![]() – Turn down the spindle rpm perhaps 20% to give a greater margin for error. – Make sure the toolchanger is operating freely and that the right tool table information is loaded. Just before you launch a Lights Out job is an ideal time to do any routine checks for tooling wear. – Make sure the cutting tools are sharp and have minimal wear. If it comes loose, there’ll be nobody around to E-Stop the machine. – Make sure the setup is correct and the workpiece is tightly held in the fixture. – Make sure the job you’re running doesn’t require any wear offset changes mid-job. If you do change the program, a conservative approach requires it to be run again under supervision before it can be allocated to lights out. – Make sure the job selected for Lights Out has been run successfully during a fully manned shift more than once, and that the part program has not been changed since a successful run was had. – Make sure the proper part program is loaded and ready to go. Think of all the things that might go wrong that you can check on in advance, and make them a part of your Lights Out Checklist: Many devotees suggest a check list be prepared that the last shift will run through to maximize the chances for success. Success with Lights Out Manufacturing is a matter of well-executed process. ![]() You’ve got a 4-hour Lights Out window that can be tacked on that adds the opportunity for 4 more hours of spindle time and production. The ideal job candidate to maximize the value of this sort of work is one that runs for a lot of hours without requiring attention. The job will be setup and the cycle started so that in the morning, it should have completed and ready to be torn down again. The way to do so is to start running just one setup on each machine at the end of the last shift. It’s possible to get started in Lights Out Manufacturing without making huge investments to try to solve every problem needed to enable unlimited Lights Out work. Getting Started With Lights Out Manufacturing Checklist Clearly the word had gotten around that Lights Out works. Top Shops had gone from 39% to 60% more likely to use Lights Out than other shops. However, by 2017, our Top Shops analysis shows use of Lights Out Manufacturing by Top Shops had skyrocketed. This was the biggest difference in Machining Strategies versus other shops, with the second biggest being the use of 5-Axis machining with full contouring and the third being use of High Speed Machining. Our analysis of Top Shops found that one of the things that makes Top Shops more productive and profitable than others is that they are 39% more likely to do Lights Out Manufacturing. The ability to reduce Labor Costs and increase Shop Capacity are certainly the two big ticket reasons for Lights Out Manufacturing, but improved ability to handle longer-running jobs and the ability to reduce secondary finishing operations are also useful benefits. With enough improvement in finish passes, it may be possible to reduce some manual secondary operations. Ability to tolerate longer running finish passes (perhaps smaller stepovers on a 3D profiling job) by utilizing the Lights Out Hours without impacting the jobs that have to be run during normal shift time. If the job needs to run for a few hours with minimal intervention, putting it on the Lights Out “shift” may free up time during the manned shifts to handle more shorter duration jobs.Ĥ. Ability to re-balance longer running jobs for the lights out period while the short jobs are run during manned shifts. A couple of extra hours of capacity each night may be all it takes to get a shop to the next stage of growth or to allow another customer to be taken on.ģ. This allows the shop to quickly ramp up without having to hire or acquire new machinery. Sometimes it is convenient to be able to “flex” shop capacity by running Lights Out jobs on an as-needed basis. Increased shop capacity and spindle utilization since the machines are able to run for longer during the Lights Out period. ![]() Reduced Labor Costs since no operators are needed during the “Lights Out” period.Ģ. Here are the list of benefits a shop might expect to achieve from a successful Lights Out Manufacturing program:ġ. 4 Reasons your shop needs Lights Out Manufacturing ![]() Lights out machining tips from the CNC Chef from Cutting Tool Engineering on Vimeo. Here’s a quick video introduction to Lights Out Manufacturing that I did for Cutting Tool Engineering: But there there are more reasons to undertake Lights Out Manufacturing than simply reducing labor costs. The goal of Lights Out Manufacturingis to increase shop productivity by reducing labor costs using automation. Or, as one article puts it, “You go home and the machines keep on working.” In Lights Out Manufacturing, the CNC machines continue to operate without operators for some length of time. ![]()
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