Work

Notes from jobs that started badly

Client names are left out where we were asked to leave them out. The numbers are what was measured on site, not what the brochure promised.

Packaging

Case packer running short of rate

The line had never reached nameplate since installation. We remodelled the infeed geometry, machined four guide sets and retimed the PLC sequence around the real cycle rather than the design cycle.

Scope
Design, machining, controls
On site
2 shifts
Result
+11% rate

Metal forming

Obsolete drive, no rewrite

A discontinued drive had become a single point of failure with no spares left in the market. We fitted a current model behind a small protocol bridge so the existing machine program did not have to change.

Scope
Parts, integration, software
Downtime
6 h planned
Result
Spares available again

Contract manufacturing

Thin-wall bracket scrapping at final op

Parts were moving in the fixture and going out of flat at the last operation. New five-axis fixturing and a revised clamping sequence held the tolerance without adding a cycle.

Scope
Fixture design, machining
Held
0.02 mm flat
Result
Scrap under 1%

Food and beverage

Two fillers, one operator with a clipboard

Output between two cells was being reconciled by hand every shift. We tied both controllers into a small SCADA layer and pushed counts straight into the existing ERP order.

Scope
Integration, software
Build
5 weeks
Result
Shift reporting to the minute

Plastics

Second-hand machine, missing everything

A machine arrived with no drawings, no manual and a damaged take-off. We measured what was there, redrew the missing assembly, machined replacements and commissioned the line.

Scope
Reverse engineering, machining, installation
Parts made
34
Result
In production, drawings owned

Heavy industry

Critical spares that were never on a shelf

Three machines shared no common spares policy, so every failure became a hunt. We listed the wear items, cross-referenced the obsolete ones and built a kit per machine.

Scope
Parts supply, machining
Items kitted
62
Result
Mean repair time halved

Sectors

Where this work usually lands

The mechanics change from plant to plant. The shape of the problem rarely does: something wears, something was designed for a different product, or two machines were never meant to speak to each other.

Packaging and food

Change parts, format changeovers, washdown-rated design, rate recovery on lines running a product they were not bought for.

Metal, plastics and general manufacturing

Fixtures, tooling, press and mould ancillaries, machine rebuilds and the parts that no longer have a supplier.

Utilities and heavy industry

Obsolescence work, controls migration, spare strategies for equipment expected to run another twenty years.

Your job probably looks like one of these.

Tell us what is happening on the floor and we will tell you how we would approach it, and roughly what it costs, before anyone signs anything.