Modular Jig Design Approach in the Metalworking Industry

This book gives an insight on how an often-overlooked jig and fixture used as a manufacturing aid to produce a product to deliver products reliably and repeatedly with high quality. This continuous improvement project of a machining process was applied to winding cones used in overhead garage doors. The improvement was a necessity estimating the need for 43% faster production cycle (takt time) compared to the previous year. Hence, the main objective was to reduce the machining time required per part by designing a modular jig system, ideally with 12 parts per cycle. The critical outcomes of the project were harvested from the implementation phase. The newly machined modular jig system proved to increase the number of parts machined per day by 32% with expected savings of more than EUR6000 per year. The added benefit of a modular jig system was that one base (skeleton of the jig) could be used in machining different products. Also, future projects now have the intellectual and physical resources of making jigs and fixtures in-house. This drastically reduces the lead times for new parts, which is crucial for a small-medium enterprise stay competitive.