This cart, on its way to the welding area, carries all the tubes necessary to make a batch of 10 identical frames. The sheet of paper in the upper left lists specifications and part numbers for all tubes and fittings, plus the all important bar code.
The move away from milling machines is an important part of the computer-controlled manufacturing. The accuracy of a milling machine depends on the skill of the people using it, the care with which they put the tube stock in the fixtures, and wear and tear on the rotating hole saw tool. By contrast, at Cannondale the WebSpeed-based program tells the laser cutter what dimensions to cut the tube to. I watched the laser cutter make seatstay bridles in this 21st-century fashion. A workman puts a piece of tube stock in a rotating chuck, much like that on a lathe, pushes the "go" button, and watches the machine do the rest. As the tube slowly rotates, a laser beam moves back and forth to produce the fish-mouth-shaped miter. The laser beam then cuts two holes in the tube. Then it cuts the miter on the other end, and the finished piece falls into a receiving- basket. Because the end of the tube stock isn't the right shape for the next seatstay bridge, the laser cutter moves forward slightly and cuts off a single piece of scrap, leaving- behind the correct miter. It cuts the two holes and the second miter, and the second seats bridge,,e is done. 

The process is so fast and quiet that it's easy to forget what a miracle it is that a beam of light is doing the cutting. The workman hasn't moved a muscle, except to move the finished seatstay bridges to the appropriate bin on the cart. When he's finished cutting tubes for that work order, he swipes the bar code on the cart, and instantly computers throughout Cannondale's intranet know that part of the job has been completed.

Some of the more difficult tubing cuts are made on the plasma cutter. This tool is programmed to leave behind

 small tabs on the mitered ends. The tabs fit into slots cut into the tubes. The patented tab-and-slot construction, which is buried underneath a massive weld bead later that day, is key to Cannondale's manufacturing flexibility. It allows the next step - tack welding - to be vastly simpler and more versatile than in other factories.

In most factories, the mitered tubes are mounted in a massive jig that holds them in exactly the right place. A workman zaps each joint with a tack weld. Then the frame is removed from the jig and the finish welds, which go around the full circumference of each joint, are performed. But at Cannondale, the massive jig isn't part of the picture. The tab-and-slot construction allows them to use much simpler tooling, which can be changed almost instantly, for the tack welding process. (Exactly what jigging is used at this stage is another of the company's secrets, and my camera and I weren't offered a show.) 

After tack welding, an army of finish welders stand ready to perform the finish welds. These welders are an impressive bunch. the raw welds took quite good when the frames leave their work stations. As each frame is welded, a quick zap of the bar code records the progress, and the computer knows how many of the 10 frames have been welded. 

The next step is finish work. In the one part of the factory that's downright noisy, guys in moon suits with rotary files smooth out the welds. After that comes the first stage of heat treatment, final alignment. and then the second stage of heat treatment. Again, the bar code is zapped at a nearby computer (an old, nearly worthless 486 machine running Netscape), and the intranet's database is updated. 

So why not use a clipboard, pencil and checklist instead?

"This way. our main computer knows where the order is inside the factory," Miller said. "We can communicate everything we need to know about the bicycle, and how to make it, to the factory floor. We're able to be very responsive to the consumer and the dealer this way. Some of these frames @,o overseas for final sale and assembly. With this system, our people there can access this information as easily as we can." 

So can the people who order tube stock and other raw materials. So can sales, accounting and marketing executives at the corporate headquarters in Bethel, Connecticut. All this accounting and sales information is important, because the next step the frames take is to a warehouse area called "unfinished goods," where row upon row of unpainted frames await painting and final assembly.

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