Project
Aerospace
Year
2026
Precision machining cell
A five-axis machining cell redesigned around tool changes and inspection.
Headline result
+27%
Spindle utilisation
Utilisation
51%
65%
+27%
Setup time
95 min
40 min
−58%
The challenge
A five-axis cell machining structural brackets spent more time being set up than cutting. Every batch change meant hunting for tools and fixtures, and first-article inspection kept the spindle idle.
What we did
We filmed every setup for two weeks and split each one into work that could happen while the machine ran and work that could not.
Tools and fixtures moved into kitted carts prepared during the previous job, and first-article inspection moved to an off-line probe station.
The result
Setup time dropped from 95 to 40 minutes on average, and spindle utilisation rose from 51% to 65%, without buying a new machine.
We stopped arguing about the bottleneck and started fixing it.
Operations director
Precision machining cell
Next step
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