Manifold benefits.

Eagle Manufacturing Co. (Florence, KY) makes engine components like cylinder heads, intake manifolds and connecting rods, but as far as its customers were concerned, it wasn't making them quite fast or cheap enough (sound familiar?). So when it needed to install a new intake manifold production line, it bought nine FH-5800 horizontal machining centers from Mazak Corp. (Florence, KY; www.mazakusa.com). The centers employ 30-hp motors to achieve a maximum spindle speed of 12,000 rpm and 0.7G acceleration on X, Y and Z axes. They allow Eagle to increase part quality and consistency while reducing headcount to stay price competitive. Each machine mills, drills, taps and bores the intake manifold castings. To make sure everything in the work cells flows smoothly, Mazak installed two Fanuc Robotics (Auburn Hills, MI) M-710IT Toploader overhead rail-mounted robots to load and unload the machines, providing Eagle with a turnkey operation. Two-pallet changers on the FH-5800s allow the robots to load and unload without interrupting the machining process, which keeps Eagle churning out 1,200 intake manifolds a day, five-days-a-week, 24-hours-a-day.

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