An online part configurator let a manufacturer of pharmaceutical blister-package equipment specify parts and get them in as little as three days. What’s more, since Micron PharmaWorks Inc. Odessa, Florida (pharmaworks.com) has been ordering parts from Misumi USA Inc, Schaumburg, Ill. (misumiusa.com) Micron has been able to cut its turn times by up to 50%.

Micron PharmaWorks builds the TF1 blister packaging thermoformer with Misumi content that includes shaft, bearings, urethane rollers, pulleys, support sections, standoffs, locating pins, rest pads and even the levers and knobs. Configurable components cut time for the build and without loss in performance, reliability, or component finish quality.

“We bring decades of hands-on engineering talent to companies that include many packaging OEMs,” says Micron PharmaWorks VP Ben Brower. “We needed vendor relationships that would benefit us in areas such as metric standards, low quantities of specialized components, and downloadable 3D CAD files,” adds Brower.

The CAD Configurator now lets Micron PharmaWorks engineers configure a particular shaft, bearing, or support to the exact dimension required for a machine and in metric sizes. Once configured, a native CAD file is downloaded into the assembly online for specification verification. If acceptable, the part number created can be ordered in quantities as low as one and without tooling charge.

With regard to procurement, the service also let Micron PharmaWorks configured components for future use on other machine builds, gang components purchases for immediate or staged shipments, bundle orders for quantity discounting, even use the online web ordering system for paperless transactions. Standard shipment times are six days, plus options for three-day, even same-day shipment of configured components.