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EDM 32 MoldMaking Technology November 2015 By Dale McCartney Applying the sort, set and standardize principles of 5S to EDM operations can increase efficiency by minimizing waste. M ost mold builders are familiar with the 5S workplace organization method for lean manufacturing, which embraces the concepts of sort, set in order, shine, stan- dardize and sustain. Each aspect focuses on avoiding waste and can easily serve as a basis for continuous improvement within mold shops that use EDM and graphite. The sort, set and standardize principles of 5S can help guide EDM opera- tions toward efficiency, minimizing waste and associated costs. This is critical in most mold shops, as EDM is often the bottleneck to reducing mold delivery times. Sort. This 5S principle involves evaluating neces- sary items with regard to cost, preventing accu- mulation of unnecessary items, removing any unnecessary items with proper storage or disposal, and segregating and iden- tifying materials. It is not unusual for mold shop managers to request that employees increase productivity by better utilizing their cur- rent assets. This often creates the need to review internal processing, including how graphite is purchased and pro- cessed. Graphite is typically ordered based on specific size requirements of a new mold or in larger blocks that will be cut into pieces for the repair of existing molds. Sorting requires establishing rules for the storage and disposal of blanks, remnants and spent (consumed) electrodes. These rules might include, for example, dating and labeling all new 3S for EDM electrodes with a job and electrode number. Sorting also requires establishing a pre-determined value for remnant storage and disposal based on the typical electrode sizes used within an operation. These values may vary greatly depend- ing on the mold types produced. Pre-determined values allow the operator to immediately decide where unused graphite should be stored. Shelved rem- nants should be stored by size for future use (see Figure 1), while pieces not used within 24 months are candidates for disposal. Spent electrodes (see Figure 2) should also be marked by the EDM operator immediately after use as Figures courtesy of Ohio Carbon Blank. FIGURE 1 Spent or consumed electrodes should be marked as "store," "rework" or "discard" by the EDM operator immediately after use and put in the appropriate area. FIGURE 2 Graphite remnants should be stored by size for future use. Pieces not used within 24 months are candidates for disposal. The final set-in-order consideration is a focus on further reducing mold delivery times by incorporating standard outsourcing streams for operations that typically have been performed in-house. Graphite Material Type 1.000 x 4.000 Graphite Material Type 1.000 x 4.000