How LeClaire increased Machine Utilization and Profits with Caddis

Challenges of a Large Operation and a Heavy Industrial Environment

LeClaire Manufacturing, a major North American aluminum casting supplier, faced low machine utilization rates in its CNC machining departments. The company was unaware of the extent of this underutilization due to the large scale of its operations and the focus on meeting production demands and customer satisfaction. The diverse range of machines used in the horizontal and vertical machining departments posed an additional challenge, as a machine monitoring solution was needed that could integrate with various brands, including Doosan, Haas, Makino, and Okuma.

Implementation of Caddis Systems

LeClaire chose Caddis Systems as their machine monitoring solution. Caddis provided durable, sealed hardware that could be seamlessly integrated onto any machine to capture runtime data and trigger alarms for excessive downtime. The devices offered Wi-Fi, Cellular, and Ethernet connectivity, and LeClaire opted for a combination of wired and stack light connections. The accompanying software dashboard presented the collected data in a user-friendly format, allowing operators and managers to analyze and interpret the information.

Results and Impact on the Business

Over three years, LeClaire saw significant improvements in machine utilization rates and production hours. In the Vertical Machining Department, utilization increased from 10% in 2021 to 48% in 2023, resulting in an additional 17,011 production hours and $2,551,650 in production value. The Horizontal Machining Department experienced a similar increase, with utilization rising from 33% in 2021 to 52% in 2023, leading to an extra 21,243 production hours and $3,186,450 in production value. Overall, LeClaire gained 38,254 production hours and $5,738,100 in production value due to the Caddis implementation.