Bridging the Skills Gap: Machine Tool Apps Diminish “Labor Pains”
09.17.2015
Many shops struggle to find skilled labor in their local market. But the good news is, machine tool apps can help fill your labor gap, and this can be a very cost-efficient solution. Apps don’t replace the need for operators, but they do simplify processes so training and skills requirements are much less of a challenge, plus they can make your existing workforce much more productive. In fact, using apps on your control is one of the simplest, fastest ways to make significant productivity gains, quickly. Let’s take a look at just a few examples of how machine tool apps can help bridge your skills gap.
Machine Tool Apps Fill the Gap
Following are just a few examples of how machine tool apps can help you make the most of your labor resources.
Quick Learning Tools: There are apps that provide handy guidance, right at the machine tool, that makes it easier to learn processes and run jobs. An example is Caron Engineering’s AutoComp, which adjusts tool offsets based on dimensional data from any number of gauging devices, taking the guesswork out of compensating the machine.
Unleash Your Operators: Do you have parts that need to be machined on both sides using a single spindle? This requires the operator to be standing at the machine, making sure parts are flipped. But with an app called Part Flip Monitor, the control clearly displays “first side running,” “part flip needed” or “part completed,” so the operator can tend to other machines while keeping track of the lathe’s progress.
Simplify Quality Processes: Nearly every machine tool app increases overall part quality. With the Blum Gauging Guide and Renishaw GUI apps (which guide users through simple and logical steps to program gauging), part quality can be increased without adding time-consuming manual protocols.
Increase Productivity: Tool selection calculators and configurators help the user select tools and determine feeds and speeds, increasing productivity of your workers and improving overall shop performance.
Enhance Ease-of-Use: Delcam’s Partmaker Viewer improves visualization right at the machine and reduces the chances of errors. With machine tool apps, it doesn’t have to be hard, time-consuming or complicated to increase productivity.
Helpful Resources
We’ve created several resources to help you learn more, and get started with apps:
Okuma App Store: Located at www.myokuma.com, the App Store is the industry’s only centralized online marketplace for machine tool apps and related content. The App Store contains not only apps developed by Okuma, but also apps from our distributors and various members of Partners in THINC.
How-to Videos: Check out the how-to series of videos on our YouTube channel for handy tips on how to get started with machine tool apps.
Machine Tool Apps White Paper: This white paper provides useful insights about the value of machine tool apps in our industry.
As always, please feel free to contact us, or your local distributor, with your specific questions, and we’ll walk you through the process.
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