Citation
(2009), "5-axis machining doubles productivity in aerospace component manufacture", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 81 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2009.12781aab.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2009, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
5-axis machining doubles productivity in aerospace component manufacture
Article Type: Aerospace Technology From: Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology: An International Journal, Volume 81, Issue 1
Of the many subcontractors in the UK serving the growing aerospace sector, Atlantic Precision Engineering is unusual in that, since it was established in 1992, it has specialised in machining both metallic and non-metallic components, the latter accounting for one-third of throughput.
The wide range of materials machined include titanium, aluminium, steel and stainless steel, while in a purpose built area with dust extraction, carbon fibre, plastics, structural foam and even cork are processed. Prismatic machining, mainly within a 500 mm cube, accounts for four-fifths of turnover, the remainder coming from mill-turned components.
The Yateley, Hampshire firm, 80 per cent of whose business is in the aerospace sector, plans to double annual turnover to £5 million by 2010. OEMs such as Airbus and Bombardier are current customers, as are BAE Systems and a number of other leading tiers 1 and 2 suppliers.
Investment of £750,000 in the 12 months to July 2008 saw Atlantic’s floor area grow by 40 per cent, the adoption of Jobshop production control software and the installation of a Matsuura MAM72-63V 5-axis machining centre (Figure 1).
A Hexagon Status G3 co-ordinate measuring machine has recently been installed to strengthen the quality control function, where already the shop floor staff has been given responsibility for self-certifying first article inspection of components they produce.
Every area of the business is being reviewed to achieve the growth target, as well as to respond to cost-down pressures from the customer base. Japanese-inspired 5S and lean production philosophies are being adopted to position the subcontractor as a world-class supplier of zero-defect components.
Atlantic’s Managing Director, Stephen Ray, intends to upgrade not only the company’s capacity but also its capability and efficiency. Areas under the spotlight include automation, and a reduction in the number of operations required to produce a component. They are two areas that can boost component productivity in Atlantic’s medium batch, high-mix environment, without increasing labour costs.
There is consequently a focus on 5-axis prismatic machining, which the subcontractor already exploits, having retrofitted a Nikken 2-axis attachment to a 3-axis Matsuura MC-800VG2 machining centre (Figure 2), installed in 2004. Much of the work through this machine now involves fully interpolative, 5-axis cycles, or 3/4-axis machining with the rotary axes positioned and clamped to improve cutter access to the component.
Four years ago, before Stephen joined the company, the decision had been taken by the Board of the family-owned company to move away from investing in budget machine tools towards installing top-end plant. High-component accuracy as well as machine reliability and longevity were the goals, as well as higher metal removal rates to increase production efficiency. A major beneficiary of the move up-market was Matsuura, which supplied not only the 3 + 2-axis MC-800VG2, but also two 3-axis MC-600VF vertical-spindle machining centres in 2006.
When the Matsuura MAM72-63V joined them on the shop floor in May 2008, it was the first purpose-built 5-axis machining centre on site, and also the first twin-pallet-change machine. The latter maximises spindle up-time by allowing off-line set-up of the next component, while the machine’s inherent rigidity maximises metal removal rates. As soon as it was installed, the 5-axis machining centre started to attract new business and has continued to do so, justifying the investment and providing an immediate and ongoing return.
Said Stephen, “Jobs that previously needed four or five separate operations on one of our 3-axis machines are now typically produced in two clampings on the MAM72-63V.”
“A batch of components we used to produce on a 3-axis machining centre and then on the Matsuura 3 + 2-axis machine is now machined 50 per cent faster in one hit on the latest 5-axis machine, taking into account the faster metal removal and elimination of inter-machine handling.”
“Overall, I would say that the MAM72-63V has halved production time across the range components that we have transferred to it, and drastically reduced work in progress, helping us to meet our customers’ cost-down expectations.”
When it came to buying the machine, Atlantic looked at a number of alternative 5-axis configurations, deciding that the trunnion-mounted rotary table design would be most suitable.
There are numerous such machines on the market, but the company’s policy of buying only equipment in the highest accuracy and performance category narrowed the choice. Matsuura won the business owing to the subcontractor’s good experience using the 3 + 2-axis MC-800VG2 and also due to the high-build quality of the 5-axis machine.
Other factors in Matsuura’s favour, according to Stephen, were that it is perceived to have the edge in the marketplace in 5-axis technology and in the provision of spares and after-sales service from its Coalville headquarters. He also pointed to the ease of use of the Matsuura G-Tech 840DI control.
The specification of Atlantic’s twin-pallet-change MAM72-63V includes a 40-taper spindle with BIG Plus face and taper tooling, 760/845/610 mm linear travels with 50 m/min rapids, 500 × 500 mm pallets with 360 kg weight capacity, a −110/+10 degree swivelling trunnion, 120-tool magazine, Renishaw MP700 probing for component datuming and a tool breakage detection system from the same supplier.
Potentials for further investment at Yateley are the installation of another MAM72-63V 5-axis machining centre to form a two-machine flexible manufacturing cell linked by an automated pallet storage system from Fastems. Matsuura and Fastems have a proven relationship, having worked closely on other recent and successful flexible manufacturing systems (FMS) integration projects in the UK.
Stephen said that such a configuration would provide a lot of extra production capacity at minimal extra cost apart from the capital expenditure, as skilled engineers would set work during the day for unmanned, lights-out production overnight and during the weekend.
Details available from: Matsuura Machinery PLC, Tel.: +44 (0) 1530 511400, Fax: +44 (0) 1530 511440.