Tag Archive for: 5 Axis Machining

KAD Models – Featured Customer

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Featured Image Courtesy of KAD Models

Established in 2012, KAD Models is a small, yet steadily growing prototype machine shop, which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area and has since opened its second location in Vermont. They have been a regional leader in the advanced manufacturing space for many years, and operate in close connection with other machine shops and related businesses like turning facilities, anodizers, welders, and more. KAD Models staff is comprised of diverse occupational backgrounds (e.g. mechanic, industrial engineer, blacksmith, etc.). Further, they have invested into their local community college and technical training programs to support an expanding talent pipeline for advanced manufacturing.

Brian Kippen is the owner & founder of KAD Models & Prototypes, Inc. Before launching KAD with model maker John Dove, Brian worked as the Director of Operations at A&J Product Solutions and a machinist at Performance Structures. Brian is drawn to the challenge of making design concepts into reality, and motivated by the ever-changing landscape of machining. Brian took time to speak with us about KAD Models, his experiences, machining techniques, and so much more.

KAD Models cnc machining a custom part
Photo Courtesy of: KAD Models

Can you give us a little background on how KAD Models was started?

I worked for a few years repairing automobiles, then following high school, I attended college for about three weeks. After some strong encouragement from my mom, I moved out west. I joined the Marines, broke both of my feet, and was honorably discharged. Then, I got my broken foot in the door at a machine shop and knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. After years of working as a machinist, I went into business with one of my previous employers. After a year and a half, the partnership degraded and I made the decision to buy out my partner.

It’s been really gratifying to see the business grow and get to know different types of customers as the shop’s reputation spreads. One of the reasons I wanted to start my own shop is that I really wanted to see the industry evolve in a new way, to better meet people’s needs. It’s been really great to see that decision and the investments I’ve made in building KAD pay off.

We produce approximately $1.5M of parts for 100+ distinct clients each year.  Since its founding in 2012, KAD has continued on a steady path of growth, adding staff, equipment, and clients without marketing or advertising. We build a broad range of products such as automotive drive axles, silicone cardiovascular valves, and fully functional consumer product models. Due to the nature of prototyping, no component is outside of the realm of possibility. 

What machines are currently in your shop?

We use Haas CNC machines. At our West coast facility, we have six machines, five vertical 4 AXIS machining centers with capacities up to 26” Y AND 50” X and one 5 AXIS universal machining center. At our East coast facility, we currently have two new CNC ONE 3 AXIS and one 5 AXIS universal machining center paired with a Trinity Automation AX5 robotic cell. I decided to get a 5 axis milling machine earlier last year because I felt we should invest before the absolute necessity arose. I’m excited about the creative options it opened up and it’s been fun to put it to good use. We are currently using both Fusion 360 and Surfcam software.

What sets KAD Models apart from the competition?

Our quick turnaround time of 3-5 days with our ability to tackle very complex parts sets KAD apart from a majority of manufacturers.

I also think our willingness to really dig in with the client and get to know what they need and why. We have a really creative team here at KAD and thrive at not only building complex parts, but helping industrial designers and engineers think through manufacturing, design, and usage requirements to build the simplest, most effective product we can. I’ve created prototypes before, just from a conversation with someone – not even a CAD drawing. It’s these types of interesting challenges that made me want to be a machinist in the first place and that keeps me engaged and excited day-to-day.

end mill machining metal
Photo Courtesy of: KAD Models

KAD Models is an innovative company. Can you speak about what innovations KAD makes?

Well, KAD works with some of the most innovative companies out there, across all kinds of industries: medical devices, aerospace, automotive, and consumer electronics. We help people at the forefront of innovation bring their ideas to life, so I’d say innovation is basically our bread and butter. As far as our innovations in process, as I said before, KAD has a really creative team. Since we are well known for prototyping and since prototype manufacturing need not follow all the common work holding rules, we break them on a daily basis.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I love the challenge of taking on seemingly impossible ideas and turning them into tangible things. I’m really satisfied when I can come home after a long day and have held the things I’ve made in my hands. I’m also really proud to be a business owner. It’s incredibly rewarding to see a team you’ve taught and grown to take on and be inspired by the same types of problems as you. It’s been really cool to see what we’ve been able to accomplish for our clients. My personal passion remains automotive.  KAD has reverse-engineered many no longer available automobile components and designed parts that upgrade vintage Datsuns.

assortment of prototype parts made by Kad Models
Photo Courtesy of: KAD Models

Why is high-quality tooling important to you?

