How Valuable is automation?

How much does that upgraded machine cost? How much value does it represent? Do you really need it?

Lets look at two examples, one of a Long Length Slitter Folder both with and without a backgauge and the other, a Press Brake with a standard 2 axis backgauge and an upgraded 4 axis backgauge.

Marking and snipping steel is time wasted on a Long Length Slitter Folder. In the past, before backgauges became common on long folders, operaters would either snip the edges of the sheet or mark them with a pen along a tape measure. As you can imagine, this takes time and every single flashing must be marked. Each flashing will be slightly different too, not much of a problem on the machine, but on the roof it can lead to issues. But that’s another story all together.

Enter the backgauge. Program it once, then start making profiles. Sure it might take a minute or so to program a flashing, but you can always save it and use it at a later date. No marking, no aligning the sheet with a mark before each bend. The backgauge is simple and fast.

How much is this worth to your company? Well, let use a new Jorns 8 meter Slitter Folder, both with and without the backgauge and run some numbers. First, lets assume the following.

Hourly rate per person:

$40 per hour

Total average effective hours of usage per month:

120 Hours (6 hours per day)

Total labour cost per month:

$9,600 per month (2 people)

Generally, 1/3rd of the time taken to produce profiles on a Long Length Slitter Folder is in marking or snipping the material. With a high speed backgauge fitted to your Jorns Long Length Slitter Folder this time is significantly reduced, with material positioning done in a matter of a few seconds.

So, if we reduce the time taken to produce the flashings by 30% it gives us 84 hours per month to produce the same volume of flashings that a machine without a backgauge took 120.

That’s a saving of 36 hours per month @ $40, giving a cost saving of $2,880 (2 people)

Therefore.....

Total machine cost per month:

Labour $9,600

Finance $2,965

Total $12,565

Labour $6,720 ($9,600- $1,920 in savings)

Finance $3,900

Total $10,620

So here we can see a saving of $1,945 per month by utilising the backgauge. So you can look at that as a saving, or the ability to produce much more product, hence increasing revenue.

The example we will use for the press brake is a simple one, the addition of Z1 and Z2 axis. Z1/Z2 axis are a simple productivity upgrade allowing the operator to set up two sections of tooling along the machine and still use the backgauge to position the material. The backgauge moves left and right along the machine.

On a 3 meter CNC Press, the Z1/Z2 upgrade costs about $13,500. Let’s assume you have financed the machine over 5 years with no residual. That’s an additional cost of $275 per month.

In order to to make up that cost, you need to save 6.8 hours in a month, or only 20 minutes per day. 2.5 minutes per hour.......

Couldn’t be too hard to save 2.5 minutes per hour with a more efficient backgauge. Think about that next time you need to use two tooling setups for one piece of steel.....