volume 15 issue 48

CONTENTS
VOLUME 15 ISSUE 48

TABLE OF

FEATURES
Right at Home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Bullet Point . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Precision Milling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Seven Habits Die Hard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Proving Ground . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 Design of the Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 How to Make a Business Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42

EDUCATION
Tanks! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

CYCLE TIME
125,000 Machines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 European HTECs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 Old Skills, New Skills . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47

THE ANSWER MAN

Tips and Tricks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

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CNC MACHINING is published by Haas Automation, Inc., 2800 Sturgis Road, Oxnard, CA 93030, 805-278-1800. Postmaster: Return invalid addresses to Haas Automation, 2800 Sturgis Road, Oxnard, CA 93030-8933, postage guaranteed. CNC Machining is distributed free of charge by Haas Automation, Inc., and its worldwide network of authorized distributors. CNC Machining accepts no advertising or reimbursement for this magazine. All contents of CNC Machining are copyright 2012, and may not be reproduced without written permission from Haas Automation, Inc. Subscriptions: To be added to, or removed from, the CNC Machining subscription list, please contact the local Haas distributor listed on the back cover of this magazine via phone, fax or mail. All subscriptions are at the discretion of the local Haas distributor. Haas Automation, Inc. & CNC Machining magazine names 2012. Designed and printed in the U.S.A. CPC # 40675626. www.HaasCNC.com. Haas Automation Europe, ++32-2-522-9905 Haas Automation United Kingdom, ++44-1603-760 539 | Haas Automation Asia, ++86 21 3861 6666 | Haas Automation India, ++91-22-660 98830

b | www.HaasCNC.com

Its probably safe to say that everyone has heard this popular management catchphrase. In fact, these days, its so ubiquitous as to be a clich. It no longer holds much meaning.

In This Issue Think Outside the Box

emotional bond between the user and the product a process company founder Ravi Sawhney calls Psycho-Aesthetics. Rather than focusing exclusively on the product or experience to be designed, he explains, we concentrate squarely on the needs, aspirations, and emotional desires of the end users. Its not how you feel about the design and experience, its how it makes you feel about yourself. Feelings matter, and across The Pond in the UK, SA Group is feeling pretty good about themselves these days. By investing in skilled people, advanced technology, and diversification, the company has gone from sourcing spare parts for a single model of regional jet, to manufacturing spares for multiple airframes, building mold tool components, and machining components for a Formula 1 race team. By not boxing themselves in, theyre taking the company to a higher level. For many shops, investing in a higher level of machine tools is one of the first steps to building their business. Faster, more accurate machines yield more parts and higher profits. An oftenoverlooked element in the profit-making equation, however, is the role played by quality toolholders. Our friends at Lyndex Nikken have provided an informative article detailing the four important factors to optimize performance with precision collet chuck systems. Another area where precision is critical is competitive shooting. With the 2012 Olympics just around the corner, we spoke with a U.S. Army marksman who will be going for the gold in London. To get an edge up on the competition, Sgt. 1st Class Eric Uptagrafft actually designed and built the action for his competition rifle from scratch. So far, its earned him five international medals, and qualified him for the U.S. Olympic team. On the education front, we visited Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, for a look at their two-semester Advanced Manufacturing Lab. The AML offers students something a little out of the box. At the start of the program, teams of engineering students are assigned a product concept, and then they not only have to develop the manufacturing process for the product, but they also have to manufacture it. And theres plenty more. Be sure to check out Cycle Time for the latest industry news, and the Answer Man for helpful programming tips and tricks. Its another jam-packed issue. So sit back, relax, and enjoy! And remember to think inside the box. And on the box. And around the box. It just might lead to the best solution.

Yet, despite the phrases cavalier overuse, the underlying concept to Think creatively, unimpeded by orthodox or conventional constraints, or Think differently, unconventionally, or from a new perspective is absolutely necessary for growth and innovation. But sometimes, people spend so much time trying to think outside the box, they completely overlook solutions that are right in front of them. Sometimes, the answer is the box. Take 5-axis machining, for instance. Despite its increasing use, many shops still view it with trepidation: Its too complex, too difficult and too expensive! But it doesnt have to be that way. For our cover story, we visited a company in Ventura, California, that thinks differently. The folks at NASO Corporation see 5-axis machining as a means to increase production, lower costs, and become very competitive. To them, the part is just a box that needs machining on multiple sides, and they use 5-axis positioning to hit all sides of the box in a single setup. They apply the same approach to multitasking on their dual-spindle and Y-axis lathes, except in that case, theyre thinking around the box. For RKS Design, a highly acclaimed industrial design firm in Southern California, its not really about the box at all, but about how people react to the box, and feel about the box that matters. The company strives to create designs that form an

On The Cover
The precision parts for this rotor-head assembly for an RC helicopter were manufactured by NASO Corporation in Ventura, Calif. The SoCal job shop routinely does work for full-size aircraft, as well. Photo: Scott Rathburn

Story by Brad Branham Photos by Scott Rathburn & Brad Branham

RIGHT AT HOME

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For the last four decades, American and European countries have nervously watched their manufactured-goods industry shrink, as inexpensive products from technologically emerging nations increasingly dominated the market. Low-wage workforces in countries like India and China provided a substantial, difficult-to-overcome cost advantage, and those countries literally flooded world markets with low-priced manufactured goods. Many American firms adopted an if you cant lick em, join em philosophy, fueling a steady exodus of manufacturers who transferred some, if not all, of their operations overseas to remain competitive. Economies staggered as jobs left with the manufacturers. Recently, however, I visited a Ventura, California, company that found a way to thrive in a tough economy, using efficient, timesaving technology to increase production, lower costs, and become very competitive. NASO Corporation started out 21 years ago as a small electronic assembly manufacturer, making circuit boards, cable assemblies, and small box builds, explains NASOs Vice President of Operations, Bryan Howe. About 14 years ago, the company grew to include machining. In 2009, we decided to update our machining operations with the latest technology, to pursue a growth strategy. This is a job shop, so everything we produce is for someone elses product, Howe continues. The majority of our work is aerospace, military, and sub-space applications. Many parts we make ultimately end up with Boeing, Northrop, and other large aerospace manufacturers, but we also do jobs for local businesses. We make parts for companies ranging from small startups to the largest first-tier and prime contractors. Howe credits the impressive list of customers to NASOs reputation for quality, on-time delivery, and competitive prices despite challenges from low-wage countries. A quick look through an open shop door gives some insight into their success. The NASO machine shop is an all Haas CNC shop, and each machine was carefully selected and customized to reduce cycle times, simplify operation, and increase production.
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The shops arsenal of Haas machines includes a wide selection of turning centers: a DS-30SSY, an ST-20SSY, two ST-10s with live tooling, an SL-10, and an SL-30. NASOs vertical machining centers include two VF-3SS machines, two VF-5SS machines, a VF-3YT 50-taper, and two DT-1 Drill/Tap machines. All machines are equipped with high-productivity options to reduce cycle times, including Servo Bar 300 bar feeders on the lathes, and 4th- and 5th-axis Haas rotary tables on the mills. Growing the machine shop to become more competitive is a direct focus of NASO, Howe comments. The Haas CNC machines are key to our success. We bought the most machine for the fewest dollars and with the Haas support and service, it was a no-brainer. The main reason for buying was to machine faster and more efficiently to support our existing contracts, so we decided to go with 4th- and 5th-axis rotaries and trunnions. With the high-speed Haas equipment, especially the DS-30SSY turning center, we are much more competitive. Ideally, we want to close the manufacturing-costs gap between America and China. We are doing pretty well at it, too, states NASOs General Manager, Ric McCants. We just brought a product back from China, and we are working on a few more. 4 | www.HaasCNC.com

NASO machines the cam hub above out of Ti6AL-4V titanium on their DS-30SSY turning center. However, with their customdesigned workholding, they can easily machine the part on one of their 5-axis Haas VMCs, as well.

