Can we talk about the time a bad setup cost us a $15,000 part

Last week at the shop in Toledo, a guy on the second shift ran a big aluminum housing without checking his tool offsets first. He was in a rush and just loaded the program from three years ago, assuming it was fine. The tool crashed, gouged the part, and we had to scrap the whole thing. How do you guys make sure your setup routine is solid every single time, no matter how simple the job seems?

3 comments

3 Comments

michaelrodriguez2mo agoTop Commenter

Ever seen a guy skip the indicator and just eyeball a vise? Watched a brand new endmill explode on a simple facing cut because the work offset was way off.

angela_knight2mo ago

My old boss did that once.

grayt461mo ago

Holy crap, eyeballing a vise? That's like walking a tightrope without a net. I've seen guys get away with it on a roughing pass on aluminum, but a brand new endmill on a facing cut? That's just asking for a 200 dollar firework display. You could practically hear the carbide screaming before it let go. Man, I bet the crash sound echoed through the whole shop.