, robotic
supervisor at Watson, in any given day the company may weld exhaust manifolds
for an automotive customer, hood hinges for a commercial customer and thousand
pound internal components for a heavy equipment manufacturer, sometimes in the
same work shift and the same robotic welding cell. Not to mention, all the
products undergo rigorous quality control testing (Watson even performs 100
percent lot tests on some parts), so quality is key and downtime is simply not
an option if they are to create top notch products on a tight schedule.
One of the biggest obstacles that
Velasquez and his fellow Watson welding operators have faced over the years is
finding a robotic MIG gun that could "take a hit without bending the
gooseneck" after a collision. Despite the best precautions, robotic welding
collisions are a very real problem, resulting most often from tooling clamps not
being secured. If the robotic MIG gun gooseneck bends, it must be adjusted or
replaced since the robot's tool center point (TCP) will change and have a
negative impact on the quality of subsequent welds.
"We're always changing parts and
tooling," explains Velasquez. "Unfortunately, you can bend two or
three goosenecks in a week because of it. Somebody would miss a clamp and leave
it up. It happens."
After enough bent goosenecks, downtime
and just plain frustration, Velasquez opted to contact Watson's long-time
distributor, Dan Gnesda of Roy Smith Company in Detroit for help. Gnesda
recommended the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Robotic MIG Gun and the results, per Velasquez,
have been worthwhile. Durability,
Flexibility and Accuracy
Prior to converting to the TOUGH GUN
I.C.E. Gun, Watson used a competitive brand water-cooled gun, which Velasquez
explains was quite costly and time-consuming to fix after a collision.
Fundamentally, goosenecks for water-cooled robotic MIG guns tend to be weaker
than air-cooled designs and involve more work to replace, in major part because
the water lines run internally through the power cable, gun and gooseneck. To
replace the water-cooled gooseneck after a collision, Velasquez and his team
needed to disconnect the gooseneck from the gun and unhook the water lines by
removing clamps that were crimped around them, a process that took about 30
minutes.
Converting to the TOUGH GUN I.C.E.
Gun, however, seems to have offered Watson the best of both worlds: the
durability of an air-cooled MIG gun and the cooling capacity of a water-cooled
gun.
I.C.E stands for 'Integrated Cooling
Enhancer' and aptly describes the design of the gun, as it is a 'hybrid' between
conventional air- and water-cooled designs. The TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Gun features
stainless steel water lines that run along the outside of the gun's gooseneck
down to the nozzle, rather than through the gooseneck like true water-cooled
products. This design provides water circulation that keeps the consumables of
the gun running cool, but because the lines are external (instead of running
through the gooseneck), the gun's gooseneck has more mass and is stronger, much
like that on an air-cooled gun.
According to Velasquez, the goosenecks
on the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Guns "can take the hit" most times after a
collision, and in the event that the gooseneck does bend, it can be replaced in
about five minutes-a timeframe that fits nicely into Watson's overall lean
initiatives.
The TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Robotic MIG Gun
also features water shut-off valves at the I.C.E. connections and a quick-change
gooseneck feature. To disconnect the gooseneck, Velasquez simply loosens a
setscrew on the gun housing, disconnects the quick-change fittings for the water
lines and slides on a new gooseneck. After reconnecting the water lines and
verifying his TCP, he can get the welding operation up and running again.
"My emergency calls from Watson
used to come through every other week with the previous gun, because of the
crashes," explains Gnesda. "After replacing the goosenecks, there
could be leaking or something else that was off. Now with the TOUGH I.C.E Gun,
well, I hear from them every couple of months."
And because, the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Gun
provides up to 550-amp capacity (at 60 percent duty cycle with mixed gases), it
provides Watson with another solution that fits their goals for creating a lean
facility: it can weld on a variety of material thicknesses. There is no need to
change out robotic MIG guns to accommodate for the ever-changing flow of
components that make their way through the weld cell each day, a factor that
saves Watson money and time.
"We have a lot of high amperage,
high voltage welds. And we weld on thinner metals, too," explains
Velasquez. "Some of our components are 30 millimeters thick and others are
as thin as three mils. I can weld both. I just have to change out the
wire."
As with the durability of the gun's
gooseneck and the occasional changeover, being able to use the same gun for all
its parts has contributed significantly to Watson's lean initiatives.
