Midwest Case Study
Customer Profile:
Midwest Machining Solutions is a provider of the highest quality machining, manufacturing, production, repair, and assembly services. In addition, MMS also offers its own fabrication department to provide its customers with a one-stop solution for all machining and fabricating needs.
Challenge:
Eliminate the unsafe and time consuming secondary operation in a very difficult, heavily interrupted reverse counter bore application while lowering the cost per part.
Application Details:
3,600 holes annually – Ø1.024 reverse counterbore, .689 hole diameter and heavily interrupted cut. Material is HRS Steel. Currently using two piece style back boring tool.
Steiner Solution:
A fully automatic and mechanically activated Inertia Style Autofacer® from Steiner Technologies utilizes the machine’s spindle inertia to open & close the cutting blade. The CNC machine used was a Doosan 4020 vertical mill running at 250 SFPM with a feed rate of .0031 IPR.
Results:
By switching from the two piece tool system to the Steiner Autofacer, cutting time per counter bore was reduced from 4.6 minutes to 30 seconds, and total operation time from 2.6 hours to 18 minutes (36 holes per part). Total cycle time reduction equaled 89%.
Additional Benefits:
Operator Safety – Operator no longer needs to climb in & out of the machine to attach cutter head.
Scrap Rate reduction – No operator error of forgetting to remove the cutter head on two piece style tool.
Tool & Part Safety – Unique to the Steiner Autofacer, tool is equipped with perishable shear pin to provide protection from tool over load.
Randy Travers, Shop Foreman of Midwest Machining Solutions, stated, “The Steiner Autofacer delivered on what it promised and then some.” Eliminating the secondary operation was very important to Randy for more than just productivity reasons. “l didn’t want our employees to have their hands in the machine all the time as they did with the two piece system. Machines have no conscience, the Autofacer is the safe and smart way to go.”