UK CNC machine shops — milling, turning, multi-axis — programme library, set-up automation, in-process inspection, first-article reports.
UK CNC machine shops — milling, turning, multi-axis — programme library, set-up automation, in-process inspection, first-article reports. Set-up time and FAIR turnaround, measured.
Every tested programme indexed by part, machine, fixture, tool list — version-controlled. The same job in six months runs on the same proven code, not a re-write.
Set-up sheets generated with fixture diagrams, tool offsets pulled from the library, probing macros queued. Set-up time on a repeat job collapses from hours to minutes.
On-machine probing and post-process Mitutoyo / Renishaw checks logged into the part record. SPC charts surface drift before scrap, not after.
First-article reports auto-populated from the inspection log. AS9102 forms, customer-specific templates — exports ready for the buyer the moment the first piece is signed off.
PO acknowledgment, drawing RFIs, FAIR sign-off, delivery — pulled into a per-customer thread. The buyer, the programmer, and the inspector on the same record.
Past programmes, fixture drawings, customer-specific FAIRs, tool-life data, work-holding standards — indexed and searchable from the cell or the office.
An eight-machine CNC shop ran mixed prototype and small-run for medical and aerospace customers, with set-ups averaging 2.4 hours per job because every repeat felt like a fresh build. Three-week build: programme library tied to part numbers, auto-generated set-up sheets with fixture diagrams and offset tables, FAIR templates per customer. Six months in: average set-up time 2.4h → 38min on repeat jobs, FAIR turnaround 4 days → same-day, machine utilisation up sixteen percent.
How we measure: Set-up time captured from machine-on to first-piece-cut timestamps via the controller log, repeat jobs only, n = 187 set-ups across both periods; FAIR turnaround from PO date to FAIR-issued date; machine utilisation as cutting time / available time, weekly rolling.
If your work isn't exactly this, the nearest sectors share the rhythm. Or browse every industry we build for.
Bring a recent set-up sheet, a FAIR, and the programme folder. We diagnose from the numbers.