We made a conscious decision to use only Haas machine tools, McCants explains. It gives us standardization. The operators are all familiar with the control, and we can go from machine to machine, program to program, without problems. The machines we selected are very fast, and equipped with options to reduce setup times. That expedites getting parts through the machine, and getting products out the door very conveniently, very efficiently. Thanks to an aggressive growth plan, NASO doubled its business in less than a year. Supporting that kind of growth requires increased machine shop production, and using technology to increase efficiency and speed helps level the playing field against countries with low-cost labor. With CNC technology, each worker can operate several machines simultaneously, increasing productivity, and effectively reducing labor costs. But the machines must be optimized with the right accessories and options for the types of jobs they perform. They must be user-friendly, rugged, capable of high precision, and fast. We have a couple of Haas VF-3SSs with 5-axis rotaries on them, McCants notes. The work envelope is large enough to run multiple parts or different parts on the table in a single setup, so we can knock the run times down. That saves us production time in the shop, and also delivery time, so it works out very well. With the 5th axis, there is obviously
CNC MACHINING | 5

less setup time, and less load time. You not only gain one process/one-piece flow, but also the time the operator has to load the piece for each surface operation. The workpiece on the TR210 trunnion in the VF-3SS was a good example of his point. It was a 4-inch cube, with each of four sides bearing a system of elaborate grooves, while the top received a series of irregular, curved-surface features. Using a combination of 5-sided (3+2) machining and simultaneous 5-axis motion, the machine produces very precise finished parts with remarkable speed. NASO makes extensive use of Haas rotary tables and indexers on their other machines, as well. Their inventory includes two HRT210 4th-axis rotary tables and a HA5CS high-speed indexer. Also included are three trunnions: a TR210, a compact TR160Y, and a double-platter TR160-2. Two T5C2 dual-spindle 5-axis indexers add even more capacity. We can move the rotaries around to wherever we need them, McCants explains. With that kind of flexibility, we can handle any job we want. The aerospace industry is known for its appetite for a variety of materials. McCants points to a 60-pound stainless steel billet in process on a VF-3SS. We machine everything, he says. Plastics, stainless steel, titanium, Inconel, all the hard metals, many of the exotics, 6 | www.HaasCNC.com

and a lot of aluminum. We cut it all. We have 50-taper as well as 40-taper machines, so we throw the hard stuff, and anything really heavy, on the 50-taper. Here on the VF-3YT, we have some 15-5 stainless, taking 1/4- to 1/2-inch cuts, and were pushing it pretty hard, with no problem. On the other end of the spectrum are the Haas DT-1 drill/tap centers. The DT-1 machines were a big surprise, McCants notes. They are very fast, and have full milling capabilities. The drill/tap operations are great, but we were not expecting much in milling mode. They are terrific! Weve put a rotary on one of them, and they cut just about anything. Weve used them with Inconel, titanium, and stainless with excellent results. NASO is experiencing tremendous productivity gains with their turning operations, as well. Were increasing our use of the Y-axis turning centers, McCants says, and making parts that were never possible without the Y axis. The ST-10 turning centers with live tooling are great time savers, too, and the double-spindle pickoff on the DS-30SSY is trouble-free, and very precise. Its versatility allows us to think much more out-of-the-box. The DS-30SSY will bar-feed a workpiece, finish a turning process, and finish a milling process with driven tools on the part still in the chuck, he explains. It will then pass the
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part off to the second spindle and cut it off from the bar, then finish the part completely with a turning process on the other end of the part. We brought in the double-spindle turning center, he says, to allow us to not only take out extra setups, but also the operator input taking parts in and out, clamping and unclamping. It allows us to engineer the part so that we can finish the whole front side, pick it off, and finish the backside in one process. Now we can do turning, milling, and drilling the whole part, and the finished part drops into the parts catcher without operator input. And it frees up the time that would normally be required on the mill. We calculated the time savings and knew that it would be good, McCants recalls. But we found out our projections were about 25 percent short. We did not calculate how much time is lost during clamping and unclamping a vise. Over a couple of hundred ops on the machine, that is a significant savings. The bar feeders are great, too, adds Howe. Every lathe here has a Servo Bar 300, and they are worth their weight in gold. And the parts catchers are great time savers. One operator can run three or four machines with no problem.

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NASO employs other time-saving technologies, as well. We also have probing on most of our machines, says McCants. It is very user-friendly, and we can use probing on forgings and castings that may not be very consistent. It is very easy for an operator to bring the specs from the probe into the program. Probing does away with the indicator, he adds. It improves accuracy and confidence in the machine, and makes set up and machining quite a bit easier. We frequently use probing to check parts. It is 70 to 80 percent quicker than using an indicator, and it eliminates human error, so accuracy is high and throughput is much faster. All the attention to speed and productivity, however, does not come at the expense of accuracy and precision. The Haas machines are very accurate, McCants asserts. I was actually surprised by the accuracy, and how they blend. Sometimes we have to rotate the part for a cut, reposition it for another cut, then go back to the first surface for another cut. I was concerned about the repeatability, but it is great. We have had no problem at all. It is just like it ran on the same axis without the intervening re-position.

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NASOs jobs run the gamut: from delicate thin-wall parts of aluminum and titanium, to hefty aircraft landing gear links, to intricate specialized antennas and everything between. In addition to machining, the company also fabricates electrical components, and provides related assembly. With such a wide range of capabilities and capacity, NASO can accept jobs beyond the ability of other shops. Prior to moving to an all-Haas shop, we had Fadals and a couple other machines all with different controls, Howe recalls. By standardizing the shop, it has been much easier for the machinists to work with a common platform. We were never completely pleased with the different controls before we switched over to Haas, but the Haas control is easy to use, and essentially the same from machine to machine. With the software and features on the machines, life is certainly a lot easier. We also appreciate the fact that Haas makes all their products here in the U.S.A. In the future, he continues, we plan to bring in a couple of Haas EC-400PP pallet-pool horizontal machining centers. With those, we can make parts at night, unattended lights out. And we are considering getting a couple robots soon. We are really looking to push the limits to become even more competitive. Our machine shop is amazing, Howe concludes. We are really excited by where this is going. We will quadruple our income volume by this time next year. It has been an amazing growth, and we are becoming a benchmark manufacturing facility: a market leader in CNC machining, cycle time, and efficiency.
www.naso.com 805-650-1231

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NASO General Manager Ric McCants (L.) and Vice President of Operations Bryan Howe with NASOs DS-30SSY turning center. . . . using efficient, timesaving technology to increase production, lower costs, and become very competitive.

See the DS-30SSY in action.

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Photo Courtesy USA Shooting 12 | www.HaasCNC.com

By Brad Branham

Shop photos courtesy Eric Uptagrafft

Humans have an innate love of marksmanship and competition. From archery to baseball, theres something inside most of us that esteems sending an object toward a distant target with precision and success. In the world of firearms, the most accurate shooters the best of the best compete every four years in the Olympics. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Units Sergeant 1st Class Eric Uptagrafft is one of those elite competitors. On August 3, he will participate in the Mens 50-meter Rifle Prone event at the 2012 Olympics in London. And he has a good shot at winning. But Uptagrafft didnt get this chance without a lot of help. USA Shooting is the national governing body for Olympic shooting in the USA. They support him with coaching and sports psychology, and help cover travel and competition expenses. The U.S. Army Marksmanship Unit supports him with training facilities, ammunition, gunsmithing support, and some travel expenses that USA Shooting doesnt cover. In almost any type of competition, top-level participation demands precision equipment, and thats especially true of championship shooting. Contestants use special .22 long rifle ammunition identical in shape, weight, size, and propellant from round to round. Rifle barrels and other components are engineered from metals selected to minimize the warping effects from the heat of burning gunpowder, and stocks are ergonomically designed to maximize accuracy. The rifles action (the bolt, receiver, and trigger mechanisms) must be extremely smooth, consistent, and predictable. A rimfire action directly affects a rifles potential accuracy. Finicky shooters demand perfection, and Uptagraffts rifle action is perfect. He made it himself on his Haas TL-1 CNC lathe and a Haas VF-2SS CNC machining center.