In prototyping, you often get one chance in order to make deadlines. High quality and high-performance tools allow you to get this done without question. Given 95% of our tooling is either Helical or Harvey, I would say that high-quality tooling helps us out on a daily basis. We also use High Efficiency Milling (HEM) techniques, which Helical is optimized for. We find with long cutters and with deep pockets, HEM is almost a must.  Often though, on shallow areas, it’s overkill.  As with salt, there can be too much. 

cnc machined metal wine rack
Photo Courtesy of: KAD Models

If you could give one piece of advice to a new machinist what would it be?

Fail fast and fail often. Then learn from your mistakes. 

I think the biggest thing is getting to know other machinists, learning other methods, and being open to alternative ideas. It’s important to keep your mind open because there’s always more than one way to machine something. One of the things I’ve found most rewarding about running my own shop is getting to set the tone of how we work with other shops and adjacent industries. I’m really passionate about the manufacturing community as a whole and I’m glad blogs like this exist to help draw connections amongst us.

Also, don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo. I love working with new machinists because they bring different ideas to the table. That’s really important for innovation and to keep us all moving forward.

Feel free to check them out at www.kadmodels.com or on Instagram @kadmodels or stop by their west coast shop in California or new east coast location in Vermont.

Harvey Performance Company Joins High Speed Machining Roadshow

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Updated March 30, 2020 – All In-Person Events Postponed, Join The Webinar on April 7th

Due to the current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and in an effort to maintain the safety and health of all employees and attendees, all in-person High Speed Machining events have been postponed until further notice. We hope to reschedule these events in the future.

In the meantime, we are offering the event in a virtual webinar setting on April 7th. Interested users can register here: https://micromachine.fusion360.events-autodesk.com/ 

Harvey Performance Company is excited to announce that we have partnered with Air Turbine Spindles, Autodesk, and 5th Axis Workholding on a series of nationwide events focused on high speed machining with miniature tooling from our Harvey Tool brand. This “High Speed Machining Roadshow” will be stopping at different machine tool suppliers across the US, ranging from Connecticut and Ohio to Arizona and California.

Each event will feature live high speed, micro machining demos at spindle speeds up to 65,000 RPM, and in-depth technical presentations to help unlock the mystery behind high speed machining. A free lunch will be provided for all in attendance, and there will be many opportunities to network with local CNC machinists, programmers, and engineers. Attendees will also have access to Application Engineers from all of the industry participants, including Harvey Performance Company, to help discuss difficult applications, troubleshoot current projects, and develop new, valuable relationships with local experts.

“We receive questions from our customers on a daily basis, and many are about micro machining with high RPMs,” said Jeff Rauseo, Manager of Digital Marketing, Harvey Performance Company. “We hope that by participating in these events, we can ease some of the fears that come with using miniature tooling and help enable successful micromachining projects in shops nationwide.”

A current list of dates and locations for these events can be seen here. More events and locations may be added at a later date, so stay tuned for updates from Air Turbine Spindles and Harvey Performance Company.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Tony Gunn at Air Turbine Spindles or visit their website for more information.

high speed machining

John Force Racing – Featured Customer

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John Force Racing has been dominating the motorsports world for over 30 years, winning 20 championships and hundreds of races in the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) drag racing series. John Force Racing features both Funny Car and Top Fuel teams, and just recently in 2017 they won both the Funny Car and Top Fuel championships in the same season.

John Force Racing invested in Force American Made to develop and create parts and components that would help drive all the teams to success and safety. The 84,000 square foot shop is located in Brownsburg, Indiana (just outside of Indianapolis) and is the heartbeat of John Force Racing. Thousands of parts are forged by Force American Made and its team of employees every season giving the team a competitive edge that has led to the team’s on-track success.

The Force American Made team has relied on Helical Solutions tooling to get the best performance and quality out of their CNC mills for years. The Harvey Performance Company team was invited out to Indiana to take a tour of Force American Made and spend some time with Tom Warga, Lead Machinist, to talk with him about his experiences with Helical Solutions tooling, his first time trying Machining Advisor Pro, the success they have had using the new Helical tool libraries for Mastercam, and the value their distributor, Dolen Tool, brings to the shop. Check out the video interview below to see the inner-workings of Force American Made and how Helical Solutions tooling has contributed to the success of this motorsports dynasty.

Nueva Precision – Featured Customer

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Featured Image Courtesy of Nueva Precision

When it comes to CNC manufacturing services and product development solutions in the Denver, Colorado area, Eddie Casanueva has quickly made a name for himself with his company, Nueva Precision. Eddie has more than 22 years of manufacturing experience and 19 years of business experience, which he uses to help small businesses and entrepreneurs who are looking for product support and development.

