What would you do?

[Inferno]

This is the closest I could find to a sub forum that I could tell. If it's the wrong place, please move it.

I pride myself on being a "solutions" guy. When there's a problem, I like to find solutions.

Where I work we have a machine that broke down. It outputs $4000 per day and it, technically, made in Italy. Of course all the parts come from other places.
At any rate, this breakdown was a poor design. A high torque stepper had a smooth shaft and a compression flex coupler. Naturally the flex coupler spun on the shaft of the stepper motor and, well, fubar.

The specific replacement stepper motor, as specified by the manufacturer of the machine, has to come from their floor in Italy. The US Rep doesn't have a replacement in stock. Naturally.

It's holiday season. Imports are being scrutinized more and we are told that this part has to come through customs before it can get in our hands. I expect two weeks.

I'll say the important part. I'm just the department production manager. This is one of the production machines I'm responsible for. It's putting my department in a bind.

Because I'm a "solutions" person, I started looking for alternatives.
I found a flex coupler identical to the one on the machine. $20 on Ebay.
I found a stepper with identical specs online, in the USA, $60 (+$28 shipping) to arrive in 4 days.
The only difference in specs is that this motor has a keyed shaft.

The part form Italy will be $1500 minimum. It should be noted, also, that the Italy replacement part will still have the smooth shaft and the clamp coupler.
The Person ordering this is the Maintenance manager who has absolutely forbidden me from repairing any machine even though I was considered for his department as a maintenance tech (He couldn't afford to pay me what I deserved so I didn't take the job).

If you owned the company, what option would you choose:

A) Just wait for the part from Italy to arrive and accept the downtime
B) Get the USA parts and install them while waiting for the Italy parts to arrive then reinstall the Italy parts replacing the USA parts
C) Get the USA parts, and if they work, buy a second set as a backup for the future
D) Get the USA parts and if they work, call it good

Keep in mind that any option, other than option A will **** off the Maintenance manager.

 

[mmcmdl]

An easy fix for a machinist to keep it going temporarily ! You have any onsite ?

 

[mmcmdl]

I found a stepper with identical specs online, in the USA, $60 (+$28 shipping) to arrive in 4 days.
The only difference in specs is that this motor has a keyed shaft.

Seems like the way I would go . In the meantime , have someone put a band aid on it to keep it going until the parts arrive .

 

[Inferno]

An easy fix for a machinist to keep it going temporarily ! You have any onsite ?

I already told the owner that I could service the current motor and have it ready the next day. The flex coupler is a sticker though, but not a deal breaker.
The maintenance tech tried to clean up the bore by chasing it with a slightly larger drill bit on a drill press. We don't have a lathe at the shop.
If he'd handed it to me, I could have driven home real quick, chucked it up in the lathe and dressed the bore properly. But, well, his favorite tool is the one closest to him. Not always the right one.

Either way, the motor we're removing will come home with me. It will have the shaft properly dressed. I will either add a keyway or at least a flat, and then make a shim to get the shaft back up to size for the coupler. The coupler is sort of important as the other end is in a transmission so it has to mate or we have to disassemble the transmission. That one isn't easy as it's a press fit doodad.

It doesn't matter if I ruin the stepper while trying to dress the shaft. Our maintenance manager is a parts replacer. When a part comes off a machine it goes in the garbage whether or not that part was the problem.

 

[matthewsx]

Is your boss and the maintenance manager boss the same person?

If yes then ask them. If no then ask your boss.

Oh sorry, you asked what I’d do if I owned the company. In that case I’d tell all of you to get off your a$$es and fix the darn problem.

Theres nothing special about Italy….

John

 

[mmcmdl]

This is what I do for my living . I could be the department head or the maintenance supervisor if I chose to be . These 2 positions will never agree on anything , hence I stay a maintenance machinist and do what I do without the permission of either . Fix the damn thing and get it going temporarily . If it's a weak assembly , improve it . Make it better and stronger . Should be a keyed coupling number one, not that they don't fail , but the Lovejoy spiders will let you know before a castastrophy is about to happen .

 

[Inferno]

Is your boss and the maintenance manager boss the same person?

If yes then ask them. If no then ask your boss.

Oh sorry, you asked what I’d do if I owned the company. In that case I’d tell all of you to get off your a$$es and fix the darn problem.

Theres nothing special about Italy….

John

We have the same boss. We answer to the owner(s) of the company only. Technically we are on the same level in the hierarchy but the MM has 20 years seniority.
I'm with you, though. I'd say "We need this back online asap". And then I'd tell the managers to work together for a solution. Unfortunately the MM isn't a team player like that.

 

[davidpbest]

I’d pick “C” from your list.

 

[Inferno]

This is what I do for my living . I could be the department head or the maintenance supervisor if I chose to be . These 2 positions will never agree on anything , hence I stay a maintenance machinist and do what I do without the permission of either . Fix the damn thing and get it going temporarily . If it's a weak assembly , improve it . Make it better and stronger . Should be a keyed coupling number one, not that they don't fail , but the Lovejoy spiders will let you know before a castastrophy is about to happen .

I'm like you.
I worked in print shops most of my life. Whenever something broke down, I'd try to find a way to fix something, even temporarily, until a tech or proper part could be obtained.
The last place I worked at had their only printing press go down. They had 3 different techs working on the machine and they kept trying to band-aid the thing. I pointed out the initial symptom to each one of them and all of them shunned me.
(The symptom was the oil in the circulation was milky, so water infused and kept causing electrical shorts).
The techs couldn't figure out why the electrical system seemed to be in cascade failure. They had an electrician look at it and replace stuff. They had a general press repair person come out, and he replaced a bunch of stuff. They had a machine specific tech come out and he replaced a bunch of stuff.

I went to the hardware store and bought a pipe plug for $4. I brought it in and showed the owner where the actual problem was. It was a blown seal in a water cooled roller and it was, literally, dumping gallons of water in the oil.
He let me plug things off and then we had to source some oil on Thanksgiving weekend. We needed 60 gallons minimum. He already blew out the entire available supply with the first three techs.
He couldn't find more.
I went to my favorite hardware store and they had 90 gallons there.

I saved the guy another week of downtime, another tech call and the press was still running with no extra repairs when I left 4 months later.

Funny thing. That guy was an Arsewhole to begin with but he and his older son (Production manager wannabe) never even thanked me. It wasn't even my job to be anywhere near that machine and I saved them tens of thousands of dollars. His younger son, however, thought I was a god and told me how much I just saved the company from losing their #1 account (80% of the business in that basket) and potentially keeping the company from going completely under.

Some people are too arrogant to accept that anyone could have a better solution to a problem they are responsible for solving.

 

[mmcmdl]

Once again I have to ask . Is anyone onsite able to fix this ? Does your maintenance department have qualified people to do this type of repair ? This would be my question to the owner . $4000 output doesn't seem like a high production machine in terms of manufacturing these days , but it is what you have . Working on lines that produce $975,000 per day , you have my answer .