Reading through industrial news headlines, it’s impossible to miss the reshoring movement taking hold in manufacturing. Thanks in large part to globalization, workers around the world are seeing higher wages and better benefits. This is leading to a shrinking wage gap between the United States and other countries where jobs are commonly outsourced. And when the paychecks start balancing out, the cost of shipping materials and products across borders becomes much more apparent. Rather than continue to operate this way, more and more companies are taking out the middle man and choosing American manufacturing plants and contractors.
With increased manufacturing re-entering our shores, additional plant capacity and machinery will also be needed to accommodate the growth. To keep track and manage all of these resources, manufacturers will see a greater need for automated tool monitoring systems to ensure smooth operations.
Even the best foreman can’t be in all places at all times. And even the most observant machine operator isn’t there to oversee every shift. It only takes one small misalignment or crack to completely derail production and create a material backup. This results in wasted materials, lost time, late orders, and ultimately, less money.
Broken tool monitoring systems help to alleviate these problems by monitoring for broken, worn and missing tools through spindle power monitoring or vibration analysis. If a component isn’t working to peak efficiency, the system will identify it so the issue can be fixed before it does any damage. The system can even stop production to avoid that costly material backup previously mentioned.
Please visit Techna-Tool for more information about automated tool monitoring systems. You can also request a quote online.