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Most of the worlds Olympic shooters use German or Swiss rifles, Uptagrafft observes. They use Walther, Anschtz, Feinwerkbau, or Bleiker. Ive been shooting in some organized fashion since I was 11, and Ive been shooting Anschtz almost from the beginning, so I use their stock and trigger but I designed and built the action from scratch. Uptagrafft won five international medals in 2010 and 2011 with that rifle, qualifying him for the 2012 US Olympic team. Uptagrafft, along with his wife Sandra (also an experienced shooter, with more than 10 Womens Pistol national championships to her credit), owns Uptagrafft LLC, a small manufacturing company in Alabama. In addition to being a world-class shooter, Uptagrafft has a degree in Aerospace Engineering, and 10 years of experience in the aerospace industry. At Uptagrafft LLC, he designs and manufactures high-precision shooting accessories. He knows that, in a sport where the shooter must consistently hit the center of a target 50 meters downrange, shooters must be incredibly focused, control their breathing, and fire between heartbeats. Equipment issues cannot be tolerated. Although traveling and competitions interfere with his plans to produce more actions, Uptagrafft finds time to make other in-demand products. I make bloop tubes, he says. Theyre called that because of the sound they make when you shoot. They are tubes that attach to the rifles muzzle, functioning as sight extensions for us folks with older eyes. The farther you can move that front sight away from you, the better you can see it. It also allows you to align your sights more accurately. 14 | www.HaasCNC.com

Bloop tubes are precision-made to the customers specific rifle and exact barrel measurements. I also make a tuner bloop tube with a threaded adjustment, which both increases the sight distance, and allows adjustment to the barrel vibrations. Basically, it allows tuning the rifle and improving the accuracy. I use my own tuner tube, as well. Of course, making precision components requires precision equipment, and Uptagrafft relies on CNC machines from Haas Automation. My Haas machines work very well, he reports. I was very surprised by the accuracy of the TL-1. When I make the bloop and tuner tubes, I consistently hold a few tenths. And I love the VF-2 for parts that require a mill. I built all the parts for my actions over a three-week span in 2008, Uptagrafft recalls. It was just before I came back on active duty in the Army. I had my brand-new TL-1 in a friends shop, and he graciously allowed me to use his VF-2SS with HRT160. Before helping him out in his shop, I had no CNC experience whatsoever. I went from CNC novice to a nearly complete Olympic rifle action in about two months. If the Haas control wasnt so easy to learn, this project may have never happened. When I started my own shop in 2009, of course, I bought my own VF-2 and HRT160 to go along with my lathe. Sgt. 1st Class Uptagrafft competed in the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, so 2012 will be his second trip. He is currently ranked #2 in the world for Mens 50 m Rifle Prone, and he has a very long list of competition medals to back it up. This year, he hopes that the action he designed and built and his tuner tube will help him bring home Olympic gold.
uptagrafftllc.com CNC MACHINING | 15

Precision Milling with Collet Chuck Systems:

Four Important Factors to Optimize Performance when Investing in Toolholders
By Scott Irie Lyndex Nikken
The most widely used toolholding system for machining centers is the collet chuck. Whether ER, TG, DA, or other proprietary system, the flexibility and ease of use make it an essential tool for any machine shop. However, as important as the collet chuck is for the connection between the machine spindle and the cutting tool, it is often the most neglected item that inhibits true profit-making potential. Here are four important points to consider when making your next investment in toolholders that will help enhance your cutting performance, and unlock your machines true capability.

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1.
7/24 Taper angle

1. Rigidity Your primary point of contact to the machine spindle is the taper of the
toolholder. The surface area contact between the two is most critical for ALL machining ability. The added value of a quality toolholder taper will not only provide consistency between tool-changing operations, but also improve cutting performance. Higher-quality toolholder tapers achieve the ideal 85% to 90% taper contact for maximum rigidity. Referencing the ISO 1947 (1980 revision) standard, the taper tolerance specifications for machine spindles and toolholders are AT2 or better and AT3 or better, respectively. Listed below are the tolerances for the following specifications:

AT2 Specification for 7/24 taper CAT40 Angular Tolerance of Taper: 0.00083 degrees Diameter Tolerance at Gage Line: +52 to +80 millionths (0.000052" to 0.00008") CAT50 Angular Tolerance of Taper: 0.00069 degrees Diameter Tolerance at Gage Line: +64 to +100 millionths (0.000064" to 0.0001") AT3 Specification for 7/24 taper CAT40 Angular Tolerance of Taper: 0.00139 degrees Diameter Tolerance at Gage Line: +80 to +126 millionths (0.00008" to 0.000126") CAT50 Angular Tolerance of Taper: 0.00111 degrees Diameter Tolerance at Gage Line: +100 to +160 millionths (0.0001" to 0.00016")
Since most machine shops do not have the ability to measure such tight tolerances, the best way to assure quality and consistent adherence to these specified dimensions is to invest with a reputable manufacturer.

diameter tolerance at gage line

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2. balance When seeing the mystifying G2.5 at 15,000

RPM or G6.3 at 20,000 RPM stated on toolholders, its easy to understand why balancing is the most commonly misunderstood feature of a toolholder. As with tires on a car, it is necessary to balance toolholders. But the amount of material removed or added is dictated by the operational requirement (RPM), coupled with the weight and asymmetrical design of the toolholder. Unbalanced rotation creates undesired vibration. The tolerance that expresses how much undesired vibration (permissible unbalance) is acceptable is denoted with a G followed by an RPM (per the ISO 1940/1 and the ANSI S2.19-1975 standard). As a general rule of thumb, the lower the G rating and higher the RPM, the more balanced the toolholder. Once a holder is assembled with a collet, pull stud, nut, and cutting tool, the original balance of the toolholder will change dramatically, because were compounding the residual balances of these smaller components. By investing in collet chuck systems that over-compensate the largest mass (toolholder), the minute residual balances of the smaller components (nuts, collet, cutting tool) will have a much smaller effect on the overall assembly.

balanced per iso 1940/1 standard denoted with a "g" rating, followed by rpm
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2.

collet chuck systems with tighter tapers allow for greater gripping torque

thicker fortified walls create more rigidity

hybrid bearing systems allow for higher rigidity than traditional bearings and equal friction reduction

3.
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3. gripping force With regards to collet chucks, the gripping

force is driven by the nut and the taper angles of the collet. In general, the tighter the taper angle of the collet, the greater the gripping force applied on the cutting tool. Precision collet chuck manufacturers will incorporate a radial bearing within the nut, and may also include additional attention to the threads within the nut and on the holder, resulting in greater distribution of force and reduced friction. More advanced designs achieve the same principles as the bearing nut, and improve cutting rigidity by eliminating the thrust play in the traditional radial bearing design.

taper angle of nut, collet bore of the holder and threads can affect run out of a cutting tool

4.

dual angle: accuracy of one will affect the other

4. Runout The most important factor that can affect machining performance is the

runout of the cutting tool. Cutting ability, cutting tool life, surface finish, and machined-part tolerances are all affected. With higher runout, set-up time and part production can run longer, because cutting tools need to be changed more often. There are several reasons runout occurs with traditional holders like the ER, TG, and DA collet chucks. Besides poorly ground toolholder collet bores, the most frequent causes of runout are: Design and manufacturing accuracy Most collet chucks rely on two angles to collapse onto the cutting shank, resulting in the accuracy of one impacting the other. Couple this accuracy requirement with the mating taper inside the collet nut, and its easy for assembly tolerance stacking to occur. Wide Slots Collet chucks get their flexibility to hold various cutting tool shank sizes due to the volume and width of the slots. When a collet chuck is assembled with a cutting tool, frictional torque from the nut will tend to twist the collet, resulting in undesired runout. Again, finding a quality toolholder that addresses these fundamental points, and takes measures to address them, is your best bet to reduce runout. Newer designs in precision collet chuck systems rely on a single angle on the collet, and incorporate on size collets to prevent twisting.

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Achieving maximum productivity

While its commonly understood that cutting performance is the product of many factors the machine, collet chuck, cutting tool, coolant, workholding, and toolpath optimizing each of those factors is not as commonly practiced. Compared to the amount of time spent researching and purchasing a machine, devoting a fraction of that time to considering the importance of the collet chuck taper rigidity, balance, grip, and runout will provide greater productivity and, most importantly, maximize profitability. To realize even further productivity gains and extraordinary material removal rates, combine a quality machine and a precision collet chuck with a toolpath that maintains constant engagement of the tool. A constant engagement angle of the tool with the workpiece produces a constant tool load, which increases overall productivity by 50% to 100%, or more. Constant engagement ensures there are no spikes in tool load, allowing the machine, collet chuck, and cutting tool to achieve the highest possible efficiency.