Eddie was able to take time out of his busy schedule to talk with us for this Featured Customer post. We covered topics like Eddie’s incredible training and introduction to manufacturing, his experiences using reduced neck end mills, and his suggestions for must-have equipment in any CNC machine shop.

Thanks for taking the time to talk to us for this Featured Customer post. To get started, tell us a little bit about the history behind Nueva Precision and what sort of products you typically manufacture.

Nueva Precision was first incorporated at the end of 2016. Within three months, I was making chips on my own, largely doing prototype work.

I had recently sold my share in another company I co-founded and used that money to move into a larger home in the Denver area that could accommodate a machine shop business. We were lucky enough to find a home with some acreage and an existing oversized garage which was perfect for a shop. Now that I had the building, I had to do things like get the electrical and HVAC up to spec. It required having the city run a stronger electrical line to the building I would use as my shop, but once that was all figured out, we were ready to make some chips.

Nueva Precision

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

I started by buying a used Haas mill and a used Haas lathe. People initially reached out to me for work because of my quick delivery times. I was able to turn around parts in just a week or two since the business was new. However, within a month of operating those machines, I was already at max capacity with my current equipment. Unfortunately, my lead times had increased to a more standard 4-6 weeks due to the sheer amount of work I was getting. For the rest of 2017, I stuck with my original equipment and just did the best I could to keep up.

nueva precision

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

Do you have any future plans to expand your shop and capabilities further?

I do! In early 2018 I brought in a brand new VM3 Haas Mill to keep up with demand, but I was curious about how much more revenue that would create. I expected to see a 20-30% increase in revenue, but having another machine ended up doubling my revenue. Luckily my strong relationships with my customers helped me grow the business even as my lead times increased. With that in mind, I just ordered another Haas VM2 at the end of 2018 and am excited to take full advantage of that.

How has your family reacted to you running a business out of your home?

My family has been extremely supportive throughout the whole process. My wife Leandra in particular helps out a lot. She was a teacher for 19 years, but resigned from that profession to work on Nueva Precision. She has started to help out on the business side of things and has also started to help run machines and make parts. My oldest son Jaden (16) is interested in manufacturing and he has started working and making simple parts for us when he is available. All in all, we have a pretty good thing going here.

Eddie and Leandra Nueva Precision

Eddie and Leandra Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

Jaden nueva precision

Jaden working on parts Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

How did you first get involved in CNC machining and advanced manufacturing?

I am essentially self-taught in CNC machining. I got started in engineering and manufacturing as a student at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) in the Mechanical Engineering program. It was a state school, so tuition costs weren’t bad but I still needed to support myself. I was going to school during the day and pumping gas at night to pay the bills. In my second year in school I came across an opportunity to work at an on-campus research center for manufacturing systems. It was funded by the state of New Jersey to help promote New Jersey industry. The job didn’t have much to do with my curriculum, but they supported some campus research and worked closely with the college on various projects.

The research center had all the workings of a machine shop. There were CNC mills, lathes, injection molding machines, and more. It just looked awesome. I managed to get hired for a job at minimum wage sweeping the shop floor and helping out where I could.

As a curious student, I would ask a million questions of all the machinists and try to do more and more than the usual student employee. John – a talented toolmaker and experienced machinist – took me under his wing and taught me lots of stuff about machining. I started buying tools and building out my toolbox with him for a while, absorbing everything that I could. Next thing I know, they’re handing me prints and I am making parts. A few months down the road the machinists started teaching me programming on a Mazak controller. This went on for a year or so and I just soaked it all in.

nueva precision

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

Sounds like great experience! Where did you land your first full-time position in manufacturing?

I actually landed my first full-time job at the same manufacturing research center. The center had a CNC machinist programmer resign at the facility, so there was a job opening posted. I went to the director of the center and said I was interested in the position. I knew I had to work a lot to pay my tuition, and if I worked for the university I could get my tuition paid for while also making some real money. The director recommended me for the position, so I interviewed and landed the job. All of a sudden, I had benefits, vacation, real responsibilities, and full-time pay. I flipped my schedule around so I could go to school during nights and work during the day.

I learned so much about machining in my first job because of the unique situation I was in. Companies like Blaser Swisslube, Kennametal, and GibbsCAM were supplying us with product and support to work on process improvements for large New Jersey corporations like BF Goodrich Aerospace, US Can, etc. It progressed to the point where GibbsCAM was actually sending me to seminars to train me on different industry topics to further my education and improve the reports we were outputting.

nueva precision

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

I was in an amazing position to get all this training and I learned so much in the next 4-5 years. We had equipment like a Fadal 5-Axis CNC Machine and other high tech machines at my disposal, which were very hard to find at the time (mid-1990s). Nobody outside of the most elite machine shops were working in 5-axis, so I had a head start because of this unique job experience.

