Commonality is the key: making the most of its machines' time is a key to this shop's success. Common controls on different manufacturers' machines lets it take advantage of time and effort.

Alan Manufacturing Inc., Odessa, FL, serves local manufacturers with quality components since this production CNC turning shop opened in 1976. Components include parts used in the production of high-accuracy flow instruments, high-pressure hydraulic gear, surgical equipment, marine engines, and military ordnance. The shop machines bar stock using machine tools to perform turning, threading, boring, drilling, cross-drilling, and milling. Post heat-treat operations are also performed, including grinding, honing, and hard machining to 0.00005" roundness.

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While this might seem like any normal shop, what makes Alan Manufacturing unique is that the two company operators, Al Feldman and Geoff Giner, both trained in G-code programming basics, achieve almost 100 percent machine utilization, with the exceptions of cycle, workpiece, and insert changes.

Target in Sight

"We've targeted a customer product range and production strategy that lets us use the machine tools we have in-house in the most efficient manner," Feldman said.

"For example, we can use a 1/16" groove tool for almost every job, performing single or multiple cuts. The setups are a lot easier, and with a fresh insert each time, we're ready to go."

The machines Alan Manufacturing uses include a Landis grinder, a Sunnen honing machine, and a Hardinge machining center for hard machining. But, the main workhorses, Feldman said, are an Emco Maier 332MC turning center and a Lico LNT 36 turning center.

The Lico has three independent slides, separate from the turret, with a back spindle, so up to four live tools can be used simultaneously. It runs its main and back spindles simultaneously, with full O.D./I.D. machining and an eight-position toolchanger.

Both the Emco Maier and Lico machines have Siemens' Sinumerik 840D CNCs, which, according to Feldman, are a key factor for the shop's efficiency.

"We bought the Emco machine about 3-1/2 years ago and the Lico machine in early 2006. Our first impression, lacking statistical data, was that the Siemens-controlled equipment seemed to run continuously. Now, with more than three years of production data documentation, we see net-production rates approaching 100 percent on most jobs, stopping only to change inserts."

He said setup data is captured for each job as the data are downloaded via an RS-232 serial communications port from the machine controls to the host computer for statistical analysis.

"With the CNC's storage capacity, all the jobs can be stored for immediate recall, though each program is also backed up offline on the company's computers," Feldman said.

Having Cake and Eating It, Too

"It's a piece of cake to program a job," Feldman said. "We can do it directly on the machine, using a customer-supplied print or DXF file. The control has capabilities for cut, copy, and paste. Plus, there are subroutines and self-help graphics for threading, turning, boring, and grooving. Almost every aspect of the cycle is accomplished on the machine control, while a job is running."

The shop has been able to duplicate programs between the Emco Maier and Lico machines, so the company runs up to 75 percent of its jobs on either machine. The multi-channel controls are the same, as are the motors and drive packages. On the Lico machine, the machine builder developed a custom, but transparent, front end to the Siemens CNC.

Feldman said Jimmy Cheng, a Lico engineer from the factory in Taiwan, was instrumental for getting the machine into action. Working with Alan Manufacturing's local dealer, Cheng spent four days at the shop, helping the operators learn the system.

Both the machine builders and Siemens are responsive when machine maintenance or programming service is needed, Feldman said.

"The ball starts rolling within minutes after a call or e-mail to the support center," Feldman said. "The support staff stay with us until the issue is resolved and we're satisfied."

Alan Manufacturing typically machines naval brass; 12L14, a fast machining steel bar stock; 316 and 303 stainless; and 6061 aluminum. Production output ranges from 5,000 to 10,000 pieces annually on most jobs.

According to Feldman, the near-100 percent machine efficiency, coupled with the large number of jobs stored on the machining centers and diversity of customers currently served, keeps Alan Manufacturing a leader in its market. Siemens Energy & Automation, Inc.

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