Production Machining - Your access to the precision machining industrial buyer.
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Zero Defects, Three-Shift Production how many times some of the parts had to be inspected and repaired before acceptance," he says. "It's a shocking number. How do you make money on that?" Wiscon's quality range gets a lot of credibility with its customers. "I started as a supplementary supplier with this part, and we now have four parts from this customer," Mr. Christensen says. Mr. Christensen points out the quality management room, which includes a new Zeiss CMM. "We were getting to the point where we could not prove how good the parts really were, so we invested in the quality equipment," he says. Wiscon develops the process for each diferent customer part, fully utilizing the productivity of the INDEX equipment. It starts on the desktop. Te shop uses INDEX VirtualMachine process design and simulation software for :: Wiscon produces this solar industry part that is produced at the rate of 800 per day, every day of the week, on Wiscon's automatic lathe. It takes about 35 tools to make it complete. at least 90 percent of what it does. It uses it to develop cycle time analysis, and that has been highly benefcial. No CAM system is necessary or would tell us more. "We found that the more time we spend with VirtualMachine to design realistic tooling for each step of a process, the process will be much more efcient and the parts much more accurate from the get-go," Mr. Christensen says. "Production can happen immediately with faster start-up times because we can fully optimize the process and cycle times before we cut a chip." Another positive result of VirtualMachine is that Wiscon avoids using up to 12 hours of machine time trying out a new part process. On one of the C100 automatic lathes, Wiscon runs square stock for a ballscrew nut. "With the C machine, we can maintain all the orientations. Te part starts with a center hole, so it runs as fast as 4,000 rpm on the tooling. For square stock or hex stock, the INDEX bar loaders are the only ones that work efciently and quietly," Mr. Christensen explains. Because the C100 is confgured to complete a range of parts, small to large batch sizes, Wiscon reports high machine utilization rates, which allow the machine to be very cost efective. Parts can be unloaded from the main or counterspindle. Simultaneous machining with two Y axes at the main spindle or a Y axis at the main spindle and also one at the counterspindle—each with 70-mm travel—gives Wiscon the option to divide machining operations for optimum machining efciency and fexibility. Tis freedom also is a key to reduced cycle times. Wiscon can machine simultaneously with as many as three driven tools for complete machining in a single setup, including heavy milling and backworking with as many as fve tools. Mr. Christensen says, "I feel the C100 is the only machine that could do this part, which is used by the solar industry— 800 per day, every day of the week. It takes about 35 tools to make it complete. Te part has a lot of detail, and many times the customer will change it on the fy. Tat's why we fnd the versatility and quantity of the tooling on the C axis—up to 42 tools live or stationary —is key. We are now the customer's largest supplier of machined parts." Another of the C100s uses 34 separate tools (half are live tools) to make a stainless part in a single setup. "Not many pieces of equipment could handle that many tools, especially with that many live tools," Mr. Christensen says. "When you are using 34 tools, chip-to-chip time becomes important: It's less than 1 second each on the C100. Tis saves an amazing amount of time." Dealing with a competitive environment is much more manageable when working with a reliable machine tool company. INDEX has been that company for Wiscon through the years. "We feel we selected the right partner to create a production capability that has grown and is now unusual in the precision parts industry," Mr. Christensen says. Find related articles about single-spindle screw machines at our Single-Spindle Screw Machines Zone. LINK :: short.productionmachining.com/single. For more information Index Corp. 317-770-6300 Index-usa.com Wiscon Products 262-639-2272 Wisconproducts.com productionmachining.com :: 37