I actually never finished my degree and instead dove head first into manufacturing. I started my own business on the side and kept working at the research center until 2001 when I left to focus full-time on my new business, Spidertrax Offroad.

Can you tell us more about your experience with Spidertrax Offroad?

Spidertrax Offroad is a manufacturer of drivetrain parts for off-roading vehicles. I started Spidertrax with a partner whom I met in college. The company actually started making our first parts at the research center I was employed at. I asked my boss if I could start making parts off the clock on my own time, and he agreed to let me use the shop. This would have been around 1998, and by 2001 I was ready to take off on my own. My partner and I built that company up to 20 employees, and we were (and they still are) a well-respected brand in the off-roading community.

The hardest part about operating my own business and watching it grow was losing the ability to get out in the shop and actually do what I love, which is making parts. As the business grew, I had to take on more responsibility as a “business man,” and let go of many of the things I enjoyed doing as a machinist. I was very proud of what we had built, but I really wanted to get back to basics. So, in early 2017 I sold my half of Spidertrax Offroad to my partner and took that money to buy the new house and open Nueva Precision, Inc.

What sort of machines and CAM software do you have in your new shop?

Right now for CNC machines I have a 2018 Haas VM3, a 2018 Hass VM2, a 2012 Haas VF2, and a 2012 Haas TL2. I also have an engine lathe, a Bridgeport knee mill, Kaeser screw compressor, which I absolutely love, and a couple of Jet saws.

For software, I still use GibbsCAM. I have been using GibbsCAM since 1996 and have had countless hours of training and experience using it, so I think I’m a lifer.

haas vf2

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

Outside of tooling, what are some key components of your machining setup that you would recommend to others?

I started Nueva Precision without any sort of probing system in place, and using an umbrella style tool changer. I found out quickly that my time, especially being alone, is worth a lot. I highly recommend getting a solid probing system as well as a side mount tool changer. I added all of that to my VM3 and the effect was immediately noticeable. It is so much more efficient and faster.

Keeping software up-to-date is also key. It can be expensive, but it speaks for itself in just a few months. Any time I invest in technology, it seems to pay off pretty quick.

5th axis workholding

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

I also feel strongly about having solid workholding. I have a couple of the 5th Axis self-centering vises which are great, and a handful of Kurt vises, as well. I am also a big fan of the MMM-USA guys and their vise jaws and handles. For my shop, flexibility is key because I never know what can come through the door. I don’t do a lot of production work and spend much more time on prototype work, so flexibility is key. Having good quality workholding that I don’t need to worry about lets me swap parts in and out with ease.

As for tool holding, I ran into an issue last year where I was starting to see a lot of tool pullout and was scrapping too many parts as a result of aggressive roughing. I had to find a better solution, and I came across the REGO-FIX PowRgrip system. It might seem expensive compared to other simpler tool holder, but I think the upfront investment isn’t too bad considering the other options in that space. Again, I invested in technology, and immediately saw better results. I currently use the PowRgrip for finishing passes where I need good runout and heavy roughing where there is the highest risk of tool pullout.

REGO powRgrip

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

You use a lot of Helical’s Reduced Neck end mills. What are some tips or tricks you have learned by using these tools that you could share with others?

My experience with these tools is really new, but I find myself using more and more of them these days. In the beginning, I was afraid of end mills with a longer length of cut singing like crazy in the machine. I started experimenting with the reduced neck tools from Helical and was blown away by the rigidity. The tool pressure remains consistent throughout the part, so you will get the same great results on the top of the part as on the bottom.

I don’t know how many people are currently using them but it makes so much stuff possible. I have gone as large as ¾” diameter with the 5” reach and have never had an issue. Maintaining the low levels of runout is definitely key with these tools, which again comes back to having solid toolholding. Now that I have the REGO-FIX system, I am getting much better runout and plan to start pushing the reduced neck tools even harder.

helical reduced neck end mill

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

Most of my reduced neck end mills are the standard style, but the chipbreaker with the reduced neck has been a powerhouse for me as well. No matter what I tried with Helical’s reduced neck tooling, I have had success, so I would recommend the entire line if the situation calls for it. Just be careful with runout and make sure to double check your clearance!

What are some of your key Helical products that you use on a daily basis?

My main workhorse is Helical EDP 29422 – the ½” 45 Degree Chipbreaker for Aluminum. I swear I use that tool every single day across all of my machines. That tool is gold for me; it is night and day compared to standard roughers. It has a long enough flute length to be versatile or aggressive, depending on the situation. It is just a great tool. You will need a good holder for sure to keep it from pulling out when you get aggressive, but again my new software and tool holding helps with that.

helical solutions

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

Outside of performance, I love getting the smaller chips that the chipbreaker tools create. It is so much easier to clean a machine with small chips than long, stringy ones, which saves me time. I do all my roughing with chipbreakers. If you are making stringy chips while running HEM toolpaths, they can be a major pain to deal with.

