"carl mciver" wrote in message
nk.net...
"Chris" wrote in message
...
|
| Took me a little bit to understand what this was.
|
| http://www.snaponspecialproducts.com/toolcontrol.html
|
| Sure did help. I would be the coolest. Never will happen. Although it
is
| cool as heck, and I am sure it is a significant cost saver.

My area did a half assed implementation and I told them when it started
that if they didn't do it right it would all fall apart is six months. It
didn't even last that long. Good thing I never brought my rollaway home!
Snap On has the implementation process all mapped out and if followed it
works. I lectured the powers that be about the old saying that if you
fail
to plan, you plan to fail.

| Saw another article that mentioned safety as a benefit as well. Story
was
a
| screwdriver left near a cable in an elevator. Would not of happened
with
| something like Snap Cal.

Well, it would be far less likely, I will say that much. Military
aviation has been practicing tool control for a very, very long time, and
still **** happens. If they do happen to find a tool somewhere it doesn't
belong (the stories can be a whole newsgroup in their own right!) they at
least will be able to track where it came from, when it was noted missing,
and who used it. Further investigation will come up with all kinds of
stuff. Most industries aren't looking to point fingers nowadays unless
you
tried to pull a fast one, which is very, very bad. They want to know what
they can do to keep it from happening again, which when the lawyers get to
it, that's all that matters.

| Ever seen emachineshop.com? Imagine Snap On could come up with
something
| like that, geared toward homeowners or small shop owners. I would be
first
| in line.
|
| Chris

Well, let me ask a few questions. First off, how many folks can afford
this stuff for their home? Small shops might benefit, but I don't know
the
cost. Would it be easier for the shop to make their own, since they are
just doing one offs, and likely not a bunch of them?
I did it this way for awhile: With about three hours worth of work and
some assorted kinds of razor blades (you can also get electric foam
cutters
for the job) I can fill up a 12"*18"*2.5" foam pallet with lots and lots
of
very small tools and a few bigger ones. The foam can be had from a few
different places, but the trick is that it has to be able to stand up to
hydraulic fluid and abuse. I glue layers of foam together to more easily
make the cutouts, and the top layer is a different color than the lower
layers, so you can see that's you're missing something. Toolfoam.com
sells
foam, but it isn't cheap. I'm sure there are places that sell the exact
same stuff for less. They give you a good idea of what can be done,
though.
The samples they sent were way cool, but I improved on their instructions
greatly when my shop bought a couple rolls to try out.
What gives Snap On the edge is that they have damn near every tool from
just about every vendor in their system, and can cut foam to fit
perfectly,
with the minimum of hassle. Others charge you more, make you provide your
valuable tools for templating, and make you wait awhile.

Well we are talking foam are we not? How expensive can that be? If it was
modeled after emachineshop.com customers would do the leg work. Snap on
would proof it then send the foam to the waterjet (I assume that is what
they are using to cut it).

Although I think we are seeing a small market with very little competition.
You mentioned the cost of the foam at Toolfoam.com. I am sure that it is
high, but again we are talking foam here. It does seem like they are geared
towards large manufactures and the military. Tough markets to get into,
thus the cost as well.

Come to think about it, should I be talking about this out loud, or should I
be selling my idea to emachineshop.com? To be honest all they would need in
their program is a diagram of all the tools. Probably the most valuable
part of the whole process.

Again Snap On already has the investment done with the tools database. Put
something like emachineshop and the database together and think about it.

Dare I ask how much the foam costs?

Another question. Can you add tools with the Foamtools system? Or does
laminating it end the process? Static cling (if possible) would be a cool
way to add tools.

Chris