Melkes Precision Products CHALLENGE:
- Maximize Efficiency in Small-Lot Production
- Precise and High Value Parts
- Machine ID and OD of Large Part with Same Tool
- Maintain Tolerance of 0.002” (0.050 mm)
THE ENGINEERING TECHNOLOGIES SOLUTION:
- Two Olympia V60 CNC Vertical Turning Centers [machine 1 has extended fixed rail, machine 2 has moveable rail]
- Turn part as large as 86" (2185 mm) diameter
- Machine ID and OD for large part with same tool
- Renishaw Part and Tool Probing System
RESULT:
- 30% Decrease In Cycle Time
- Decrease in Micro-Vibrations
- Improvement of Metal Cutting Insert Life
- Improved Throughput and Productivity
Quantum Leaps...
In Aerospace Part-making Productivity
Melkes Precision Products of South El Monte, Calif. began in 1960 as a lathe shop serving the oil tool and cryogenic industries. Today the company's work includes a broad range of customers, with a strong focus on subcontracting for aerospace manufacturers. Melkes roughs and semi-finishes high-precision components for jet engines, landing gears, and hydraulic systems from nickel base alloy, titanium, and aluminum.
Aerospace manufacturers must maximize efficiency in small-lot production of precise, high value parts. As the housings and rings that comprise increasingly-powerful jet engines grew in diameter, Melkes acquired a Engineering Technologies V60 VTL to enable it to meet customer specifications for quality in large-part machining while also increasing productivity.
Melkes Precision worked with Engineering Technologies staff to specify a machine with an extended fixed rail so it could turn parts as large as 86" in diameter and also machine the ID and the OD of a large part with the same tool. The machining system enables Melkes to routinely turn very large rough forgings to within 0.002" tolerance.
Metal removal rates improved as well. A large part transferred to the V-60 from an older, less rigid machine was machined in four hours, a 30 percent reduction from the six hours required previously. Vibration or chatter that occurred on other machines was eliminated, even at higher cutting speeds and feed rates. Metalcutting insert life benefited from the elimination of micro-vibrations that previously fractured ceramic inserts.
Recently, Melkes purchased another Engineering Technologies V-60 VTL, featuring a movable rail.
Melkes Precision continually strives to provide the highest level of part quality, matched with100 percent on-time deliveries and complete customer satisfaction. The rugged, precise machine tools developed in its collaboration with Engineering Technologies enable the aerospace parts-maker to meet those goals on an ongoing basis.