My customers love the finish that Helical gives me as well. The wiper flat on the bottom of the H40ALV-3 end mill stands out as one of my favorite features on any of my tools. That tool gets me compliments on the floor finishes of pockets and enclosures all the time. Across the board, tool life and finish has been awesome with my Helical end mills. I currently use the Zplus coating for all my aluminum tools and have no complaints.

part finish

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

This summer I had the privilege of working on some aerospace parts that will be going up into space!  Most all parts were being machined from pre-hardened stainless steels and exotic alloys.  The Helical 5-flute and 7-flute endmills with the Aplus coating proved to be great tools to have in the arsenal.

What are your “go-to” Harvey Tool products?

For Harvey Tool, I use a lot of the full radius Keyseat Cutters to surface mill areas you can’t get to with a ball nose end mill. This saves me valuable time because I can avoid flipping the part to surface mill both sides by doing it all in one operation with the Keyseat Cutter.

keyseat cutter

Photo Courtesy of: Nueva Precision

Outside of the keyseats, I use a lot of miniature end mills with reduced shanks and chamfers mills in a variety of angles. I also use lollipops (undercutting end mills) to surface mill parts with hard-to-reach holes.

Overall, being able to look through a single catalog and find tons of options for neck diameters and cutter diameters is what sells me on the Harvey Tool product. It is really neat to have all those different tools available to me in one place – it’s a great catalog.

Would you like to be considered for a future “Featured Customer” blog? Click here to submit your information.

Master Machine Manufacturing – Featured Customer

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Featured Image Courtesy of MMM USA

Master Machine Manufacturing, or MMM USA, is a family-owned and operated machine shop based out of Tulsa, Oklahoma. Master Machine is a rapidly expanding company which has seen serious growth as both a job shop and as an OEM Manufacturer of their own Quick Vise Handles and Piranha Jaws for CNC machinists.

Brothers Geordan and Nace Roberts, along with their mother, Sherry Roberts, are the owners of Master Machine Manufacturing. With Geordan and Nace, we dove into topics like having a growth mindset, working smarter instead of harder, and expanding a “job shop” business while also creating and manufacturing their own OEM products.

Tell us a little about Master Machine’s history and the type of work that your company does.

Geordan: Master Machine has been in business since 1981. Our father, George Roberts, started the business. At the beginning it was a pretty typical manual machine shop operating primarily as a job shop. As Nace and I got older, Dad introduced us to the business and we started working there part-time, eventually transitioning into full-time employees. In 1996, we transitioned to high precision machining with our first CNC machine – a Haas VF1, and we kept adding new CNC machines from there.

Nace and I took over in 2013 after our Dad passed. We had to make the transition from managers and shop foreman to owners and dealing with customers. We now own and operate the business with our mother, Sherry Roberts.

master machine

Geordan, Nace, Sherry, and the rest of the MMM USA team at IMTS with Mark Terryberry from Haas Automation Photo Courtesy of: MMM USA

At its core, Master Machine is a job shop that does a lot of high precision machining. We work on things like lab test equipment, parts for the aerospace industry, and a lot of parts for the oil and gas industry. More medical jobs and odd things like parts for off-road racing have started to come in recently as well. One cool thing about us is that we have the unique ability to operate as a job shop, but also to design and manufacture our own products. Many of your readers have probably seen some of our vise handles and jaws in use online, especially on Instagram.

Your MMM USA Jaws and Vise Handles have become extremely popular in the CNC machining community. Where did you get the idea for that product?

Geordan: We had been using other brands of vise handles and jaws for a long time and got tired of buying products that were cheap and didn’t work well. We had this idea for a while, so in 2013 when things started to slow down a little bit, we had an opportunity to spend some time and design our own products. It was just about 2 years ago that we designed our first vise handle and Piranha Jaws. After using social media, showing them off at IMTS and other Industrial Trade Shows, they really started to take off. Our vise handles and jaws have really started to become a business of their own over the past couple of years.

vise handle

Photo Courtesy of: MMM USA

Can you breakdown the shop for us? What are you working with in terms of shop size, machine capabilities, and software?

Nace: We operate as a 100% debt-free company, so we grow as we need to. We have been at our current location for 10 years with 5-7 different additions along the way. Our shop is now spread across 10,300 square feet.

