Jun 12, 2015 -- SMIRTware participated to the annual Ford stamping suppliers’ conference in China, in which Ford presented the great results achieved with SMIRT software and recommended this to their suppliers.
Ford Motor Company, one of the largest global car manufacturers, has developed a network of tool and die suppliers in China and the Far East. For this reason, Ford has established the Ford China Tooling Office, which is coordinating the activities with suppliers in that region.
On April 16 and 17, 2015, the annual meeting arranged by Ford’s China Tooling Office with its suppliers of stamping dies from China, Taiwan and Korea was held in Shanghai.
The Ford global tool and die plants have been using SMIRT software for over ten years and has gained great efficiency in the die manufacturing/construction process.
Mr. Terry Henning, director of the Dearborn Tool and Die (DTD) plant of Ford made a presentation of the machine intensive manufacturing process refined at their plant and described the results achieved in the last few years:
- Time from castings in house to first panel to gage reduced to just 8 weeks from 26;
- Labor reduced by 50%
- Consistent high quality from both in-house and outsourced machining and construction activities due to the well defined best in practice step by step manufacturing process.
Mr. Henning explained how SMIRT software is a key tool that helped Dearborn Tool and Die attain the results described: the detailed manufacturing plan created by the Construction Planning Analysis team using SMIRT DieBuild. This plan is available to all shop floor operators and suppliers as the road-map for their activities. The workflow is well described and controlled helping the operators perform their work directly accessing the visualization and CNC functions of SMIRT. The progress is also tracked within SMIRT in an effortless manner, and all the technical and timing information is included in a single file.
Mr. Henning declared that Ford wants suppliers to achieve the same efficiency and timing, and recommended SMIRT as a tool to achieve it and remain aligned to Ford’s data and process.
SMIRTware, Inc. representatives participated in the meeting upon of the invitation from Ford to provide suppliers with detailed information about SMIRT software and to support the business goals of Ford.
About SMIRTware, Inc.
SMIRT is a solution of Vero Software designed to support the manufacturing process of stamping dies and molds. SMIRT is made by 3D based modules for visualization, machining, cost estimation, planning and scheduling with a user interface which is friendly for shop-floor environment. All the modules are perfectly integrated together to provide customers with a system capable to improve their efficiency and throughput. SMIRT customers in America, Europe, Asia and Africa span from large automotive OEMS to tooling suppliers.