CNC MOLDS N STUFF (News/Update August 5th 2024)

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

I took last week off from all machine work.  I didn't even turn on the air compressor.

The stock jobs are all caught up.  That means new stock orders will cut and ship in just a week or two again. 

Custom work still has a few months on the jobs board, but it's all on schedule.  For the first time in a couple years I expect to get them cut on schedule.  Due to various issues with supply, deaths in the family, equipment problems... I have kept getting knocked behind schedule, but right now it looks like I am going to be producing on or close to estimated times again. 

We had a power blip on Saturday, and it took out one of my machine controllers.  Sigh!  I actually don't think it will have that machine offline very long.  It killed the operating system drive in the control computer.  I have two of that machine, I already checked that the drive from its sister machine will boot and operate it, and I am cloning the drive now.  Getting that machine back online and remeasuring all the tools for the tool table will eat up most of my time today. 

Today or tomorrow I'm picking up another machine.  Not a huge machine, but heavier and bigger than my high speed machines.   Its a little bigger than my middle weight machine, and I hope to use it to rough blanks in larger batches to reduce bottle necks in production.  It will need a modern control retrofit.  Given I have to do it between getting your work onto the machines that will probably take me a year.  I did a similar retrofit many years ago on my big (big for me) machine before CNC Molds N Stuff was my full time gig.  It took me three years, but I know a lot more now. 

I upgraded my air compressor a while back, and recently acquired a backup air compressor the same size.  I know if I don't go get my spare my main will fry, so that's going to take a day at some point. 

In summary, I was ahead of schedule, took a week off because I could, and now I have already lost a day.  Maybe two.  LOL. 

[CNC Molds N Stuff]

Now don't go thinking I was relaxing by the pool all week sipping fruity rum drinks with an umbrella.  I still spent all week in the shop working.  I cleanup up a lot of old reject and bad parts that had been accumulating, started clearing a path and planning a location for the new machine.  Scraped the floor in the small machine room.  Reorganized a lot of tooling, ordered stock, and a whole host of other jobs that often get put off while trying to get molds designed, cut and shipped. 

As I was going through the reject parts it was obvious what was wrong with a lot of them, but some I couldn't figure out why I rejected them.  They looked perfect and both parts where there.  Into the recycle barrel with the rest of the rejects they went.