KNOWLEDGE
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Reading the drawing, cutting the metal, measuring it, and the last sheet before it ships. The things this trade deals with every day, explained one at a time.
32 articles · page 4 of 4
No spark, no warning, and the part is already damaged
A few steps across a floor can put thousands of volts on a person, while many components are damaged at a hundred. This article covers where static comes from, how to set up an EPA, and what grounding, ionizers and humidity each actually do.
Read more ▚▚ Production management11 minSerial-level traceability pays for itself on the day something goes wrong
Customers ask for "unit-level traceability", which in practice means deciding on a marking method, a numbering scheme, and how the data links up. This article compares barcode types, explains DPM quality grading, and covers where lot numbers are enough and where serials are not.
Read more ⇥ Production management12 minWhy the promised date is never the real date
Dates that come out of an infinite-capacity MRP run are wishes. This article covers lead time syndrome, the role of the bottleneck, and how finite-capacity scheduling, DBR and CONWIP differ.
Read more ISO Quality management12 minWhen the auditor arrives, what can you actually produce?
The clauses say "retain documented information" without saying what it should look like. This article lists the records the two standards really ask for, what IATF adds on top, and the nonconformities auditors raise most often.
Read more 7 Production management11 minThe seven wastes, and how to actually spot them in your own plant
Everyone can recite the seven wastes, and almost nobody sees them when walking the floor. This article describes what each one looks like in a machine shop, and which metric pins it down.
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