GlossaryKind of term: Manufacturing termSetup
What is a setup?
A setup is one clamping of the workpiece in a known position, in which a series of operations runs without releasing the part.
Strictly, a setup is the clamped state: the part sits in its workholding, and the work origin captures where it lies relative to the machine. Whatever is machined in that state belongs to the same setup. Releasing and reclamping starts a new setup, even in the same vice. In English the word also covers the preparation work; this glossary calls that setup time.
What decides how many setups a part needs?
How many setups a part needs does not follow from its shape alone. It depends on the workholding and the faces you can clamp on, the machine's kinematics, access to each feature, tool length and stiffness, the stiffness of the part, the sequence from roughing to finishing and the tolerances between features. A 5-axis machine reaches more sides in one setup and so changes the strategy, but the clamped face stays out of reach: that needs a second setup, a clamping margin that is removed later, or different workholding. On a lathe with a sub-spindle, the sub-spindle takes the part over for the back face. Whether you count that transfer as a separate setup is a convention of your estimate.
How does a setup work in practice?
A new setup usually needs preparation: workholding in place, part aligned, origin set and often a first measurement. On a one-off that can take longer than the machining. Reclamping can also introduce a position error between features made in different setups. Features with a tight location or orientation tolerance between them are therefore kept in one setup where possible, or the datum is picked up again by probing after the reclamp. For the same part two strategies are often defensible, for example two setups on a 3-axis machine or one on a 5-axis with a clamping margin. Which is cheaper depends on quantity, hourly rates, programming time and the workholding already on the shelf.
What is a setup often confused with?
A setup is not setup time: the setup is the state the part is held in, setup time is the time it takes to get that state ready. Workholding is the device, such as a vice, chuck or fixture; a setup is one use of it in one orientation. And an operation is what happens within a setup; one setup usually holds several operations.
How do you see a setup in Blake?
In Blake you enter the setups per route yourself and accept or undo them. Setup is its own line in the estimate beside material, machining and programming, per piece and per batch, and carries through to the quantity breaks. The result is labelled as an estimate. More on the factory.
Frequently asked questions
How many setups does a part need?
That follows from the workholding, the machine, access to the features, the tooling, stiffness and the tolerances between features. A 5-axis machine often lowers the count, but the clamped face usually still needs a second setup or a clamping margin.
Does a 5-axis machine remove reclamping?
Not entirely. It reaches more sides in one setup, but the face the part is clamped on stays out of reach. That needs a second setup, a clamping margin you machine off later, or dedicated workholding.
What does a second setup cost on top?
That is not fixed. A second setup adds setup time and can introduce a position error between features. What it costs per piece depends on quantity, the hourly rate, any workholding needed and how your estimate spreads setup time.