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productionmachining.com :: 41 Ceramic End Mills Help Shops Meet Delivery Date company was firmly established, but in the meantime brought some family members on board to help out. "We started out doing a lot of overload work from larger shops in the area, but that evolved into direct support of several nuclear programs because of my father's experience in this area," says daughter Lori Albright, now owner and president of Stellar Precision. "We've since become a key supplier to a number of prime aerospace and defense contractors, including Boeing, Lockheed, and Raytheon, as well as various nuclear and medical customers, and have more than 70 employees and sales revenues of almost $10 million." Stellar prides itself on continual updates to its equipment list and has an eclectic mix of CNC machine tools. Much of its equipment is Haas, which according to Ms. Albright is not only less expensive than its foreign-built competition, but that "Made in America" resonates with many of Stellar's customers. "is approach also lets us replace our equipment on a more regular basis, which in turn keeps us current on technology." Not Too Tough Stellar is used to meeting demanding requirements. Recent projects include components for Ram Block II anti-ship missiles, the CCtCap crew transport vehicle, 155-mm Long Range Land Attack Projectile (LRLAP) advanced gun system, rocket motor cases for the Atlas Five launch vehicle, and others. eir newest project, however, would be one to test the mettle of machinists and management alike. Mr. Frieze explains that Stellar had just received a purchase order for a handful of Inconel 625 prototypes. e raw material blanks for the job measured 18-inch square by 3-inch thick (457 by 457 by 76 mm), and weighed almost 300 pounds (134 kg) each. e project team didn't worry about the tough material's poor machinability; Stellar routinely cuts Inconel and other nickel-based superalloys, as well as tungsten, maraging steels, 60 Rc 4340 (300M) and tool steel. Tolerance wasn't an issue, either. Mr. Frieze points to one recent titanium part that called out a 0.005-inch (0.127- mm) profile tolerance over its 12-inch (304-mm) length, the equivalent of holding "a couple tenths" in parts that cost more than $5,000 a piece before machining. Meeting the relatively wide open tolerances on the Inconel part was not a concern. :: Stellar Precision owner, Lori Albright, discusses tooling on the shop floor with production manager, Ed Frieze. :: This solid ceramic end mill might feel like plastic while holding it, but its cutting performance in nickel-based alloys is often 20 times that of carbide tools.