We currently have 18 CNC milling machines, including our original machine, the 1996 Haas VF1. We have been growing very fast over the past 10 years. From 2004-2007, we only had 3 CNC mills, and we have acquired the other 15 machines all in the last decade. We like buying from companies that make their products right here in the USA, so we have grown our shop through the Haas line of machines. Almost everything we own here is made by Haas Automation. In fact, our Haas VF4 and our 5-axis Haas UMC750 are some of our biggest mills in the shop right now.

Geordan: We also have other capabilities in the shop. We can do welding, painting, surface grinding, and we have a nice setup of bar feeders and lathes. For software, we use a lot of BOBCAD V31 for our 4th and 5th axis mill programming and all of our lathe programming, Nace uses a lot of Autodesk Fusion 360 for the mill side of things.

For inspection, we have many inspection tools, including a Fowler Z-Cat CMM that can measure down to +/- .0002″ for our most high precision jobs.

How did you guys first get involved in manufacturing?

Geordan: I started machining with my Dad at age 13, and got into it full-time after high school, but was not yet fully committed. At this point, I learned manual and CNC machining entirely through working with my Dad and my Uncle.  It wasn’t until my Uncle, the main machinist in our shop, decided to split off and start his own shop that I was faced with a more urgent need to commit to the family business. So I decided to make manufacturing a full time career move and started learning fixturing, programming, and everything I needed to know to be successful. We still have a great relationship with my uncle and his shop and I wouldn’t be where I am today without him stepping out on his own.

Nace: I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life. I just knew I wanted to make money, and a lot of money. I was actually in college for radiology and physical therapy, but I didn’t like the layout of the career path. I could not convince myself to wait to start making real money until I had finished a long education and received a license 6-8 years down the road.

Instead of physical therapy and radiology, I started taking more computer engineering courses and learned a lot about programming and technology. After my uncle left, I told my Dad I would like to be a bigger part of the business and take what I knew from my computer programming classes and apply it to the shop. Within a year I had gone from never running a CNC to fully doing everything on the machine. My computer programming skills definitely helped me make the transition into CNC machining and programming.

master machine

Photo Courtesy of: MMM USA

As a second generation owner of a family business, how do you stick to those family values while also rapidly expanding the business?

Nace: We have grown a lot with our systems and technology, but our culture has also changed since we took over. We educated ourselves on workplace culture and maintaining a positive work environment. When we were kids, Dad worked probably 100 hours a week and we were always fortunate that he was able to provide us with food, clothes, and a roof over our heads. But no matter how hard he worked, he can’t replace the time with us that was spent working.

One of the major improvements we focused on was trying to maintain repeatability. Everything in the shop is labeled in boxes and readily available for our employees. Ultimately, we want to do everything we can to make it easy as possible for our employees. We want to work smarter, not harder, so there is more time for our employees to spend with family and not spend their lives in the shop.

As owners, we often need to work odd hours of the day to maintain the business, but we do it in a way that makes sure we have our family time. There are many times where we will go home, have dinner and hang out with the family, and wait until they are all sleeping to go back to work until 2 or 3 a.m.. We will get back home later that morning to sleep a little and have breakfast with the family and send them on their way before heading back in to the shop.

Working with family, we have to remind ourselves that business is business, and outside of business it is all about family. It can be tough to differentiate those two, but you have to. We went to business counseling and learned how to respect family members and build up the team while also making tough business decisions. We have our tough moments at the shop, but at the end of the day this is still your family. You can’t carry any frustration with other family members outside of those shop doors and into the home.

mmm usa piranha jaws

Photo Courtesy of: MMM USA

What are some other things you have done to maintain your “Work Smarter, Not Harder” mantra?

Geordan: One of the first things we did was look into getting more tooling and better tooling. We paid more for tools that can push harder and faster, and last longer. When Dad ran the shop, he would just buy whatever he thought we could afford and still get the job done. Now as CNC technology and advanced CAM systems have improved, the need for quality tooling is extremely important. Finding the best and most reliable tools helped take our shop to the next level and that is where Harvey Tool and Helical come into play.

Nace: We like to be the “purple cow” of the industry, differentiating ourselves in any way that we can. We strive to maintain a certain level of quality across our website, our Instagram page, our products, and the entire business as a whole. We are proud to support products made in the USA and keep supporting American manufacturing to help keep the business thriving in our shop and others. We are always happy to support companies like Haas, Harvey Tool, Helical, and many others who are doing it all right here in the USA.

What are some of your “go-to” Harvey Tool and Helical products?

Geordan: The Helical Chipbreaker End Mill for Aluminum is key for making our vise handles. We use the ½” end mill and run it at 10k RPM, 300 IPM with a .700” DOC and 40% stepover. We can push those tools harder than others while also maintaining our product’s quality. We also rely heavily on Helical’s HEV-5 for our steel applications.

