+p indexable drill saves shop nearly $50,000.

By cutting 1.0 minute in cycle time from a connecting rod drilling operation, a major aerospace job shop now saves nearly $50,000 annually.

K&A Machine (Jackson, MI) and its customer had been using a spade drill in a pecking process to drill a hole in a connecting rod. The operation started with a cored pocket on each side of the pin end of a connecting rod used in a major manufacturer's refrigeration and cooling compressors. It required 18 pecks to complete the difficult interrupted cut required for each part, according to Jim Hitt, operations manager, of K&A.

A BIG Kaiser representative proposed dispensing with the pecking operation and using Kaiser's durable indexable insert drill. Unlike the spade drill, the indexable insert drill is not so sensitive to interrupted cutting and does not need the pecking cycle.

Now K&A uses a Kaiser indexable drill for the job, saving 1.0 minute on each of 25,000 parts or 416 hours annually, Hitt says. Total annual savings from the process improvement come to nearly $50,000.

"We had to hold a certain size. and the indexable drill brings it right to size on the first pass," Hitt adds.

New Customer

This was a new job for K&A and a new customer, according to Hitt. "We were having trouble meeting the customer's production demands of 50 parts per shift. With the Kaiser boring heads and the indexable insert drill, we are doing 55 parts per shift. The customer is pleased, and we are ecstatic," he said.

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The Kaiser indexable insert drill will produce a drilled hole of diameter 1.094" when used in a standard KAB shank on center. In this case, however, it was important for the finishing tools to follow that the drilled hole be cut to a large size, but still smaller than next drill of 1.125" dia.

Kaiser indexable drills can be used off-centerline, and when used this way, will produce drilled holes up to +0.040" dia. from nominal size.

Using the indexable drill off-centerline saves the cost and leadtime that would be required to make a special diameter drill. The KAB6 connection of the adjustable drill holder has an eccentric built in that, when rotated, will move the centerline position to any specific size in increments of 0.004" dia., which can be split for 0.002" dia.

Using a Kaiser indexable drill with a carbide insert, a CAT 40 adjustable drill holder, and the KAB6 connection, K&A adjusted the standard 1.094" dia. to over 1.10" dia. Drill depth is 1.437" in ductile cast iron. The tool ran at 500 sfm (1,736 rpm) and a feedrate of 0.006"/rev (10.4"/min.).

Kaiser TWN twin cutters were used for rough boring, with a balanceable finish boring head for both pin and crank bores, using different insert holders and balancing for each component assembly and diameter separately.

Founded in 1980, K&A Machine currently operates a 12,000 sq.-ft. plant, with a planned 8,000 sq.-ft. expansion. Its equipment includes Haas milling centers and Mazak turning and milling centers. K&A specializes in short to medium run jobs. It runs mostly aerospace jobs with tight tolerances. BIG Kaiser

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