TURNING MADE EASY

By definition, says Josh Johnson, the vice president of Continental Machine (Rockford, IL), his prototype and short-run production shop must constantly run lean. There can simply be no tolerating excessive programming, set-up or machining time of any kind, otherwise the shop loses and in this economy, Johnson notes, that is simply unacceptable.

Continental Machine is a seven-person, 13,000 sq ft facility that houses a variety of CNC milling, turning, wire EDM, hole popping and grinding machines, as well as various sheet metal and plastic injection molding machinery. In other words, this shop is well positioned to produce a wide variety of metal and plastic prototypes used by its diverse customer base, which spans markets such as window hardware, bicycle components, automotive parts, chemical processing, medical devices and foodservice equipment.

Materials processed here are just as wide-ranging: aluminum, CRS, tool steels such as A2 and D2, zinc, brass, copper, bronze, titanium and a variety of engineered plastics such as glass-filled Delrin.

Recently, the company purchased an Easy Turn-21 CNC combination lathe from Fryer Machine Systems, Inc. (Patterson, NY). This lathe is controlled by a Sinumerik 840D sl numerical control from Siemens Industry, Inc. (Elk Grove Village, IL). The two operators responsible for the machine upgrade at Continental had limited experience with CNC and none whatsoever with the Siemens protocol, as this was the first of its kind at the shop.

The Easy Turn-21 was particularly appealing to Johnson. ?The set-up is extremely easy,? he says. ?Teaching the tools, altering the lengths and diameters is kept very simple. After the initial learning curve, which took only a few days, the operators picked up on the conversational programming right away. Also, one of the best features on the machine was that you could still turn the parts by using the electronic handwheel for just one function, such as hogging off material automatically or putting on a tapered thread.?

He notes that this feature was not only more comfortable for the operators, but it also allows them to quickly and efficiently prove out part programs. Johnson adds that this would not have been possible on previous machines, owing to the flexibility of the control onboard the lathe. The result has been a minimum 20 percent improvement in the overall cycle time on most part programs run through this primarily prototype job shop . . . a fact that translates into a substantial increase in the job opportunities that are possible for the plant.

Echoing this sentiment, Sue Ostrander, the sales manager for Fryer, explains the process that led her company to select the Sinumerik 840D sl for all its milling and turning machines, a move that was recently formalized by the company and publicly announced. ?Since its inception 26 years ago, family-owned Fryer Machine Systems has based its operation on three core principles: build a quality product, price it fairly and provide quality service. This philosophy has allowed Fryer?s business to grow even in challenging times,? she says.

Fryer manufactures a diverse line of over 50 models of high-quality CNC machine tools in its 50,000 sq ft facility in Patterson. Over the years, the company has become well-respected for its quality and innovation, throughout the job shop and production machining market segments.

?Moving to the Siemens 840D sl platform was the next step in our ongoing commitment to provide our customers with the most innovative machine tools available in the market today,? Ostrander continues. ?The Siemens solution allows machine tool end-users to achieve higher productivity through easy and intuitive features and step-by-step, on-screen programming. This enables them to dramatically reduce set-up, programming, and tooling times, while significantly increasing output.?

?The Sinumerik 840D sl modular design allows us to take full advantage of the superior mechanical features in our machines,? continues Larry Fryer, president and CEO of Fryer. ?We have always been known for our easy conversational controls and the move to this control allows us to greatly enhance this feature,? he says. ?The menu-driven system combines an advanced geometry calculator that displays the part while the operator is programming it. Sophisticated solid model graphics allow the operator to verify the part program with more clarity than ever before.?

Larry Fryer has also been impressed with the automatic tool set-up and easy part set-up, made possible by the Siemens CNC. He explains that auto-run mode is where many operators experience difficulty. However, Siemens and Fryer worked together to create an electronic handwheel run mode that gives the operator a safer way to prove out program execution, both forward and backward, using a standard electronic handwheel.

?Siemens provides us with a highly flexible solution that is critical to our ability to meet the specific needs of each customer,? states Fryer. ?Our enhanced capability to offer the same control for both turning and milling gives our machines a unified platform that is very important to customers both in the short-term and for long range expansion. Coupled with Siemens quality and reliability, they are invaluable to us in competing in today?s aggressive marketplace.?

?Siemens has been helpful and very thorough in their training and after-sale service

Johnson further notes that the CNC has substantial hard drive space that allows most programs to be stored directly on the machine, though the company does maintain a back-up system.

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Continental Machine Co., 6715 West State Street, Rockford, IL 61102-1274, 815-964-7372, Fax: 815-964-7374.

Fryer Machine Systems, Inc., 70 Jon Barrett Road, Patterson, NY 12563, 845-878-2500, Fax: 845-878-2525, www.fryermachine.com.

Siemens Industry, Inc., Drive Technologies ? Motion Control (Machine Tool), 390 Kent Avenue, Elk Grove Village, IL 60007, 847-640-1595, Fax: 847-437-0784, www.usa.siemens.com/cnc.