CNC Machining Energizes Manufacturer
Greg G. Wright 8ß Sons LLC (Cincinnati) traces its history back to its founding in 1860 as a pioneer in manufacturing engraved steel blocks, custom tags and plates, and metal stampings.
As a US manufacturer, Carl Fries, president and CEO, is a realist and a fighter, who believes that there are opportunities for the shop that employs newer technology and higher quality technology.
"I think technology will open doors that have previously been closed. The name of the game is speed-to be able to process your parts as fast as possible at the highest level of quality. If you're not doing that, it's only a matter of time before you're done," Fries says.
Today's Wright & Sons occupies 34,000 ft^sup 2^ (3179 m^sup 2^) and employs some 20 operators and tool and die craftsmen-three with more than 40 years and many others with 20-plus years on the Greg G. Wright & Sons team. When Fries took over the company, there were two divisions, which he combined.
"When I stepped in, the company was very near death, and I had to breathe new life into it. I got rid of 25 to 35 manual machines and about 30,000 Ib [13,608 kg] of scrap. It was ridiculous. There was a single small CNC router to make patterns, but not a single computer-aided machine tool in the shop. My first purchase was a CNC EDM sinker to engrave tools. At the time, engraving was our primary market. My background was CNC turning and milling, and I knew that eventually I'd move the company in that direction in a major fashion."
That is precisely what he did, investing in CNC turning and milling equipment to position the company to be competitive in an increasingly global market. He sold off manual machines, replacing them with CNC machines, many of which were used but in good shape.
Then, too, Fries realized he had to move away from Wright & Son's traditional target markets of engraving and metal stamping. To do that, he signed up with two Internet matching services to get his name and capabilities out before a broader audience and emphasize his focus on CNC turning and milling. He has mixed feelings about the Internet experience, and thinks it's still hard to replace face-to-face, palm-to-palm relationships, especially when working on large dollar and time-commitment jobs.
"For example, we've been working on a special project for CompX Fort [River Grove, IL]," Fries says. "We turn a ring on a Hardinge Quest Super Precision, roll-mark it, and then EDM a cut. The final EDM work is be done by a third party. Our customer uses a pneumatic air cylinder to spread the ring open to put a thick key on it.
"We've paid CompX Fort a visit to show them samples of the job, and they've been very pleased. This is a $50,000 contract, and they don't come around all that often to a $2-$3 million company. If this relationship blossoms, there are quite a few other parts we could be making for them. And we're working face-to-face. For me there's a certain comfort in that, as unfounded as many may think that is today," he says.
Right now, Fries says, the focus, short and long term, is getting Wright & Sons up to speed on CNC-CNC turning, CNC milling, and CNC Swiss turning. Evidence of this is a new Hardinge (Elmira, NY) Bridgeport 760XP3 VMC. "We got the 760 about four months ago when we started getting more and larger contracts for precision milling work," Fries says.
"Our existing VMC just couldn't keep pace. Granted, it's 14 years old, and technology has changed considerably in a decade and a half. But when we decided to expand our milling capacity we went with whom I knew best: Bridgeport and Hardinge. And before we really had the 760 set up and running, we ordered a second 760, which should be here anytime now."
What drove the order for the first Bridgeport 760XP^sup 3^ was the awarding of a sizeable order for precision gas flanges for commercial jet engines.
"We run these parts chucked face up in a vise, four at a time," explains Gary Foster, tool-room manager. "Cycle time is roughly 28 min. The material is 410 stainless. The tolerance on the overall height is ±0.001'' [0.25 mm] and ±0.005'' [0.13 mm] or ±0.0010± (0.13 mm) on the shoulder. The Fanuc 18i MB handles all the interpolation of the holes, the large center hole and the perimeter holes, the face milling and radii. When the top face is finished, the part is turned over and refixtured in an adjacent vise on the table, face down, where the bottom is fly-cut to assure proper part thickness."
After the parts are fly-cut, they're placed on a fixture 20 at a time for finish grinding of the backside, which brings the pan into final finish dimension. "This is the only operation that isn't done on the 760," Foster says. "In the past there were a number of secondary operations to finish this part. Now, this is the only one, this light grinding to bring the thickness into spec."
All 11 tools that are needed are in the 30-tool ATC. "Between the control and the ATC we've got a cycle time of 28 min, whereas the previous method took twice that long," Foster says. "The 290 psi [2 MPa] throughspindle coolant feature makes a real difference. We can take a flat-bottom drill at a rate of 4 ipm [106.6 mm/min] and pop the center hole through the stainless in 7 sec. Without the through-spindle coolant, we couldn't do that. It would heat up so quickly that the tool would burn into the material.