One of our favorite and most-used tools is the Harvey Tool 90 Degree Helically Fluted Chamfer Mill. We use the 3-flute style on everything that isn’t Aluminum because we can simply push it faster and harder than anything else that we have tried.

master machine

Photo Courtesy of: MMM USA

Nace: We actually keep a ton of other Harvey Tool and Helical products in our Autocrib. It made sense for us to get an inventory system, and we got a great deal on a system during the recession. Industrial Mill & Maintenance Supply got us hooked up with an Autocrib and a ton of tools, and they have been great at supplying it whenever we need more. It has helped a lot having an inventory system like that. It is reassuring to know that we have the best tools ready on hand so we can eliminate any potential downtime.

Master Machine is everywhere in the online machining community, specifically on Instagram. How has online marketing and social media changed the way you promote your business?

Geordan: Most people who run businesses seem to just hope that the word of mouth gets out there, or they have a website and hope it just goes viral one day and gets some attention. With the way the Internet is so crowded these days, you have to do something more to stand out. On our side, we have boosted our business through the use of paid online advertising with Google, boosting our SEO (Search Engine Optimization) to rank higher in search results, and being heavy users of social media like Instagram.

When I started the Master Machine Instagram account, I was really just using it to see what other machinists were doing. It was actually only a personal account for my use. I was skeptical of Instagram because of the Facebook community of machinists. I always viewed Facebook as a little more negative and less productive, while the Instagram community was much more collaborative.

mmm usa

Photo Courtesy of: MMM USA

I started by following people like Aeroknox, Kalpay, John Saunders, Bad Ass Machinists, and Tactical Keychains. I immediately noticed how helpful everyone was. I started posting as a business just about 2 years ago, when I posted our first version of the vise handles. Almost immediately people started asking to buy them. We were blown away by the response.

We didn’t set out to create something new with these handles, but by getting our name out there and filling a need for people following us, the hype continued to grow and grow and grow. Instagram has been a great tool for that aspect of the business, especially. We now have around 15 distributors across the US who are carrying our products, and are getting some great momentum. We also sell a lot of our products direct on our website, and 99% of that probably comes through Instagram.

Nace: We have actually landed distributors through someone following us online and going to their integrated distributor asking for our products. The distributor then called us and asked if they could carry our product on their shelves. Other online connections have also helped us land distributors through simple messages and phone calls.

Where do you see MMM USA in 10 years?

Nace: That’s a tough question…

At the shop, we always stress four major actions: Define, Act, Measure, and Refine. In our eyes, there are always better ways to do things and improve our processes. We hire people to have a growth mindset, and so we are redefining our future every day through our continual improvement process. We strive to always have that growth mindset to figure out how to do a job more efficiently. With constant improvement always taking place, it is hard to nail down exactly where the shop will be in 10 years, 5 years, or even 1 year from now. One thing is for sure – we will be successful.

Geordan: Something we do want to focus on is creating new assets, exploring new ventures, and doubling in size every year. We want to continue to release new products to build out our own product line and have MMM USA distributors worldwide.

Back in the day, Kurt Workholding was just a job shop, and now they are one of the most recognized workholding brands in the CNC machining industry. It is really hard to say where this ends or goes, but we think we have a bright future as both a job shop and as a supplier of our own OEM products for manufacturing.

vise handles

Photo Courtesy of: MMM USA

Are you currently hiring new machinists? If so, what qualities and skills do you look for?

Geordan: Every Tuesday we have an open interview at 4 PM. As you can imagine, with our company’s growth, we are constantly hiring. We are looking for people that are positive that have a growth mindset who can grow within the company. We always believe we can promote from within. Most of our people have been at Master Machine for 10-15 years because we can always move people up closer to the top and help them advance in their careers as we grow.

Nace: We are really focused on finding people with good attitudes, and people who want to be here. Skilled machinists are great, but they can be rare, so attitude and fitting in with the culture is huge. We can always take a good attitude and train the skill level up, but we can’t take a good skill level and change the bad attitude. We want team members who will coach each other up and help improve the team as a whole. We love working together and supporting the business together in every aspect of the business.

master machine

Photo Courtesy of: MMM USA

What is the best advice you have ever received?

Geordan: We really like “Notable Quotables.” Here are a couple of our favorites.

“The pen is for remembering, and the mind is for making decisions.”

We only have so much brain power to make crucial decisions, so we write all the day-to-day action items down on our checklists to make sure nothing is left undone. That frees our minds up from having to remember every little piece of the business so we can save that brain power for strategic decision making moments. We must be proactive and not reactive as we lead our team.