Here is an example of typical productivity that can be achieved:

Machine: Haas VF-2SS Material: Titanium 6AL4V Tool: 1/2 7-tooth RampMill Holder: Nikken VC Collet Chuck Tool Path: TRUEMill Helical Plunge Entry Feedrate: 30 ipm RPM: 2750 (360 sfm) Ramp Angle: 5.0 degree Feedrate: 150 ipm RPM: 3438 (450 sfm) Axial Depth: 1.00 TEA: 30 degrees www.lyndexnikken.com 800-543-6237 For more information about engagement-generated toolpaths, see Increasing Productivity with Engagement-

Watch the video!

Generated Toolpaths in Issue 47 of CNC Machining magazine.

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Seven Habits Die Hard

At an age when most people are happily anticipating retirement, Indiana serial-entrepreneur Don Wood started a company that would turn out to be his most successful in a long line of successes. 80/20s growth is enviable, and due in no small part to the organizational skills and energy of its founder. His recipe for success, though, is no closely guarded secret.
By Matt Bailey

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In 1989, Indiana native Don Wood founded 80/20 Inc., a company that builds and sells what he calls The Industrial Erector Set. The basic 80/20 frame-component is a T-slot extrusion that fits together using brackets and screws to make, for example, a simple table frame, a machine guard, a display case, a chair, a shelf, or whatever else a customer can imagine. Mr. Wood started 80/20 when he was in his late 50s. Hes now 78. But hes still at the helm every day, and still as energetic and enthusiastic as ever, whether hes talking about his love of show tunes he and his wife are members of the local operatic society or his phalanx of Haas CNC machines: a row of TM-2 Toolroom Mills and VF-4SS vertical machining centers. My background is as a tool maker, Mr. Wood says, so I have a great interest in machine tools and machine tool applications. We looked around for the type of machines that had the capability and the quality we needed to make our many different shapes and parts. But also, of course, we wanted a company that could provide good backup and service. 80/20 is a 250+ employee business, and Andrew Tate, like everyone else youre likely to meet there, is infected with Don Woods passion for doing things well. Also like his colleagues, Tate has no official title. Although his day-to-day responsibilities are in the marketing department, hes quick to point out that he and everyone else at the company is in the business of customer service.
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Its a unique culture here, Tate says with a smile, and one that comes directly from the top, from Don Wood. Hes a driven man, and knows the importance of a positive attitude in life. He respects his employees, and he expects them to deliver the same respect and positive attitude to the companys customers. Mr. Wood is happy to tell you that he has built his life, and most of his business success, on the principles laid out in Stephen Coveys world-famous 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Its safe to say that Stephen Coveys best-selling publication is one of the most renowned business books ever written: Its a call-to-action for anyone who wants to thrive in his or her work and personal life, and over the years, it has sold millions of copies. Don Wood has taken the book to heart. Everywhere around the 80/20 factory there are posters and banners reminding employees that they, and they alone, are responsible for their own attitudes. Its a message that clearly hits home. The overriding impression one gets from a walking-tour of the companys several sprawling buildings 24 | www.HaasCNC.com

(approximately 165,000 square feet) is that its a business built on pride and personal positivism. The 80/20 construction system consists of different extruded profiles, and a range of fittings. Sales in 2008 were more than $48 million, and growing; and with every day that passes, the market expands, as someone, somewhere, discovers a new way to make something using 80/20s extraordinarily adaptable product. The companys website claims that its modular solutions are useful in almost every walk of life. The list of applications is extensive, and roughly twice a year, 80/20 publishes a brochure showing the best examples submitted by customers in a variety of sectors, including materials handling, medical, furniture, audio visual, publishing, robotics, education, etc. The number of different applications our customers create is expanding all the time, says Tate. Theres truly a never-ending amount of possibilities with the product. And not only do we create our own parts for inventory with the Haas machinery, but the versatility of these machines allows

us to create project-specific custom components that, in all reality, we would never have thought to offer without the input and designs from our customers. 80/20 invested in 15 Haas machines over a threeyear period. The companys seven TM-2s are mostly used to machine short-run or one-off custom-drawn parts held in manually operated vices. Typically, these are parts that need multiple machining operations on multiple faces, so the vices are set up to offer as many universal-holding options as possible. The TM machines are also used to process longer extrusions, which are held in custom fixtures, says Cliff Cornewell, CNC operator in 80/20s Custom Machining Shop. Our VF-4SS machines are used when we need higher quantities of custom parts, and more complicated parts and bars that require more spindle power to remove more material. Weve set up our facility to go from raw materials through to finished, packaged products, adds Tate. We do have some customers who buy just raw materials from us and do their own machining. Most of the time, though, we do the machining and ship it out, and then the customer can build their application. If they decide they want us to build an assembled product, we can also do that here. So we offer a full service, from raw materials to shipping out a finished product. The company also has five Haas EC-400 horizontal machining centers, acquired in late 2008, that it uses to machine large batches of customer-drawn and 80/20 standard parts, such as joining plates, inside corner brackets, stanchions, etc. These machines are equipped with hydraulic vises on rotating tower fixtures to allow machining on three sides without handling. Swapping towers allows loading/unloading parts while the machine is still running. Several of the EC machines were retrofitted to accept existing fixtures from older machines, to eliminate changeover cost and production interruption when we invested in Haas, says Tate.

When customers order bespoke plastic or aluminum panels, 80/20 uses its Haas GR712, a gantry-type machine with a large vacuum table. We also use this machine for engraving and tapping, Tate explains. Cliff Cornewell has worked in the 80/20 machine shop for almost 5 years, and has used the Haas machines since the day they arrived. The Haas machines have greatly increased our productivity, he says, not to mention our overall manufacturing capability. Were very pleased with how easy they are to program, as well. They are much more versatile than the machines we had previously, he enthuses. Theyre just wonderful to operate, and weve found that everybody in each department has discovered different ways to utilize their capabilities. We can program a lot faster, and run parts faster, and the accuracy of the machines is just phenomenal. We can hold a lot tighter tolerances. According to Andrew Tate, those performance capabilities, and the versatility of the product, translate directly into new business opportunities. Were always amazed by the different ways our customers use the 80/20 product, and the varying market sectors where its used, he says. Our growth potential is huge. The markets are out there; its just a matter of conveying the creative opportunities the product offers. And the customer gets to decide how it can be a means to an end! With a long and successful business career behind him, Don Wood could have put up his feet in 1989, rather than starting another company. But, as they say, old habits die hard. I was an entrepreneur right from the start, he recalls, from when I was a 14-year-old kid selling vacuum cleaners. Now, hes a certified Stephen Covey facilitator, and hes always looking for ways to apply the 7 Habits, or help others apply them. He refers to the evolving 80/20 system as a product of inspiration. The same could also be said of him and the company he has built.
80/20 Inc. 260-248-8030 www.8020.net CNC MACHINING | 25

www.HaasCNC.com

Americas Leading Machine Tool Builder.

