Overview
A rapidly growing cabinet shop in Northern Utah is continuously looking for ways to efficiently create leaner flow and increase throughput to keep up with demand while manufacturing quality products. The time requirements for drying and curing at the end of the manufacturing process were holding them back. The following case study details the problems this shop faced, the solution implemented after consulting with Advanced Machinery, and the results that followed.
Problems
Time: Painted parts took approximately 30 minutes for each coat (4 coats on front and 3 on back) to dry, and the final coat took 1.5 to 2 hours to dry.
Throughput: Total time for a part to get through production was around 1.5 days. This especially caused problems when rushing parts to a job-site.
Space: Parts drying on racks were piling up to the point where space was no longer available for more parts to dry.
Employee Focus: Employees in the finishing department would either have nothing to do while parts dried, or they would be pulled over to help in another department that they didn't specialize in.
Under-Utilization of Spray Machine: Without additional space for parts to dry, the Makor Spray Machine ran for only 1.5 hours per day.
Solution
After examining the challenges this cabinet shop faced, Advanced Machinery worked with Schubert who has specialized in finishing for over 80 years and proposed a Schubox® Standard 16'x16'x8' Catalytic Drying Room with double doors on each side for easy entry and exit. The drying room was then installed by Advanced Machinery's service team.
Results
Time: Drying/Curing speed increased 3 fold. Painted parts now take 10 minutes for each coat (4 coats on front and 3 on back) to dry, and the final coat now takes 40 minutes to dry.
Throughput: Total time for a part/job to get through production is now 4 to 6 hours.
Space: With the reduced drying time, parts are now wrapped and stocked or sent out much faster leading to less space being taken up.
Employee Focus: Employees in the finishing department can now remain in the finishing department and stay busy doing what they specialize in.
Utilizing the Spray Machine: The Makor Spray Machine is now ran for around 4.5 hours per day (3 times longer than before)
Additional "Cherry on Top" Results
Quality: The finished product has more quality due to less contaminates in the air due to the reduced dry time and time in the drying room where the air is clean.
Air Quality: Fumes from finishing have been greatly reduced by the drying room which is very noticeable to the workers in the finishing department.
Summary
The Schubox® Catalytic Drying System solved an operational bottleneck and removed a barrier to one-job flow for this cabinet shop by significantly reducing drying times leading to a leaner manufacturing process and increased throughput. Parts now dry in an environment with less contaminates resulting in better finish quality. Workers doing finishing are now better utilized while enjoying better air quality in the finishing room.
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