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As a US manufacturer, Carl Fries, president and CEO, is a realist and a fighter, who believes that there are opportunities for the shop that employs newer technology and higher quality technology.
"I think technology will open doors that have previously been closed. The name of the game is speed-to be able to process your parts as fast as possible at the highest level of quality. If you're not doing that, it's only a matter of time before you're done," Fries says.
Today's Wright & Sons occupies 34,000 ft^sup 2^ (3179 m^sup 2^) and employs some 20 operators and tool and die craftsmen-three with more than 40 years and many others with 20-plus years on the Greg G. Wright & Sons team. When Fries took over the company, there were two divisions, which he combined.
"When I stepped in, the company was very near death, and I had to breathe new life into it. I got rid of 25 to 35 manual machines and about 30,000 Ib [13,608 kg] of scrap. It was ridiculous. There was a single small CNC router to make patterns, but not a single computer-aided machine tool in the shop. My first purchase was a CNC EDM sinker to engrave tools. At the time, engraving was our primary market. My background was CNC turning and milling, and I knew that eventually I'd move the company in that direction in a major fashion."
That is precisely what he did, investing in CNC turning and milling equipment to position the company to be competitive in an increasingly global market. He sold off manual machines, replacing them with CNC machines, many of which were used but in good shape.
Then, too, Fries realized he had to move away from Wright & Son's traditional target markets of engraving and metal stamping. To do that, he signed up with two Internet matching services to get his name and capabilities out before a broader audience and emphasize his focus on CNC turning and milling. He has mixed feelings about the Internet experience, and thinks it's still hard to replace face-to-face, palm-to-palm relationships, especially when working on large dollar and time-commitment jobs.
"For example, we've been working on a special project for CompX Fort [River Grove, IL]," Fries says. "We turn a ring on a Hardinge Quest Super Precision, roll-mark it, and then EDM a cut. The final EDM work is be done by a third party. Our customer uses a pneumatic air cylinder to spread the ring open to put a thick key on it.
"We've paid CompX Fort a visit to show them samples of the job, and they've been very pleased. This is a $50,000 contract, and they don't come around all that often to a $2-$3 million company. If this relationship blossoms, there are quite a few other parts we could be making for them. And we're working face-to-face. For me there's a certain comfort in that, as unfounded as many may think that is today," he says.
Right now, Fries says, the focus, short and long term, is getting Wright & Sons up to speed on CNC-CNC turning, CNC milling, and CNC Swiss turning. Evidence of this is a new Hardinge (Elmira, NY) Bridgeport 760XP3 VMC. "We got the 760 about four months ago when we started getting more and larger contracts for precision milling work," Fries says.
"Our existing VMC just couldn't keep pace. Granted, it's 14 years old, and technology has changed considerably in a decade and a half. But when we decided to expand our milling capacity we went with whom I knew best: Bridgeport and Hardinge. And before we really had the 760 set up and running, we ordered a second 760, which should be here anytime now."
What drove the order for the first Bridgeport 760XP^sup 3^ was the awarding of a sizeable order for precision gas flanges for commercial jet engines.
"We run these parts chucked face up in a vise, four at a time," explains Gary Foster, tool-room manager. "Cycle time is roughly 28 min. The material is 410 stainless. The tolerance on the overall height is ±0.001'' [0.25 mm] and ±0.005'' [0.13 mm] or ±0.0010± (0.13 mm) on the shoulder. The Fanuc 18i MB handles all the interpolation of the holes, the large center hole and the perimeter holes, the face milling and radii. When the top face is finished, the part is turned over and refixtured in an adjacent vise on the table, face down, where the bottom is fly-cut to assure proper part thickness."
After the parts are fly-cut, they're placed on a fixture 20 at a time for finish grinding of the backside, which brings the pan into final finish dimension. "This is the only operation that isn't done on the 760," Foster says. "In the past there were a number of secondary operations to finish this part. Now, this is the only one, this light grinding to bring the thickness into spec."
All 11 tools that are needed are in the 30-tool ATC. "Between the control and the ATC we've got a cycle time of 28 min, whereas the previous method took twice that long," Foster says. "The 290 psi [2 MPa] throughspindle coolant feature makes a real difference. We can take a flat-bottom drill at a rate of 4 ipm [106.6 mm/min] and pop the center hole through the stainless in 7 sec. Without the through-spindle coolant, we couldn't do that. It would heat up so quickly that the tool would burn into the material.
http://findarticles.com
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