28 | www.HaasCNC.com

By Bra d Bran ham

est e old k th Yor us on New y foc ted Troy, heav in its spec ly re n for ary. now high ordin ll k in its s we f the m si ogra out o State ne pr little s of nited ast o ng a team t le eU thi RPI, in th ch. A some first r s ty L) at f the resea dent versi and b (AM ginning o l uni rs stu n e lop a La ca catio r, off be deve ring ologi g edu t the weve factu echn ve to a o t anu urin e it. cept ly ha ng, h ufact ced M duct con actur ot on neeri man es anuf dvan o Engi nts n A m pr de t tak ol of ester ed a ve to e stu hat i Scho -sem se th ssign of w so ha ecau are a e two ey al ation s Sam he ents In th ut th ual, b preci plain In t stud n ap unus uct, b , ex le sa ing od ng. e is ailab ineer ineer he pr neeri ours t i of c av ng eng s for f Eng eries . The tems ure e roces has ool o ester t sys e fut p g n v ign a Sch sem to gi throu iffere uring o des ing, class the d ufact esses otyp eed t n is a man Prot sing proc they AML ing u rious n and ools meth RPIs th va catio the t i o i the Fabr ure s iar w tics amil ufact ough er of , plas ms get f man k thr anag otics b Syste or to ,M ents M, ro nts w AML a pone stud e f p /CA , the on o e stud Chia CAD ester rvisi ues, oduc supe ch as t sem to pr ontin firs ec s, su em tense. r the n ise yst de m. pon ing s hiap exerc etty i y, un syste pr lab actur irectl er, C uring anuf ess d mest Thats ufact proc nd se man ype m eframe. co bly otot he se assem uild a pr ek tim In t 4-we g and yb urin na1 The i ufact with Ruff. man arry , and dget eer L u n Engi hin b t wit oduc pr

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RPI) tute ( Insti

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Chiappone notes that AML is popular with students from all majors, even those who do not pursue manufacturing as a career. It is important for all young engineers to think about manufacturing, he says. That forces them to think in terms of optimization, efficiency, and process. One recent team of student engineers not only developed a successful manufacturing system, but also won the ASME Student Manufacturing Design Competition with their effort. We were assigned to produce a small M1A1 Abrams tank a model or a toy, explains Team Leader Alexander Weisser. We had the use of the Haas Technical Education Center (HTEC) to produce the product, so we decided to build something between the two not to scale or as detailed as a model tank, but something more than a toy. During the AML first semester, says Alex, we designed the tank and did the market research. We developed our own CAD models, our own ideas, and eventually a manufacturing plan. By the end of the first semester, we had all the CAD models completed, and even a few prototypes. Halfway through the second semester, he continues, we had the codes set up, the fixturing done, the molds 30 | www.HaasCNC.com

made, and we were ready to start production and ready to handle any issues that developed. Our 15-member team produced 400 tanks by the end of the semester, complete with packaging that we also designed and produced. The RPI team decided to machine the main tank bodies out of aluminum, and use injection-molded ABS plastic for most other features. Brian Bidwell was the manufacturing manager and CNC programmer/operator. I used Mastercam X3 to write G-code for the Haas VF-1 machining center, Brian recalls. We chose 6061 aluminum for the tank hull, as well as for the mold cavities for plastic injection molding, and other tooling that required precision machining. The tank hull was machined from a billet using solid carbide end mills with ZrN coating for high-speed machining, Brian continues. And we utilized the Haas VF-1s 4th-axis rotary table to minimize work setups. The tanks had many angles and tiny details that required a lot of thought and creativity to produce. Tiffany Hu, the teams financial manager, also worked on the plastic injection molding for the side armor, turret, two different types of wheels, and other components, using molds created on the Haas VF-1. The wheels were run using a Battenfeld injection molding machine, she explains, using 3" x 3" molds with cavities for four round wheels and one spur wheel per shot. We needed 9800 good parts.

Nick DeMartin was the assembly manager for the M1A1 Abrams tank project. I was involved with planning the assembly process, as well as seeing it through to completion, he says. We assembled the turrets using an Adept 4-axis robot manipulator to position the pieces, and a heat-staking tool to weld them together. Each tank had 9 axles and 18 wheels, Nick explains. We produced 400 tanks; thats 3600 axles and 7200 wheels. We used a combination of a toothpick-dispenser-style axle feeder and a linear-bearing fixture controlled by a Staubli 6-axis robot with a custom-built end effector [sensor]. The treads and turret were assembled by hand, and the side armor pieces were attached using a press. The RPI team worked its way through several real-life manufacturing problems, solving them with reason and ingenuity. They changed process timing, developed custom sensors, and designed assembly fixtures to successfully address some complex issues. After production, they concentrated on making a presentation for the ASME manufacturing contest, including full descriptions, numbers, explanations, and processes. Finalists in the ASME Student Manufacturing Design Competition must make an oral presentation describing their project (with exhibits) to a panel of industry experts. Then, they must be prepared to answer tough questions

at the annual ASME/Manufacturing Engineering Division Conference. We cataloged every aspect of the process, Alex recalls. We wanted to document all the information necessary to set up another assembly line in a different location. Eventually, we used that data to enter the ASME Student Manufacturing Design Competition in the Manufacturing Systems Management and Optimization category. Alex traveled to Oregon State University to make the contest presentation for the RPI team project and won! The RPI AML Tank project partnered with local industry to help with the materials and other requirements of the undertaking. Project sponsors Ensign-Bickford Aerospace & Defense Company, LoDolce Machine Co., RBC Bearing, Covidien, and Haas Factory Outlet-Allendale provided the support that helped them achieve their success. Working on the M1A1 Abrams tank for AML provided great hands-on experience for students with an interest in manufacturing, says Tiffany. The knowledge gained from this series of classes was applicable to real-world situations, and gave me great preparation for a manufacturing-related job, post graduation. I am very proud, adds Nick. Im proud of how the tank turned out, and Im proud of our finish at the ASME contest. But more than anything, Im proud of my team.
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Proving

Ground
With a population of around 1 billion people, India has a huge and only fractionally met domestic demand for all manner of consumer goods, including household appliances, vehicles, food, and agricultural products. For small- to medium-sized manufacturing companies, the opportunities are legion, especially as many well-known OEMs make long-term production commitments to the country, and source precision engineered parts locally. Rajesh C. Suttatti, a self-taught engineer and Managing Director of SuMax Enterprises, has been developing and making specialist tools and fixtures for the Indian automotive and machine tool sectors for more than 30 years. The SuMax factory is in Pune, about 100 miles from Mumbai, which puts it close to the leading manufacturers in Indias industrial heartland. Mr. Suttatti tells CNC Machining how he uses his Haas machine tools to develop fixtures and programs for parts that will eventually be produced in high-volume for well-known customers, such as John Deere and Cummins.
By Matt Bailey

Watch the video! 32 | www.HaasCNC.com

Tell us a little about the origins of SuMax: My father already had a successful company called Vijay Engineering, which he set up in 1966. It has a good reputation for making highquality machine tools for other OEMs across India. We started SuMax to supply Vijay with specialist tools and fixtures. However, we quickly found work with other companies, so we have been able to diversify. Why is your company located in Pune? For a company indirectly working with largescale manufacturing companies, location is important. Being in Pune helped us win work with John Deere, when the company set up a joint venture nearby in the late 90s. That got us started making machine components for the automotive sector. Its purely good fortune that we are next door to the local Haas Factory Outlet (HFO). Thats how we came to buy our first VF-2 vertical machining centre. We started out with very few machines, and have increased our capacity slowly each year. We now have a VF-6, two VF-2s, one MDC-500 mill/ drill centre, and an EC-400 pallet pool. How have you found new business? Mostly, by word of mouth. Originally, John Deere asked us for some sample fixtures, which they liked very much. Then they asked us to make some parts for their tractors. They were building about 150 a month, and each tractor needed two of the parts. It was low volume but steady work. However, the real break came when they recommended us to other companies in the automotive sector. Thats when we started developing turbocharger housings for TATA pick-ups and trucks. What type of work do you do with your Haas machines? We tend to use the Haas machines for production development work: proving new parts, designing fixtures, etcetera. They give us the flexibility and accuracy we need. The controls are excellent, enabling us

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to work on many different parts quickly and easily. Many of our customers still send us PDFs drawings, not CAD/ CAM data so we have to work out how to make the parts. That means programming the Haas machines manually; but Ive been operating them for a long time, and they are very easy to use. Do you also make parts in production volumes? Yes, sometimes. Mostly, we provide proof of project, and work out the fixtures, before handing volume production to another company. However, we also have specialist, high-speed machines including the Haas VF-6 for making production parts in larger volumes, if needed. For example, SuMax is a tier-three supplier for Cummins Turbo Technology. We make 14,000 Cummins parts a month, including a 250 mm turbocharger housing, using a variety of machines. We developed around 85 of the parts we currently make on the Haas machines, and now produce them in volumes of 200 to 6000 on our high-speed machines. In fact, we bought the Haas MDC-500 to develop a turbocharger part, but now use it to make the part (requiring 20-micron tolerances) at a rate of 160 a day.

