There are multiple situations that may indicate a shop should consider to upgrade your beveling machine in order to stay current and match production to demand. It’s understood that a new company that intends to conduct metal work and specifically work with pipe has to buy beveling machines to perform a specific operation. Existing companies have such machinery. However, as technology reaches higher levels the machinery in individual shops and factories needs to also upgrade in order to stay current.
There are a number of factors to consider about your current system and how it can be improved to accommodate your growing business. If your business seems to have areas in which it can improve, you may need to consider the equipment you’re using. Beveling machines, in particular, have made technological advances over recent years and if you’re using older technology you may want to consider how a newer beveling machine may open a bottleneck in your production process.
Capability: Volume
A machine that produces bevels on pipes may seem like a simple concept. Once piping is cut to length, a machine then provides a bevel that helps in assembly for the final project. That’s a simple philosophy that doesn’t consider the power used or the speed at which the machine can function. Newer machines incorporate the latest motor technology to produce the same results, but faster. There is more going on than just the motor speed that drives the cutting edge, but also the efficiency of how the cutting edge performs based on both its design and the materials from which it is built.
If your current beveling system is not keeping up with the rest of production, there are two ways to deal with the issue, and often both ways can work in tandem with each other. You can replace your current machine with a newer one that works faster, or you can augment your current system. If you’re happy with your current beveling tool other than it just isn’t keeping up with production you can put another of the same machine on your line to double the rate of production. Another option is to incorporate a machine that functions differently and determine which pieces would be best served at either station to produce a more efficient workflow.
Capability: Versatility
Your shop is bound to run more efficiently if one machine can conduct multiple tasks instead of having to move each project piece for every function that has to be performed on it. The tools you use to conduct each task need to reflect the task at hand. Portable beveling tools can run on electric or pneumatic power according to which is more convenient at your job site. Stationary beveling tools can run more powerfully and efficiently in your shop. Multiple tools can accommodate workers working on individual projects and provide an efficient process to your shop that isn’t reliant on waiting to get the job finished. Ultimately, the layout of your shop is up to you, but you don’t want the process of production to be held up while employees wait on each other to finish using the tool they need before the next step in the process.
Maintenance
It’s expected that tools and machinery are going to require regular maintenance and occasional repairs. That’s simply the “devil and the details” of running industrial equipment. Having to conduct daily maintenance and repairs in order to keep the equipment running is a different story. There comes a time when it is going to be less expensive to buy a new machine that works reliably than to shut down production while repairs are made.
If you find production slowing down while waiting on machinery repairs on a regular basis, it may be time to consider the idea of buying a new beveling machine. You can still repair the old one and rest assured you have a backup system should the workflow overwhelm you and a job assignment needs to run double pace, but you can also feel comfortable the new machine is going to accommodate the bulk of your needs without having to run the backup system on a daily basis.
Safety
No matter how young or old you may be, safety measures for industrial equipment have improved since the time when you first started the job. Some equipment may be safe for experienced long-time users who understand which aspects are dangerous, but new employees may need specific training to understand how to safely operate the equipment. Safety features are no laughing matter and should never be overlooked. In the United States, OSHA has specific regulations concerning safety features on machinery. Globally, it’s an ethical issue to assure the safety of your employees. If your beveling machine does not meet current safety standards, it might be time to consider an upgrade.
Dependability
The dependability of your beveling machine may sound similar but is a different topic than having to conduct routine maintenance on the equipment. One part of dependability relies on the machine functioning properly each time you turn it on. The other aspect of dependability is the machine can maintain the level of performance required by modern standards of pipe beveling. New engineering designs tend to be modular, but also require far more precise measurements than previously used as part of the overall engineering plan.
Whether you’re using the tool in a factory or on a job site, if you can’t keep up to modern standards of precision you’re a step behind the competition. If the beveling machine you’ve been using for years has a hard time maintaining the precision of modern design, you are going to want to look into an upgrade.
Conclusion
Ultimately, you know how to bevel a pipe and have the tools to do it. Your competitors are also capable of beveling pipe and are trying to keep abreast of the market. In order to remain relevant, you need to upgrade your tools on occasion in order to work within both time frames and specifications for the project at hand. You’ve already hired great employees to help accomplish that goal, you need to also consider hiring great machinery so they can fulfill their true capability and make your business as valuable as you know it to be.