User Guide: Bringing CNC Machining In-House
Do you outsource your machining and have reached a point where bringing it in-house makes more sense? Whether you are looking to gain better control over quality or trying to shorten lead times, there are some best practices to follow to make this transition go smoothly:
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Research the Process
Educate yourself on the equipment and processes needed, so you have a better understanding of what this transition will entail. Researching using online resources, such as YouTube, should give you examples of others’ processes. Visit your local machine tool supplier or connect with companies that make similar products to yours and see how they made the transition. With just a little more research, you can find classes at your local community college or technical school for more formal training.
Learn the Tools
Get to know the machines types (Lathe, Mill, 3-5 axis) and determine which would best suit your product needs. Machine suppliers are a useful resource here. There are many machine suppliers with a wide range of pricing. It’s best to get an idea of your production goals to know what price range you should be looking in. If what you’re looking for is out of your budget, salvage machines can often be found at a reasonable price.
After researching the process and finding the right machine to fit your needs, you’ll need to select software to program the machine. The typical workflow is: CAD Design > CAM Program > Post > Fixtures > Tooling.
Organizing your Code Files
Now that you’re ready to get the code to the machine there are a lot of different options. Some are as easy as a USB drive to the Distributed Numerical Control (DNC) software. If you choose to use a thumb drive, it will take more work to keep CNC program files organized. Be sure to research if a DNC software, able to sort files and distribute CNC files to multiple machines, may be a better choice for your process.
Tooling Considerations
Other things to consider – tooling. Tooling ranges from drills, endmills, tool holders, inserts, and fixtures, just to name some of the most common tooling items. There is a wide variety of cutting tools, however, many parts can be done with the most common ones. Fixtures can be as simple as a vise to elaborate work-hold fixtures. Knowing your product will help in selecting the right choices.
There will be many little things that will come up also. Things like coolant, abrasives for deburring, wrenches for setting up and machinist tools, like indicators to tell the machine where to go.
One last thing to consider is personnel. Finding a qualified machinist or operator can be worth more than you think, and may be one of the more overlooked aspects to bringing machining in-house. An operator that can catch a machine crash before it happens will save you thousands of dollars in machine downtime. Someone that can set-up and run a machine efficiently will save on set-up time and keep lead times low. If you find a qualified person, they may also be beneficial in determining the right machine as well.
About the author
Brian has been in manufacturing for over twenty years as a machinist and Manufacturing Engineer. He serves the Arizona and New Mexico regions as a Mastercam Applications Expert for MLC CAD Systems. Brian enjoys helping and teaching others on Mastercam backed by real world experience.