How many customers do you have? Are you diversified, or do you only supply the automotive sector? These days, we have just five customers. We used to have many more, but we made very few parts for some of them. Now, we do a lot more for all of them working three shifts, six days a week. To minimize our exposure to economic cycles, we have also diversified into different sectors, including automotive turbochargers, PET bottle-making machines, hydraulic pumps, John Deere tractors, and motorcycle components. The truck sector, for instance, does well when the monsoons are good, because agriculture improves; whereas, the PET sector is quite consistent. Even when the economy struggles, people still buy food in containers. If we only served one sector, our customers busy periods would coincide. By being diversified, our customers know that we will have the capacity to serve them when their sector is busy. How have things changed in India in recent years? Are there many companies, like yours, able to meet the demands of large, internationally known companies? India is changing very fast. It used to take months to get things done. Now, people wont accept long lead times. Customers want us to work out processes very quickly. Typically, they might

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give us, say, 15 days to produce a part (once it is worked out), but only 3 to 4 days to develop the processes and fixtures. We rely, therefore, on our ability to program the Haas machines very quickly. We are also pleased that our HFO can get us new machines when we need them in less than a month, something that was unheard of when we started the business. What are the biggest operational challenges you face? Managing the work is a big challenge. One part may go through four or five development stages before the customer agrees to the final dimensions and features. Minor changes are no problem; they just involve adjustments to the CNC programming. However, a major change to the part means changing the tooling and fixtures, too. It used to be that a finished part would stay unchanged for several years. These days, no part really stays the same for more than a year. The complete products, such as motor vehicles, are changing very quickly, so the parts are, too. Our customers expect us to keep up with them. With so many parts in development, it must be difficult to allocate resources. Thats why we bought the Haas EC-400 pallet pool, because we often develop four or five parts at any one time. Haas designed the EC-400 pallet pool for

high-volume production and unattended operation. It has six stations that we can schedule individually, allowing us to prioritise work efficiently, and develop parts simultaneously. When weve worked out the process, we move the fixture and the tooling to the production machines. Isnt it tempting to take on the big, production volumes? We know where our strengths lie. Whenever we get an enquiry, the first thing we do is check the volumes required. If the numbers are in the millions, we simply say no thank you. However, if the volumes are 10 to 20,000 per month, were interested. That might change as we grow, but we want to grow steadily. Im not sure we want to start buying large quantities of materials; that can be a very risky business. Are you optimistic about Indias future as a manufacturing nation? Yes, definitely. Economists predict that India will have the third largest economy in the world by 2030. Local competition is tough, but the domestic sector is large and growing. Our big opportunities come from increased domestic consumption, and the fact that more companies are moving manufacturing to India. We want some of those companies to choose SuMax as their partner. Thats why we will continue investing in Haas machines, and developing our existing sector expertise.
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Design of the Times

After 9 years, CNC Machining revisits RKS Design, Inc. (now RKS) for a refresher course in exceptional industrial design. By Brad Branham
Product photos courtesy RKS Location photos by Brad Branham

If you set the stage right, you get brilliant, brilliant ideas. Ravi Sawhney
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othing is more essential to rock n roll, blues, and most popular music than electric guitars. And many performers from Dave Mason to Rick Springfield to Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones choose to play the unique instruments built by RKS Guitars. No other guitars connect with the player like they do, and their stunning good looks command a stage presence like nothing else. Although no longer produced, RKS guitars are highly prized by musicians, and have achieved almost trophy status. Unquestionably, there is something about them an almost palpable quality that screams, Hold me! Play me! But what is it that makes RKS guitars and certain other products so desirable? The legendary axes were created by RKS Design, Inc. of Thousand Oaks, California (now known simply as RKS). Founded by Ravi Sawhney in 1980, the highly acclaimed

company strives to create designs that form an emotional bond between the user and the product, a process Sawhney calls Psycho-Aesthetics. We believe that discovering the key emotional triggers the affinity for products or experiences across cultural, socioeconomic, political, and other dimensions first requires a deep knowledge of behavioral psychology, Sawhney says. Rather than focusing exclusively on the product or experience to be designed, we concentrate squarely on the needs, aspirations, and emotional desires of the end users. From the moment of conception, through the prototype and the final product, RKS designers, engineers, and machinists work together to create solutions that connect for their clients. We are looking to create that kind of inner glow that makes you feel good about how well designed the product is, Sawhney continues. It makes you feel smarter, more
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Developing a true-to-life representation of a new product is essential to assessing the interaction between part and person. And its in the RKS prototype shop that the product starts to come alive. Once it becomes three-dimensional, it can be held and touched, and it carries a feel for its personality. If changes are necessary, they must be made quickly, and the product retested.
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efficient, better. Its not how you feel about the design and experience, its how it makes you feel about yourself. The RKS design process starts by compiling very thorough market studies everything from benchmarking the competition to consumer reaction. The designers then develop personas representing realistic end users, and construct visuals ranging from posters, to examples of competitors products, to data charts and graphs. These cover the walls of a conference room, where the design team immerses itself in the data. This sparks creativity, Sawhney explains. Once you get that, ideas start flowing. We bring in CEOs, shipping clerks, and people who claim not to be creative at all. We put them through this process, and it is amazing the brilliant ideas that come from everyone. If you set the stage right, you get brilliant, brilliant ideas. Vice President of Creative Lance Hussey agrees. Our staff are quite diverse in their skill sets, so we always pool a cross section of talents for ideas and processes, he says. This is really a web of talent. Ideas are assessed, improved, discarded, regenerated, and give rise to other concepts, which also must be scrutinized. Every aspect is examined, considered, and tweaked at each stage of development. Extraordinary design demands careful consideration of not only aesthetics, but also utility. We have to make sure there is a tangible emotional connection to the product, even from the engineering

standpoint, adds Program Manager Kurt Botsai. Does it work the way the client and the customer wants it to? Is there an enriching experience to it? Does it feel right? Are the weight and the center of gravity right? All those questions deal with engineering, Botsai says, and if we dont get them right, then we are in trouble; the product will not succeed in the marketplace. Developing a true-to-life representation of a new product is essential to assessing the interaction between part and person. And its in the RKS prototype shop that the product starts to come alive. Once it becomes threedimensional, it can be held and touched, and it carries a feel for its personality. If changes are necessary, they must be made quickly, and the product retested. Our prototype shop is extremely important, Sawhney points out. I truly believe that the key to success is getting the design three-dimensional, getting it prototyped with many iterations as fast as you can. Prototype Shop Manager Steve Miczak is a 13-year RKS veteran and a big fan of Haas vertical machining centers. Before the Haas machines, prototyping meant creating models by hand, or by stereo lithography, he relates. Those methods were just too timeconsuming, and not as precise as we wanted. RKS needed a faster process that produced a more realistic feel to the part. The answer was CNC machining.
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Our largest part was a refrigerator that we ran in the VF-8. The VF-8 is great because I can set up multiple parts. I set them up, let it run overnight, and when I arrive in the morning, theres magic. Voil parts are there. Haas was our machine of choice from the beginning, Miczak says, and they have been great for us. We have two Haas CNC vertical machining centers. We got the VF-0 about 12 years ago, and weve had the VF-8 for 11 years, and they still run great! Theyre very reliable, durable, and easy to program and work with. RKS works with a variety of materials aluminum, machinable urethane foam, plastic, and wood but many of the prototypes are initially machined in foam. I import the engineers CAD drawing into SURFCAM, and then build a program for the Haas, Miczak continues. Since much of what we do are foam one-offs or two-offs, we use a variety of both conventional and unconventional setups, including double-sided tape and hot glue. Sometimes, we get very creative. The smallest parts weve machined were components for a cell phone, he adds. Those were very intricate, with tight tolerances so everything would fit together nicely. 40 | www.HaasCNC.com It is very satisfying to see products go from a sketch to a painted prototype that we can send to our clients, Miczak remarks. It is great that we can do all this within the confines of our building. Not a lot of firms can do that. Many design firms do a lot of outsourcing, either overseas or somewhere in another state. I am always watching for engineering or process improvements; and here, I can go to our engineers and say, Maybe we want to do this a different way. If we need to make a change in the part, designers can change it in CAD, I can import it into SURFCAM, and make the change on the fly. Those machines just run and run, adds Sawhney. Our team is constantly using them. They are only down when we are servicing them. I truly believe that whoever can go from sketch to concept to CAD model to prototype as fast as possible, and quickly iterate many times, will be more successful. If we have four legs to our chair, one leg would definitely be the prototyping shop.

