How Technology-Integrated Contract Manufacturing Services Save Customers Time and Money
At Athena Manufacturing, we are committed to producing the best results possible for our customers. For that reason, we’ve adopted several manufacturing technologies that have maximized productivity and yielded significant cost savings.
Let’s explore the software solutions our team has embraced to improve customers’ lead times and reduce overhead costs.
High-Tech Solutions at Athena Manufacturing
Our team is highly strategic when determining which technologies and equipment to invest in. We do this by identifying pain points and evaluating solutions that will improve processes for our teams and results for our customers. Here are some examples of how we’ve turned pain points into strengths:
Streamlined Quoting with Paperless Parts
Before: Prior to starting our partnership with Paperless Parts, our quoting department struggled to track customers' quote requests. To no fault of their own, our team needed to juggle files in many different places, leading to quoting times we weren’t proud of.
After: Integrating Paperless Part’s sophisticated quoting software accelerated and streamlined the quoting process at Athena. Our customers were impressed not only with our speed in quoting their parts but also with our ability to identify potential design risks so we could mitigate issues at the source.
Ensuring Top Quality with High QA
Before: Time-consuming first article inspections and difficulty tracking in-process inspection data prompted our team to shop around for quality control solutions.
After: Investing in High QA has helped us drive higher quality. Our team leverages this tool to track which part features to measure more accurately, resulting in reduced inspection times.
Accelerating Inspection Times with Our KEYENCE Visual Scanner
Before: Another inspection-related pain point was that the Athena team had a backlog on our CMM trying to inspect parts, so we sought tools to shorten inspection processes.
After: We purchased a KEYENCE visual scanner over a year ago, and our inspection times have drastically improved. This tool makes in-process inspection much quicker, as we can inspect multiple dimensions at once in a tenth of the time it would take to measure the piece using calipers and micrometers. For instance, a part that previously took us 18 minutes to measure on our CMM now only takes 40 seconds on our visual scanner!
Maximizing Efficiency and Reducing Overhead Costs with Machine Monitoring Software
Before: Before adopting machine monitoring software, Athena didn’t have a specific methodology to evaluate spindle utilization. Monitoring how often tools are active is essential for tracking productivity and ensuring all machines are in tip-top shape.
After: The Athena Manufacturing team adopted two machine monitoring tools. OnTakt offers machine monitoring at a glance so we can utilize our equipment to the fullest, bringing our overhead costs down and passing cost savings off to customers. TMac is an invaluable automated solution that switches tool components as they approach the breaking point, reducing cycle time and maximizing tool life.
Optimizing Productivity with Our In-House Dashboard
Before: The Athena team wanted a dashboard to monitor team members’ time and productivity. While seeking out software to serve our purpose, the team had trouble finding the right solution that pulled all the specific data we needed.
After: Even when we can’t find a solution that caters to our particular needs, our innovative, problem-solving approach allows us to develop solutions ourselves. We built out a dashboard that offers a glance at the shop floor at all times to determine how we’re doing and how we can implement Lean manufacturing to enhance efficiency.
How Customers Benefit from Our Innovative Contract Manufacturing Services
Many of these technologies directly benefit our teams’ day-to-day operations. However, the primary decision-making behind Athena Manufacturing’s technology investments is customer satisfaction. Customers benefit from our technology investments in the following ways:
Faster Lead Times
Our technologies accelerate speeds during each process, from quoting to machining to first-article inspection. Simplified production results in significant time savings for our customers.
Lower Costs
The Athena team produces significantly less scrap from unexpected tool breakage, resulting in reduced overhead. As a result, we can offer better pricing through more efficient tool utilization.
Long-Lasting, Strategic Manufacturing Partnership
Athena Manufacturing has invested in innovative technologies to be as efficient as possible. These solutions offer us a competitive advantage not only in the Texas contract manufacturing marketplace but also globally. With some of the industry's most cutting-edge equipment and software, our team produces parts with remarkable speed and pricing.
Contact the Athena Manufacturing team to begin our partnership today.