February 2008 Edition

CNC

Taking Leads from Customers' Needs

With a "grow as they grow" philosophy, a Michigan shop added three machines to meet a new customer's business

Controlled Turning, Inc., was in the enviable position of increasing its business by almost 50 percent with the addition of one customer, an opportunity too good to turn down. The drawback was that the Jackson, MI, shop didn't have the equipment to handle the work. To fit the potential customer's need, CTI invested in three new machines.

CTI manufactures auto industry tooling, hydraulic and pneumatic components, as well as medical and dental components. Materials machined include ferrous and non-ferrous material, mild steel, medium alloys, stainless and tool steels, brass, aluminum, and plastic.

The 26-employee company occupies 8,000 ft², and operates CNC turning and milling equipment, mostly for short run jobs. Last year, for example, about 40,000 different types of parts went through the shop.

"We like to grow in step with our customers' needs," Jerry Broughman, president and CEO of CTI, said. "We're not the kind of operation that throws money at things and hopes something works. We take our lead from our customers."

CTI does, however, like to keep its technological capability current; the company looks at new equipment, both as additions and replacements, and it replaces controls regularly.

"When we pick up a new customer, we grow to fill its needs," Broughman said. "Our business expanded last year by about 40 percent; it was one of our biggest years for growth, but the growth was one customer.

"We had to decide whether to invest in technology to meet the demand. What if the surge was short-lived? What if it was a one-time shot that would ebb away after a few months? In the end, we decided to commit to the customer. We just couldn't turn the work down even though we were hard-pressed to put in any more hours," he said.

New Machine Acquisitions

With the surge in production due to the new customer, CTI needed new machines to meet production demands.

"We'd had a relationship with Methods and Equipment, Livonia, MI, going back to 1985," Broughman said. "We always called them in when we needed something new. When they began representing GBI Cincinnati, Inc., Cincinnati, we were introduced to the Feeler machine line. Since we needed additional capacity in turning and milling, our Methods rep suggested we try the Feelers. We did, and they've been performing since then."

The Feeler purchase included two Feeler FTC-20 turning centers, one of which replaced an older machine, and a Feeler FV-760 vertical machining center. The three Feelers were added to CTI's 15-CNC machine inventory.

The Feeler FV-760 is a 40 taper, 10 hp, 8,000 rpm VMC with 30"×16.5"×20" travel and linear guideways. Table size is 35"×16.5" with a 660 lb load capacity. Rapids are 944 ipm, positioning accuracy of ±0.0004", and repeatability of ±0.0002". The 18-tool carousel has a tool-to-tool change of seven seconds.

The two FTC-20 CNC turning centers have an 8" chuck diameter, 20 hp, 4,500 rpm with a spindle bore of 2.44", and a bar capacity of 2.04". Travels are 7.9" and 14.96", with rapids of 944 ipm, and repeatability of ±0.00012" and ±0.0002". The FTC-20s feature linear guideways and a maximum swing over bed of 22". Maximum turning diameter is 13.8" and turning length is 13.5". The eight-tool, 12-optional turret has bi-directional rotation with a 0.3 sec index time, it also has MT4 tailstock.

" . . . we've netted more than $21,000 in comparison with other machines . . . "

Since they hit the floor, the Feelers have been running 20 hours a day. The company runs two ten-hour shifts week days, and two six-hour shifts on Saturday.

"When we went to 20 hours a day, we added the one FTC-20 as a replacement and expanded our capability with the other two Feelers to address our new work needs. They let us maintain production at a higher level than we were accustomed." Broughman said the expansion was anything but comfortable.

"We hadn't run at such a pace before. Now operations are quite different," he said. "We stepped up to a faster pace and everyone runs full-tilt. I have to credit my crew. They get the job done every time. Give them the right technology, there's nothing that they can't do.

"For example, since the arrival of the last two Feelers, we've netted more than $21,000 in comparison with other machines we were quoted with the same capabilities."

The Risk Pays Off

"These machines do exactly what we ask of them. We've made the right investment and, more importantly, the guys in the shop are happy," Broughman said. "The operators and setup guys find the Feelers easy to work in and around. Lots of access and design simplicity make for very fast changeovers."

CTI runs parts from 0.0125" to 15" in diameter on the CNC FTC-20s and anything up to an 16" cube on the CNC FV-760.

"We're holding 0.0004" on turned parts," he said, "and our hole patterns on the mill have been within a 0.0001", point-to-point, at all times. Surface finishes are also very good. When we hold close tolerances, we know our surface finishes are going to be fine as well."

The machines are used to create one-off parts to runs of 5,500 pieces.

"We had a 14,000 piece part run, a simple screw, but we also run parts that require three turning operations followed by four milling operations. Some of the jobs are complicated; some are simple."

The Feelers have a small footprint, a benefit for CTI, since floor space is limited. However, Broughman said he hopes that will change.

"Our plans are to expand by 3,000 ft², providing the growth is still there," he said. Feeler

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