Sawhney remains true to the Psycho-Aesthetics principles he pioneered. That work led us to develop the book Predictable Magic [Wharton School Publishing, 2010], he remarks. That takes you to an empowerment framework of seven steps that parallels not only the Psycho-Aesthetics process, but also the process of how to create business success. Its a process that clearly works. RKS is consistently rated as a top industrial design firm, and holds a staggering number of prestigious awards, including an Academy Award and an Emmy for the Panavision Millennium camera. The firm also won three 2011 National Design Awards for product design, and their client list includes some of the worlds most-recognized brand names, including JBL Professional, Intel, HP, Hamilton Medical, Discus Dental, Medtronic, LG, and many others.
www.rksdesign.com 805.370.1200

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42 | www.HaasCNC.com

Over the last 15 years, UK-based SA Group has carved a niche in the aviation maintenance field. Its success depends on specialist knowledge, diversification, and a willingness to invest in people and technology, including Haas CNC machines. When Specialist Aviation (now SA Group) started in 1995, it specialised in sourcing spare parts for the BAE 146 Regional Jet (RJ). I used to work in BAEs purchasing department, explains Managing Director Duncan Hammond, so I have contacts around the world. I know who is in the market for parts, and more importantly, who has aircraft leases expiring. That matters, because when contracts end, there are often spare parts left over for sale. We therefore provide a valuable service for aircraft companies who cant afford to deal with numerous suppliers. We consolidate their orders, and deliver the parts wherever they need them, says Duncan, whether to aircraft grounded at airports because of a fault, or in maintenance for their C-check (which is like an MOT). Our clients have included Flybe in Exeter, Marshalls in Cambridge, and British Aerospace (which became BAE Systems in 1999). It was partly thanks to BAE that we moved into manufacturing. We supplied spare parts for their ground

support equipment, but we didnt make anything in house, Duncan says. However, we had the opportunity to acquire a local company called Bowman and Sanderson (B&S), who made the parts that BAE needed, so we bought their stock, and took on their employees and machinery. We asked BAE to audit the company and give it manufacturing clearance. It was then that we started getting asked to quote for 5-axis work, and I discovered the benefits of Haas CNC machines.

Opportunity in diversity
By his own admission, Duncan knew nothing about machining. However, the B&S deal had equipped SA with more than 20 very skilled employees, including two people who could operate CNC machines. B&S had two CNC machines, and their systems were ISO approved, with very good traceability, which is what BAE wanted. So B&S did the manufacturing, and SA did the project management, including handling the finishing process and the paperwork. This was a good way to diversify, because we could start making spares for lots of different clients and airframes we were no longer restricted to servicing the 146 RJs. However, Duncan adds, I knew we couldnt compete just doing basic machining work. This was clear from the
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major machinery auctions at the time, where all I kept seeing were the same old machines we were already running. Very rarely did I see any modern 5-axis machines. That convinced me that, to compete, we needed to go as cutting-edge as we could afford. Thankfully, it turned out that two of our employees knew the local Haas salesperson, Danny Sullivan. Danny was great. He came to see me, and showed me the Haas machines on the Internet. Then he arranged for me to visit a customer in Birmingham who had a 5-axis machine. That customer was very helpful. In particular, he gave me valuable advice on the CAD/CAM package to use DELCAM. Apparently, his team had tried two or three others, but couldnt get on with them, so that was good to know. He also said that, although theyd had a couple of issues with the machines mainly things they had done wrong Haas had sorted them out very quickly. In fact, Duncan notes, he couldnt say enough good things about Haas.

Investing for the future

Naturally, we got competitive quotes from other machine tool suppliers, but the Haas machines turned out to be quite exceptional value for money and the service was excellent. So we bought our first Haas 5-axis in 2009, and havent looked back. Thats not to say we didnt go through a massive learning curve with the software and the machines in our first year, but our CNC programmer went on the DELCAM and Haas training courses and just picked it up. It was an investment that paid off, because one of our guys had won some work from the Force India F1 team (formally Jordan F1). They needed some help, and we were able to step in and make a few components for them.

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The second year was a very different story, Duncan says. We did some 50 to 60 jobs in a quarter of the time; we just ploughed through them. These were still mould-tool components, but we thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Since then, we have really strengthened our skills set. Weve worked on plastic injection mould tooling, aluminium components for aerospace clients, and titanium pieces for Force India, which they use in the composite parts for the front of their cars. We are also experimenting with honeycomb machining, which is very difficult to hold securely. We freeze the part in ice, which helps to preserve the thin walls of the honeycomb while its being machined. The ice melts very quickly, so we have a matter of minutes to take the cuts. We mainly use the 3-axis capabilities on the Haas machines for our aviation industry work, but they have also enabled us to offer new services to important customers like BAE and the MOD. For example, BAE doesnt have models for many ground support components that they designed over 30 years ago, but we can use Haas CNC programs to reverse engineer and re-model them. We do the same for the MOD, with their obsolete stock. So weve gone from being a novice, he says, to being a very competent and confident manufacturer in just over two years.

two main business units manufacturing and spare parts and dont rely solely on either one. We have continued to develop the spares business, and last year started buying old aircraft to tear down for parts. We broke down two aircraft in 2010, and are already on to our second for this year, with another waiting in the wings. As a result, we have been able to continue growing. We now employ 25 people; we are working towards gaining SC21 supply chain approval from the Society of British Aerospace Companies, and last year we moved to new facilities. With more space and a pick-up in business, we have been able to invest in three more Haas machines: two VF-3SS 5-axis vertical machining centres, and a TM-1 Toolroom Mill. These complement our existing machines: a Haas VF-4SS, an SL-10 turning centre and three other mills. Our plan is to upgrade our old machines gradually, until we use only Haas. The increased speed, flexibility, and accuracy of the Haas machines will help us do more prototype work in the developing aerospace industry, which is very interesting, and has a lot in common with our F1 work. More importantly, concludes Duncan, our long-term investment in people and technology should help us achieve European Aviation Safety Agency recognition as a Part 21J Design Organisation, which would enable us to manufacture airworthy components. Now that would really give our business a lift.
www.sagroup.aero CNC MACHINING | 45

Skilled people, advanced technology, robust systems

That diversification has been very important for our business, particularly in these difficult times. We now have

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cycle Time
Haas Automation Produces 125,000th CNC Machine
When Haas Automation introduced its first machining center the VF-1 in 1988, it was an industry milestone: the first American-built vertical machining center (VMC) to sell for less than $50,000 a price unheard of at the time. Earlier this year, Haas Automation achieved yet another milestone: the production of the 125,000th Haas CNC machine tool. Machine number 125,000 a 2012 VF-1 bound for a customer in the Philippines came off the line January 26. It is fitting that the 125,000th Haas machine was a VF-1, as it is the model that began the Haas legacy nearly 25 years ago. Todays VF-1 is easily 10 times the machine as its 1988 namesake, yet it has a base price of only $45,995, or about $24,190 in 1988 dollars,* proving Haas is still the industry benchmark for affordable CNC technology.

*U.S. dollar equivalents calculated using inflation conversion factors published January 19, 2012, by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics.

European HTEC Program Hits Milestone, Continues Expansion

Haas Automations European HTEC (Haas Technical Education Center) program recently achieved an impressive milestone with the installation of the 1000th Haas machine in a European educational establishment. The goal of the HTEC program is to help counter the worlds critical shortage of CNC technologists by establishing a new standard for advanced, industry-relevant CNC manufacturing training. To that end, Haas Automations efforts continue unabated into 2012, with new HTECs opening across the EU. Here are a few of the recent HTEC headlines from Europe:
Second Finnish HTEC Lights-up Northern Careers Haas Europe Celebrates 1000th Machine to Education Iceland Joins Haas Technical Education Center Network First HTEC Opens in Haute-Normandie, France Baden-Wrttemberg (Germany) Celebrates First HTEC Haas Europe opens first HTEC in Niedersachsen, Germany Poland Welcomes Haas Technical Education Center No. 9!