"There's so much going on here
with all the parts they weld, it'd be very easy for things to get out of
control," said Gnesda. "But these guys have a handle on everything. I
think the I.C.E. is helping with that."
Ownership
and Inventory Made Easy
The goal of Watson's lean initiatives
has been to improve workflow, minimize downtime and, of course, improve
productivity and profitability. After converting to the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Gun,
and also adding several Tregaskiss TOUGH GUN Robotic MIG Guns to their other
welding cells, Watson found that their equipment maintenance also became easier
and they reduce their inventory, too, both benefits they had not anticipated.
Velasquez first noticed that the total
cost of maintaining the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Gun was substantially lower compared to
the conventional water-cooled MIG gun Watson used previously. In addition to the
fact that the goosenecks have been more durable and easier to replace when
needed, he found that the gun's unicable has been equally robust. In fact,
according to Velasquez, he only just recently changed out the original unicable
that came with the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Robotic MIG Gun two and a half years ago.
"We've been running around the
clock, six days a week each year with the same one," he explains. "To
change it, I just loosened a couple of screws, popped it out and put on the new
one. With the addition of a new liner, I just connected the unicable back at the
feeder. It took me fifteen minutes and we're done."
Saving the cost of purchasing
unicables on a regular basis has been a welcome benefit for Watson, as has its
reduction in inventory for this and other MIG gun parts. Since Velasquez began
using the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Robotic MIG Gun and the air-cooled TOUGH GUN MIG Guns
for his other welding cells, he has also been able to reduce his inventory for
goosenecks significantly, too, as many are interchangeable.
"I used to have so many
goosenecks in stock, sometimes about fifteen different ones. Now I've got three
goosenecks I can use on all the robots. I don't have to have so much inventory
to keep this place running," said Velasquez.
He's also been able to reduce his
consumables inventory. Both the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Guns and the standard TOUGH GUN
MIG Guns operate on Tregaskiss' Common Consumable Platform, meaning that the
front-end consumables, nozzles, contact tips, retaining heads and liners, are
the same for both guns. Velasquez explains that he uses standard and heavy-duty
TOUGH LOCK Consumables for all the guns, depending on the thickness of the parts
his robots are welding and at what amperage. He simply orders the parts that
correspond to the different wires he uses between part runs. Velasquez also
explained that when he changes over the contact tips on his robotic MIG guns, he
then uses them for the semi-automatic MIG guns Watson uses in other portions of
the facility.
So what's the bottom line of these and
all the other benefits Watson has found with its lean initiatives?
Lean
and Productive
According to Velasquez, Watson's lean
initiatives, including the benefits brought forth from the TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Guns
and other Tregaskiss products, have combined to provide a 25 percent increase in
the company's productivity. The process is ongoing, of course, but it's been
made easier by the commitment of Watson's employees who have all played a
significant role in organizing the facility, from the concept phase of the many
components it manufactures to the machining, storing and assembly of the parts.
Having a durable, easy-to-maintain robotic MIG gun and minimizing Watson's
inventory has definitely helped improve workflow and reduce downtime, too.
"We're serious about lean,"
said Velasquez. "We try to complete jobs from concept to finish within
days. The I.C.E. and other Tregaskiss products have definitely helped us."
Authored
by Rob Ryan, Product Manager, Tregaskiss
For more information
contact:
Tregaskiss
877-737-3111 |
In one portion of Watson's facility, welding operators retrofit race cars with roll bars using the semi-automatic welding process.
Tregaskiss' TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Robotic MIG gun has helped Watson minimize downtime for gooseneck changeover, and it offers the welding capacity to weld on a variety of parts and part thicknesses.
Watson offers full serve prototype tubular and sheet metal components, along with products for the automotive and commercial industries, all of which are carefully and neatly organized on shelves and in bins for maximum efficiency.
Watson operates a full-service paint facility for all its parts, from the smallest components to the largest and has organized this department according to its own lean practices.
Robotic Supervisor, Rafael Velasquez, holds the original unicable from Watson's TOUGH GUN I.C.E. Robotic MIG gun. He just replaced it after operating with it 6 days a week for two and a half years.
No matter how complicated the part, Watson creates the tooling necessary to weld all its components successfully.
Watson also used standard TOUGH GUN Robotic MIG Guns in its welding cells, a factor that has helped the company minimize inventory for goosenecks and consumables. |
