March 2008 Edition
VERTICAL MACHINING CENTERS
The Name of the Game is Change
When Tier 1 aerospace customers change the rules, a shop evolves to meet the demands
Being a contract machining supplier in the aerospace industry
is like playing a game of survival of the fittest. If a shop is not evolving
with the big guys, it is in danger of falling out of existence.
Hansen Engineering Company, Harbor City, CA, keeps up with
the big dogs, although it struggled at times.
"We've been on a roller coaster ride, like a lot of
companies," Jody Lay, Hansen CEO and president, said. "Our sales peaked at
nearly $22 million, but in 2004 I wasn't sure we would make it. Today, we're
doing great. At present we have 54 employees working in a 39,000 ft2
facility, producing medium-sized aluminum and titanium parts for Tier 1
subcontractors for the most part. We've survived the worst of the aerospace
evolution, and now we're looking forward to significant growth."
Lay said he remembers survival in the aerospace industry
being easier in his 30-year career.
"In the good old days materials were more readily available,"
he said. But, that changed with competition.
"Where once Boeing and other American companies had virtual
monopolies in the industry, there are Airbus and other European competitors
now," Lay said. "Boeing and the others have evolved to deal with the
competition. They've tightened the rules, and passed them to their first and
second tier suppliers."
Lay feels that their message is plain: Change with us or
you're out.
"We've changed," he said, "and we're in."
The Right Equipment
The company evolved to meet industry demands by having the
equipment needed to meet those demand. With the help of machine tools from Mazak
Corp., Florence, KY, Hansen could provide bigger, more complex monolithic parts
with higher precision, smoother finishes, faster deliveries, and reduced prices.
By following the new rules of the aerospace industry, Hansen stayed in the game.
Hansen had been a Mazak shop since Lay
inherited a shop with Mazak 3-axis VMCs. In those days,
Hansen had a one-man, one-machine approach.
"That was the nature of machining then," Lay said. "But, with
the increased demand for higher productivity and lower prices, I knew the
company needed more advanced technology to survive."
"About six years ago I bought a Mazak dual-pallet Vortex 815
5-axis vertical-machining center. I so liked that machine that I bought a Vortex
1400."
Both machines are 50 hp, 10,000 rpm machines. The 815 has
120"×31"×24" X, Y, and Z travel. The 1400 has 165"×55"×24" travel. Pallets are
60"×160" on the 1400 and both machines have 60-tool magazines.
Cycle time has been cut in half using the Vortex machines; a job that took 10 or 12 hours before, now only takes five or six hours
"We're still operating these machines with the one-man,
one-machine approach, but it's amazing what those machines can do," Lay said.
Hansen uses the Mazak Vortex machines to produce large
aluminum and titanium aircraft parts such as struts, bulkheads, and structural
members.
"I love the twin-pallet machines," Lay said. "Our
productivity has just about doubled on every job we put on them. For instance,
instead of running one part in an hour, it can run in half an hour or 40
minutes. A job that took 10 or 12 hours, now takes only five or six, and that's
just cycle time."
"Setups are faster, too," he said. "If a part took an hour to
run on a non-palletized machine, we'd be lucky to run five parts in 10 hours,
because of all the setup time. We got 50 percent run-time efficiency. With the
palletized machines, though, while one pallet is running, the operator is
loading the other one. That way we get a lot more spindle running time with an
efficiency of 75 percent or more."
Hansen runs two 12-hour shifts and produces a lot of parts on
the Vortex machines.
New Project, New Machine
Hansen recently received a contract to produce a batch of
large titanium parts, including bulkheads for Boeing's newest aircraft, the 787
Dreamliner.
"We start with 300 pounds of titanium and cut them down to
70-pound monolithic structures," he said. "This project requires we take a
different approach, because machining titanium is slower than aluminum."
So far, Hansen can't use its Vortex machines to run
lights-out.
"Our cycle times are too short," he said. "But titanium takes
longer to run, so we've bought a Mazak Integrex 1060 V8-II e-machine with a
120-tool magazine and 12 pallets. It gives us new capabilities, plus the ability
to run lights-out."
"The e-machine wasn't cheap," he said,
"but that's because it's almost a complete manufacturing
system all in one package. With the Integrex 1060 I'm
getting a combination of information and manufacturing
technology that's mind boggling. It's an advanced
multi-tasking machine that lets us produce complete products
in one setup, including turning, milling, boring, and
drilling. It gives us a big jump on the competition."
Wait and Hurry Up
Currently, Lay said, aerospace industry
delivery schedules are dictated by the availability of
materials.
"Lead time for titanium is 100 weeks if
bought in-contract," he said. "We paid more than half a
million dollars for titanium out of contract, which would
have cost $140,000 in contract. But, our customer needed the
parts and was willing to pay, so we bought the material and
made the parts."
With such long material lead times, the
ability to produce parts fast is critical.
"It's a matter of waiting for material,
then hurrying up to produce the parts," Lay said. "That's
why I'm happy that we've concentrated on having the most
advanced technology available."
There's proof that he's doing things
right.
"We've evolved with the industry, and
we've not only survived, but prospered. We're winning. We
were named a silver supplier to a Boeing company," he said.
"That means we had a quality acceptance rating of 99.8
percent. That's what our Mazaks do for us. I love it."
Mazak Corp.
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