HTECS are partnerships between technical schools, local Haas Factory Outlets, and industry partners that offer modern expertise, state-of-the-art CNC technology, and topclass practical technical education to inspire more young people to study CNC manufacturing, and pursue exciting, rewarding, and crucial jobs in industry. To read more about the new European HTECs, and get the latest HTEC news, visit www.htecnetwork.eu. For information about the North American HTEC network, visit www.htecnetwork.org.

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Old Skills, New Skills

Brad Branham
In 2003, high school student Brad Lang of Alma, Michigan, participated in the SkillsUSA Championships in Kansas City, Missouri. He competed in the CNC Milling contest, high school category, and took home the gold medal for his efforts. We were asked to write the program, set up the machine, and produce the part, remembers Lang. Some of the dimensions were missing on the drawing, requiring each contestant to use trigonometry to calculate the points necessary to write the program. After his Championship win, Lang continued honing his machining skills at Mt. Pleasant Area Technical Center a Haas Technical Education Center (HTEC). He returned to Kansas City in 2005, where he won the bronze medal for CNC Milling in the post-secondary category. Lang then went on to study manufacturing engineering for two years at Kettering University in Flint, Michigan also an HTEC. In 2006, Brad Lang put his machining education on hold to join the Marines. I was a Marine Corps infantryman for two-and-a-half years with a Light Armored Reconnaissance (LAR) battalion, he recalls. Then I moved into an Explosives Ordinance Disposal (EOD) unit as an EOD technician for another three-plus years, with two deployments in Afghanistan. But on July 24, 2011, Langs life took a very sharp turn. While rendering safe some improvised explosive devices, he recounts calmly, one functioned resulting in a bilateral double amputation above the knees, a fractured pelvis, and internal injuries. After contracting pneumonia at a hospital in Germany, Sgt. Lang found himself at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, in Bethesda, Maryland. Its ironic that it was the pneumonia that almost killed me, and not my injuries, Lang observes. The new Walter Reed is amazing, he adds. The hospital staff are great, and the doctors are some of the best in the world. I have been walking on my prosthetics, and my recovery is going well. My last scheduled surgery was on Valentines Day, and I hope to be discharged from Walter Reed in the fall. And when he gets out, Lang has big plans for the future. My wife and I and our 2-year-old son have a house in North Carolina, he explains. After I medically retire from the Marine Corps, I plan to open a custom gun shop there with my business partner: co-worker at 2nd EOD Company, and woundedwarrior buddy, Johnny Morris. We are planning for a regular gun store, but also a machine shop to do custom gun work. We want a few manual machines, and a Haas VF-4 CNC mill with enough room on the table for multiple operations, or a VF-2 5-axis machine to work multiple sides in one setup. Getting started is a big job. We need financing, a building, the machines, and CAD/CAM software. Well struggle, but we will get there. Im going to school to get my business degree now, Lang continues. I have my associates degree in business administration from American Military University, and Im getting my bachelors from there, too. Sgt. Brad Lang is getting excellent training in how to make a business work, and he is applying himself with purpose and determination. He will use the engineering and machining skills he developed in high school and college along with his new business skills to secure his future. No matter what life throws at you, says Sgt. Lang, you can overcome it.
brad.m.lang@gmail.com CNC MACHINING | 47

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the ANSWER M N
Dear Answer Man, I have heard a lot of talk lately about HSM, and I am confused by so many references. What is HSM? Sincerely, Joel Dear Joel, High-Speed Machining (HSM) is a method of manufacturing that involves leveraging speed to increase the material removal rate (MRR). The true goal of HSM is to get from blank to finished part as quickly and efficiently as possible. There are three contexts in which HSM can be used. Here is one common use: In applications involving dies and molds, HSM pertains to high rpm, high feed, and light cuts in hard metals. This is an efficient alternative to EDM. A high MRR is achieved using precisely calculated movements, and utilizing block look-ahead to flow through a part without wasting time or energy. Dear Answer Man, I have had my ST-20 for about two months, and the only problem I have is programming the radial live tools. We are currently programming the radial live-tool operations longhand. Is there an easier way? Sincerely, Patrick Dear Patrick, There are ten radial canned cycles available at this time. With these radial canned cycles, there is no need to specify a plane. Here are the G-codes:
G195 Radial Live Tool Tapping G196 Radial Live Tool Reverse Tapping G241 Radial Drill Canned Cycle G242 Radial Spot Drill Canned Cycle G243 Radial Normal Peck Drilling Canned Cycle G245 Radial Boring Canned Cycle G246 Radial Bore and Stop Canned Cycle G247 Radial Bore and Manual Retract Canned Cycle G248 Radial Bore and Dwell and Manual Retract Canned Cycle G249 Radial Bore and Dwell Canned Cycle

Dear Answer Man, My company has TL-25s and just purchased two new DS-30s. On the TL-25s, we could never synchronize the spindles, but I heard we can synch the spindles on the DS-30. How do we accomplish the spindle synch? Sincerely, Kenneth Dear Kenneth, The G-code that implements spindle synchronization on a dualspindle lathe is G199. To use G199, turn on both spindles to the same rpm. Then command a G199 and do the machining. Finally, G198 is used to disengage the synch mode. There is also an optional R command that can be used to position, or clock, the spindles. The secondary spindle orients relative to the main spindle. This can be useful to avoid collisions between the chuck jaws, hex stock, or to hold a part in a specified orientation to avoid covering a feature with a chuck jaw.

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Dear Answer Man, I have a job that requires me to oversize a bunch of nuts on our TL-2. The nuts have a 4 pitch thread that has to be installed on a galvanized threaded rod. Is there a way to match up the machines threading cycle with a thread that is already machined on the nut? I have approximately .030" to remove from the threads. On a manual turning center I achieve this by engaging the split nut and adjusting the position of the tool using the compound rest. Sincerely, Scott Dear Scott, The TL-2 comes standard with Haas Intuitive Programming System (IPS). IPS has a feature called thread repair. To access this feature, press MDI, then PRGRM, and navigate to the Thread tab and select ID Thread Repair. You set the reference position by jogging the threading tool to the thread and pressing the X DIA MEAS key. Once the reference is set, fill out the page with the other information and follow the on-screen prompts. Dear Answer Man, My coworkers and I always write MDI programs. Our problem is that we keep overwriting each others information in MDI when we want to make a new program. Is there a way to save an MDI program? Sincerely, Richard

Dear Richard, There is an easy way to save MDI programs. If you are in MDI, press RESET, enter a program number (ex. O00123), and press ALTER. This will move the code from MDI and create a new program. You can select the program by pressing LIST PROG, highlighting the program, and pressing SELECT PROG. Dear Answer Man, We have a TM-1, a TL-1, and an SR-100 here in our lab in Michigan. We have a great variety of people working on these machines, and most of them have the same problem. While running through the first part, the overrides are used extensively to tweak the CNC program. However, not every tweak is remembered, and therefore not revised in the program. How can we streamline this process? Sincerely, Chris Dear Chris, This problem was so widely noticed throughout the Haas world, that we engineered a solution called

Program Optimizer specifically to address this issue. Program Optimizer is a feature of the Haas control that records spindle speed and feedrate overrides, as well as coolant on/off and P-Cool position changes, during program execution. When the program is finished (or stopped using Reset), pressing the F4 key in MEM mode opens the Optimizer window. The program is displayed on the left, with each line in which a change was made marked with an asterisk (*). On the right, the changes are displayed in a series of columns labeled: Feed, Spindle, Coolant, Cool Pos and Notes. From here, the user can alter the G-code program to reflect the overrides recorded when in-cycle, change coolant offsets, or enter notes into the program as comments. Program Optimizer is especially useful for tuning or optimizing a program when setting up a new production part, or making adjustments for tooling and material conditions. Edits are saved automatically, and the optimized program is ready for the next Cycle Start. Here is a sample screenshot of the Program Optimizer:

Watch the Video!

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Turning Redux