TOOL MANUFACTURER GAINS COMPETITIVE EDGE WITH ADVANCED TEST STAND

This one-of-a-kind live tooling test stand enables a tool manufacturer to grow sales revenue by performing unique condition tests on its own tooling and others.

In today’s uncertain economy, staying ahead often means leveraging your strengths, improving what you do best . . . and partnering when you need the benefit of outside expertise. That is the competitive strategy that Parlec, Inc. (Fairport, NY) pursued in its recent collaboration with the Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies (CIMS) at the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT; Rochester, NY) to develop a custom advanced-technology test unit for live tooling used in multitasking CNC lathes.

Since opening its doors in 1948, Parlec first expanded its manufacturing capability and product lines into a wide range of precision toolholders, state-of-the art presetters, boring and tapping tools, as well as driven and static tooling. The company then grew its business worldwide by introducing quick-turnaround repairs and rebuilds of its own and other manufacturers’ tools. Now this live tooling test stand would be the first of its kind in the industry, with the ability to collect engineering data and perform prototype testing on Parlec tooling and evaluate similar tooling from other manufacturers.

The test unit would be interchangeable for straight and 90 deg (right-angle) tools and be able to collect important vibration, sound, temperature, torque, and deflection data, including:
• Sound level, to ensure the tools being tested meet OSHA noise standards.
• Vibration analysis, to check for proper bearing and gear design selection as well as the installation and performance of both.
• User-defined speed and load profile for the break-in of various seal designs.
• Life cycle performance under simulated production machining conditions.

Furthermore, Parlec wanted the option of being able to perform quality checks for each batch or lot of product produced (such as checking sample tools for maximum deflection). Finally, the finished test stand had to look like a piece of metrology equipment because it would be visible on the factory floor where routine plant tours are conducted and could be used for sales and product technology demonstrations for the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to whom Parlec supplies parts.

CIMS already had extensive experience with similar sensor-based technologies. For Lockheed Martin and the U.S. Marine Corps, CIMS was developing a sophisticated Asset Health Management (AHM) system that continuously and simultaneously monitors the conditions of dozens of mission-critical components on several types of sensor-equipped armored vehicles and reports back to the driver on potential failure conditions before they can occur. Likewise, CIMS is actively involved in applied research on “smart” network-connected devices with imbedded sensors and microprocessors that watch over their own performance and self-adjust for optimal functionality.

After exploring potential partners to collaborate with, Mark Wiktorski, the product manager of Parlec, approached CIMS and liked what he saw in their facilities and engineering skill. He discovered that the Center had a track record of success working with industry. Within a few weeks, he had contracted with the Center to help develop the test stand. The project was headed up by Mark Walluk, a mechanical design and analysis engineer at CIMS whose goal was to design the test stand so that Parlec would gain greater engineering insight into the condition of their final tooling products and be able to communicate this insight to their customers in ways that would enable them to monetize and grow sales revenue.

Wiktorski and CIMS met regularly to refine the specifications. Meanwhile, a team of CIMS hardware and software technical experts – Art Dee, Michael Bradley, Robert Kosty, and Domenic Maiola – was formed to lend their know-how to the project. The team rapidly drafted the equipment configuration and began development of the custom-written software that would drive the stand and collect/store the data. Soon the test stand took shape in one of the CIMS equipment bays on the RIT campus.

After the custom controller software was ready, CIMS performed extensive tests to ensure their work met Parlec objectives. The completed stand was trucked to the company in mid-2009 for installation and final on-site testing by Parlec engineers. According to CIMS, “As delivered, the test stand was a one-of-a-kind research device that provides information to the engineering and design departments that cannot be found anywhere else in the world.”

Since then, Parlec engineers have used the stand to continuously fine-tune the assembly process of their driven tools. For example, at high bearing preloads the tool temperature reaches 320 deg F and at low preload only 175 deg F. Now, after evaluating a wide range of tool performance data gathered in-hand, they can finalize the optimal load and create associated procedures for assembly.

The stand is also used to compare the characteristics of similar, though not identical, tools. The company’s 4000 rpm and 6000 rpm heads, for example, have different structures to accommodate the stresses encountered at the different speeds. But what happens when you run the 4000 rpm head at 6000 rpm? Will it stand up to the additional rotational stresses? If not, what changes would be required so it can function at the higher speed? The test stand provides data that may enable engineers to one day offer a dual-speed head – simplifying stocking for customers and saving the company the expense of manufacturing two products instead of one that can handle both speed ranges.

Competitor tools have been benchmarked against corresponding Parlec tools, and the company plans to use the resulting data to strengthen its branding efforts. “We have already shown CNC lathe OEMs Haas, Mazak, and Citizen our new test stand and the data it has generated, and they are impressed,” notes Wiktorski. “No one else in the industry has this capability. Thanks to its innovative technical features, this equipment has revitalized the advantage in our sales and marketing efforts. The ability to physically test and verify tools has already benefitted our company in several ways.”

Based in part on their capability to test and design their tools in a realistic environment, the tool manufacturer has begun using these findings in contract discussions with several leading tool industry OEMs. Wiktorski believes these talks will ultimately generate additional work with OEMs. It should also open up more opportunities for the company to export their own tool products worldwide because they can test their product prototypically before shipment overseas.

Finally, the new test stand has enabled the tool manufacturer to begin a product life-testing regimen to determine if their warranty can be increased from one year to possibly two years. “This is an important next step for us,” says Wiktorski. “When implemented, a longer warranty could be a significant competitive advantage.”

The technology designed into the test stand, its unique configuration and built-in data collection features facilitate in-depth product analysis.

“For example,” Walluk explained, “Their ability to measure vibration allows them to study the bearings and gears within the driven toolholders to determine when components become excessively worn, are on the verge of failure, and what maintenance schedules should be implemented. The torque and loads applied to the toolholder simulate a machining center environment in which they can test their toolholders. Applying load and running the toolholder allows them to find ways to create a more robust holder. ”

Wiktorski remains enthusiastic about how this test stand evolved from an idea into reality. “We’re 100 percent satisfied. Partnering with CIMS has been great. The tester project was completed on time, within budget, and it has really helped our relationship with customers and OEMs. More manufacturers should consider how a university can improve their competitiveness.”

Parlec, Inc., 101 Perinton Parkway, Fairport, NY 14450, 585-425-4400, Fax: 585-425-7542, www.parlec.com.

Rochester Institute of Technology, Center for Integrated Manufacturing Studies, 111 Lomb Memorial Drive, Rochester, NY 14623-5608, 585-475-5101, Fax: 585-475-5250, www.cims.rit.edu.