Manufacturing and Lean Processes

Manufacturing and Lean Process Improvements

Another hobby of mine is learning about different manufacturing methods for low and high volume production. I am familiar with both subtractive and additive manufacturing methods. I currently own two 3D printers and a CNC router table. At my current workplace, I use a CNC machine and work closely with vendors for metal fabrication, additional CNC machining, silicone molding, and anodization.

Additionally, I enjoy creating lean processes to improve work efficiency. At Drone Aviation Corp., I have spent a significant amount of time implementing 6S and Kaizen methodologies throughout the workplace. The production output increased by 400%. Below are some changes that were made within the workshop to improve efficiency.

Manufacturing

Surf Board Fin
- A friend and I began working on a new surf board fin that would increase performance. I was responsible for the design, prototyping, and manufacturing. The images to the right demonstrate the design cycle from modeling, to rapid prototyping, to creating a CNC mold.
Heatsink
- I designed and ran the thermal analysis of a heatsink that would mount to a power module. I proceeded to low volume manufacturing using a CNC router for testing. A picture of the resulting prototype is shown. The final product, after several revisions, was CNC machined and a plastic enclosure was silicon molded.

Lean Process Improvements

Inventory Management
- Developed an inventory management system that allowed employees to locate and reorder parts with ease. Additionally, I implemented systems to not over-order or overproduce.
Procedures
- Composed procedures that shows step-by-step instructions on how to build our products to increase efficiency and quality control.
Production Flow Board
- Created a production flow board that allows employees to update the status of their work. With this board, any employee can easily see what the current state of a certain product is, and can seamlessly continue the work started from another employee.
Clean Room
- Built a clean room that separated equipment that creates dust particles from the production line. This improved the work environment by improving air quality, co-locating similar tools, and reduced risk of foreign object debris or damage (FOD).