CNC Machining Cell: +35% Output with Fixture and CAM Redesign
A bottlenecked CNC cell was rebuilt around new workholding fixtures and optimised CAM programs — 35% more parts per shift on the same machine, same operator.
A double-head CNC machining cell for aluminium profiles was the bottleneck of the line. The machine was not the limit — the way parts were held and cut was.
The problem
Throughput was capped by two things, neither of them spindle time:
- Long setups. Every product change meant re-clamping and re-indicating the workpiece by hand.
- Single-part clamping. The fixture held one profile at a time, so the machine idled through every load and unload.
Classic symptoms of a cell designed part-by-part rather than as a system.
The approach
- Workholding redesign. New fixtures that locate the profile positively — no re-indicating between changeovers — and hold multiple parts per cycle, so loading happens while the spindle is still cutting.
- CAM optimisation. Toolpaths and tool changes reworked for the new clamping strategy: fewer air moves, fewer tool changes, cutting parameters matched to the actual rigidity of the setup.
- Lean method on the changeover. Setup steps separated into internal (machine stopped) and external (machine running), then everything that could be moved outside the stop was moved outside.
Because the fixture and the CAM program were designed together, neither had to compensate for the other — the usual hidden tax when tooling and programming are done by different people.
The result
- 35% more parts per shift — same machine, same operator, no capital spend.
- Changeover time cut to a fraction of the original.
- The cell has been running in serial production since 2021.
Where this applies
If a machining cell is your constraint, the answer is usually not a bigger machine. It is workholding that locates without fuss, and a CAM program written by someone who knows how the part is clamped.
I design fixtures, jigs and gauges — and program the CAM for what I design. Request a quote or see all services.