In the CNC machining business — as in all areas of manufacturing — saving time means reducing costs and increasing efficiency, which are critical to your bottom line. While many factors can help reduce production time in your facility, machine shop organization is an often overlooked solution that can improve your workflow and boost your production efficiency.

Machine Shop Organization Ideas

The following tips range from machine shop floor plan layout ideas to more granular organizational options:

  • Streamline the journey — You might think it goes without saying, but in many facilities, a piece must crisscross the floor numerous times as it’s transformed from raw stock into a finished product. In practice, a straight-line approach (or at least a direct path) is a much more efficient method of CNC machine layout. The time it takes to implement a CNC machine shop layout that naturally flows through each stage of the production process will be more than made up by the time you save, reducing the amount of ground that materials and personnel must cover.
  • Group processes sensibly — In your CNC machine shop floor layout, processes that are similar or occur at similar times in the production cycle should be grouped closely together whenever possible. One of the best examples of this is keeping your QC equipment close to your fulfillment area, so that nothing gets overlooked and pieces can move directly from inspection to storage or fulfillment.
  • Allow easy access to assembly — Depending on the scale and format of your facility, different pieces may be coming from different machines at different times for assembly. As much as possible, ensure that your assembly equipment is centrally located and easily accessible from any equipment from which parts may be coming.
  • Keep tools organized — Beyond CNC machine layout, other organizational components of your facility can have an impact on your efficiency and productivity. A key consideration is making sure that tools, collets, clamps and other equipment are kept where they’re supposed to be, so they can be easily located when needed. Help your employees succeed in this area by providing adequate storage space, labelling and other organizational aids.
  • Keep only what you need — If you no longer use or need a piece of equipment, it’s not only providing no benefit to your machine shop floor plan layout, it’s likely impeding your processes. Selling unneeded machinery is an easy way to recoup costs and add to the ROI of your equipment.

CNC Exchange assists with CNC machine sales through a variety of methods that meet your needs, whether you’re looking for the highest sales value or the fastest removal from your shop floor. For more information about selling or buying used CNC equipment, contact CNC Exchange today.