Pinion Process Improvement at Primetals Technologies

The objective of this MQP was to reduce PrimetalsÂ’ cycle and setup times for pinions at workstation WWC1 by 20%. The rationale for this project was derived from Primetals identifying WWC1 as the bottleneck in their value stream for pinion manufacturing. Methods used were axiomatic design, lean manufacturing, and the design of a custom gage for pinion OD inspection. Proposed solutions resulted in a 16% and 37% decrease in total cycle time and setup time per pinion, respectively. This total reduction in cycle and setup times freed up valuable capacity, allowing for the potential production of 120 more pinons per year. Assuming demand exists for the additional pinions, this could increase yearly pinion sales revenue by up to $1.2 million with current available resources