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moldmakingtechnology.com 45 lifting pallets as heavy as 80 pounds. The shop has similarly replaced and upgraded lifting systems throughout the facility. Expanding a Winning Strategy These examples are by no means a comprehensive account of the improvements driven by A1's attention to detail. In fact, such changes have become almost routine here, Luther says, particularly during the past six or seven years. This period saw one of the most significant shifts in mindset at A1 since he first came on board in 1993—a shift that has often been described as a move from moldmaking to mold manufacturing. One of the basic tenants of this approach is the departmental- ization of the shop. Each functional area of the build (machining electrodes, roughing a block, etc.) operates like a separate entity, with its own production schedule, cost tracking and so forth. The idea is to make the complex process of building a mold more systematic—more like an assembly line—by reducing it to a series of simpler steps. Designs are 100-percent complete prior to any work, and each department executes its role in strict adherence to the CAD model and preplanned manufactur- ing strategy, down to fits and clearances. Primarily by reducing variation, the "mold manufacturing" approach simultaneously improves efficiency, quality and process predictability. Although this strategy can never be perfect when no two jobs are the same, raw capacity enables the shop to execute it particularly well. Having a large number of specialized sta- tions, each with multiple, specialized machines, provides plen- ty of options for routing components of often vastly different molds, Luther explains. However, capacity also makes atten- tion to detail all the more important. For instance, A1 must determine not just whether a part is suitable for simultaneous five-axis milling, but also whether to use a trunnion-type or swivel-head machine. Each, of course, has its own consider- ations regarding the cutters, fixtures, toolpath strategies and more. Suffice it to say, things get complicated quickly. Yet, there's more to building a mold than cutting steel. Having spent years getting these operations firmly on the right track and continuing to improve, the shop has now turned its attention to specialty operations (say, cutting ejector pins or wiring manifolds). Such processes might seem peripheral, but they're no less essential to meeting deliveries, and they can benefit from the same, departmentalized approach, Luther says. That's particularly true for a payoff of departmentalization that's repeatedly manifested itself in the shop's metal-cutting operations over the years. That is, the tendency for employees at any given station to develop a rhythm—a specific process for each task that's continuously honed through repetition. Systemiz- ing operations in this way tends to not only reveal inefficiencies, but also lead to new, better approaches to the work. A prime example is the process for cutting baffles mentioned earlier. Based on an idea from an employee who used to work Departmentalizing the shop has long helped facilitate attention to detail in metal-cutting operations. Now, A1 Tool is seeking to realize the same advantage elsewhere by departmentalizing other functions of the mold build as well. This station, for example, is dedicated solely to assembling and wiring hot runner systems. This Erowa Lift system has proven far easier on employees who had gotten used to lifting heavy pallets onto a crane. It's also saved time by eliminating the need to share a crane with other workstations.