Heavy Machinery
Many companies have been designing and building heavy machinery since the second industrial revolution, and in the 150 years since, the challenge to create functional, reliable equipment and transportation remains. It’s difficult making machines that will be assembled and disassembled repeatedly, and have massive, moving parts that are both robust enough to handle huge loads in extreme conditions and can be swapped out easily when needed.
Tried and true manufacturing methods and skilled craftsmen hold sway because so many components are hand built -- the volume of parts is orders of magnitude smaller than in other industries where automated manufacturing is common. And while that system can work, it siloes knowledge in individuals, which makes it difficult to bring on new people and get them up to speed quickly.
Heavy machine designs can last for many years, but remote control and autonomous technologies are rapidly moving from the cutting edge to commonplace in the industry. These technologies bring opportunity to those who can adapt, and by modernizing and standardizing your processes you gain the capacity to take advantage of the trends and grow your business.
The relationships between assembly companies and component suppliers are of critical importance -- when you’re putting things together out in the field, you don’t want any surprises. And while it’s easy to build trust and strong lines of communication when your OEM is right down the road, different methods are required when working with international and remote engineering teams.
Clear communication is how you make design, manufacturing and assembly routine, and GD&T is how you create a universal understanding of your engineering prints. Companies like Komatsu, Vermeer, Kobelt and Webtec are all clients of ours and have realized the value GD&T brings to their businesses. Implementing the ASME standard not only gets everyone on the same page, but also improves the accuracy of inspection, and ensures suppliers can pass ISO 9001 audits.
At GD&T Basics, we teach your people what they need to know of the ASME 14.5Y standard, and provide them the context needed to understand how the part will function, and how it’ll be made, tested and inspected. We even provide inspection method recommendations to help improve your processes. Understanding the context of an entire project streamlines communication with suppliers and clients, and helps avoid problems before they start.
We understand that there’s a lot of inertia behind your existing systems and methods, but we also know how to show students that coordinate dimensioning leaves room for multiple interpretations – and when outsourcing components, that lack of clarity causes problems. GD&T eliminates that ambiguity, and our trainers specialize in making GD&T simple, straightforward and relevant to the work you do. We’re not here to tell you to change all of your drawings, just to show you the small changes you can make to improve the quality of your work and the efficiency of your operation.
Contact us today and we’ll work together to build your team’s perfect training program.