Machining For Dummies

Chapter 14

Ten Ways to Make Processes Predictable

IN THIS CHAPTER

Preventing mistakes

Purchasing properly

Feeding and speeding

Keeping consistent

Achieving fluid flow

Maintaining machinery

Since we cannot know all that there is to be known about anything, we ought to know a little about everything.

—BLAISE PASCAL

Everyone likes to know what’s coming down the pike. This is just as true for hedge fund managers on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange wondering which companies are going to tank this week as it is for college students preparing for the next semester, hoping there are still seats available in Advanced Journalism. Humans, quite simply, want their lives to be predictable.

To a machinist, unpredictability means loud noises and broken tools, and explaining to the procurement manager why she needs to order more material for the job you just scrapped out. It means late deliveries ...