Production Fabrication Manager

Fabrication Manager Production | Rubber Roll Manufacturing

A Fabrication Manager in rubber-roll manufacturing is responsible for managing the complete mechanical production of roll cores/shafts and ensuring that fabricated rolls meet dimensional, welding, machining, balancing, and quality requirements before rubber covering and final finishing.

1. Core/shaft fabrication

Typical responsibilities include managing:

• Raw-material inspection and identification
• Shaft and tube cutting
• Plate/flange fabrication
• Hub and journal fabrication
• Welding of shafts, tubes, discs, and other components
• Fit-up and alignment
• Stress relieving, where required
• Rough machining and turning
• Keyway, threading, drilling, and tapping operations
• Assembly of roll components
• Dynamic/static balancing
• Final machining and dimensional inspection

2. Rubber-roll manufacturing process coordination

A typical process flow can be:

Customer Drawing Material Procurement Cutting Fabrication/Welding Stress Relief Rough Machining NDT/Inspection Rubber Bonding/Preparation Rubber Covering Vulcanization Grinding Dynamic Balancing Final Inspection Packing/Dispatch

The Fabrication Manager coordinates with Engineering, Production Planning, Rubber Processing, Machining, Quality, Maintenance, and Stores to ensure smooth movement through these stages.

3. Critical technical controls

For rubber rolls, particular attention should be given to:

• Roll diameter and face length
• Shaft/journal dimensions
• Concentricity and runout
• Parallelism
• Straightness of the roll
• Welding quality and distortion
• Shaft-to-shell alignment
• Surface roughness
• Dynamic/static balancing
• Rubber-cover thickness allowance
• Final rubber-roll diameter and tolerance
• Bearing-seat dimensions
• Keyway and coupling dimensions

4. Production management

As Fabrication Manager, you would typically be responsible for:

• Preparing daily/weekly production plans.
• Allocating jobs to fabrication and machining resources.
• Managing welders, fitters, fabricators, machinists, and operators.
• Monitoring production time vs. standard time.
• Reducing fabrication and machining cycle time.
• Controlling scrap, rework, and material wastage.
• Improving machine utilization.
• Monitoring bottlenecks and production delays.
• Ensuring jobs are completed according to customer delivery dates.
• Implementing 5S, Kaizen, Lean Manufacturing, and continuous improvement.

Key quality issues in rubber-roll manufacturing

Some common problems that require close production control are:

ProblemPossible causeRoll runoutImproper alignment, welding distortion, machining errorShaft bendingWelding heat, inadequate stress relief, improper handlingRubber thickness variationIncorrect core geometry or grindingPoor rubber bondingImproper surface preparation or bonding processUnbalanced rollIncorrect machining, uneven rubber covering, dimensional variationExcessive vibrationDynamic imbalance, runout, bearing/journal issuesIncorrect final diameterGrinding/process-control errorWelding cracks/porosityIncorrect welding parameters or poor material preparation

Important KPIs for the Manager

On-Time Delivery | Production Output | Machine Utilization | Labour Productivity | Welding Rejection | Rework % | Scrap % | Roll Runout | Balance Accuracy | Grinding Yield | Cycle Time | Customer Complaints | Safety

A strong Fabrication Manager – Rubber Rolls therefore neRole & responsibilities

Preferred candidate profile