Nace: “Your employees want to follow someone who is always real, and not always right.”

As a leader, you need to take responsibility when you screw up, and be open with the team. Let them be a part of fixing the problem, and approach every situation looking at the positive.

Would you like to be considered for a future “Featured Customer” blog? Click here to submit your information.

How to Extend the Life of Your End Mill

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Breaking and damaging an end mill is oftentimes an avoidable mistake that can be extremely costly for a machine shop. To save time, money, and your end mill it is important to learn some simple tips and tricks to extend tool life.

Properly Prepare Before the Tool Selection Process

The first step of any machining job is selecting the correct end mill for your material and application. However, this doesn’t mean that there should not be an adequate amount of legwork done beforehand to ensure the right decision on a tool is being made. Harvey Tool and Helical Solutions have thousands of different tools for different operations – a vast selection which, if unprepared – can easily result in selecting a tool that’s not the best for your job. To start your preparation, answer the 5 Questions to Ask Before Selecting an End Mill to help you quickly narrow down your selection and better understand the perfect tool you require.

Understand Your Tooling Requirements

It’s important to understand not only what your tool needs, but also general best practices to avoid common machining mishaps. For instance, it is important to use a tool with a length of cut only as long as needed, as the longer a tools length of cut is, the greater the chance of deflection or tool bending, which can decrease its effective life.

tool life

Another factor to consider is the coating composition on a tool. Harvey Tool and Helical Solutions offer many varieties of coatings for different materials. Some coatings increase lubricity, slowing tool wear, while others increase the hardness and abrasion resistance of the tool. Not all coatings increase your tool’s life in every material, however. Be wary of coatings that don’t perform well in your part’s material – such as the use of AlTiN coating in Aluminum (Both coating and material are aluminum-based and have a high affinity for each other, which can cause built-up edge and result in chip evacuation problems).

Consider Variable Helix & Pitch Geometry

A feature on many of our high performance end mills is variable helix or variable pitch geometry, which have differently-spaced flutes. As the tool cuts, there are different time intervals between the cutting edges contacting the workpiece, rather than simultaneously on each rotation. The varying time intervals minimizes chatter by reducing harmonics, increasing tool life and producing better results.

Ensure an Effective Tool Holding Strategy

Another factor in prolonging tool life is proper tool holding. A poor tool holding strategy can cause runout, pullout, and scrapped parts. Generally, the most secure connection has more points of contact between the tool holder and tool shank. Hydraulic and Shrink Fit Tool Holders provide increased performance over other tightening methods.

tool life

Helical also offers shank modifications to all stocked standards and special quotes, such as the ToughGRIP Shank, which provides added friction between the holder and the shank of the tool for a more secure grip; and the Haimer Safe-Lock™, which has grooves on the shank of the tool to help lock it into place in a tool holder.

helical end mill

Trust Your Running Parameters, and their Source

After selecting the correct end mill for your job, the next step is to run the tool at the proper speeds and feeds.

Run at the Correct Speed

Understanding the ideal speed to run your machine is key to prolonging tool life. If you run your tool too fast, it can cause suboptimal chip size, ineffective chip evacuation, or even total tool failure. Adversely, running your tool too slowly can result in deflection, bad finish, or decreased metal removal rates.

Push at the Best Feed Rate

Another critical parameter of speeds and feeds is finding the best possible feed rate for your job, for sake of both tool life and achieving maximum shop efficiency. Pushing your tool too aggressively can result in breakage, but being too conservative can lead to recutting chips and excess heat generation, accelerating tool wear.

Use Parameters from Your Tooling Manufacturer

A manufacturer’s speeds and feeds calculations take into account every tool dimension, even those not called out in a catalog and readily available to machinists. Because of this, it’s best to rely on running parameters from tooling manufacturers. Harvey Tool offers speeds and feeds charts for every one of its more than 21,000 tools featured in its catalog, helping machinists to confidently run their tool the first time.

Harvey Performance Company offers the Machining Advisor Pro application, a free, cutting-edge resource that generates custom running parameters for optimized machining with all of Helical’s products.

tool life

Opt for the Right Milling Strategy: Climb vs Conventional

There are two ways to cut material when milling: Climb Milling and Conventional Milling. In conventional milling, the cutter rotates against the feed. In this method, chips will start at theoretical zero and increase in size. Conventional milling is usually recommended for tools with higher toughness, or for breaking through case hardened materials.

In Climb Milling, the cutter rotates with the feed. Here, the chips start at maximum width and decrease, causing the heat generated to transfer into the chip instead of being left in the tool or work piece. Climb milling also produces a cleaner shear plane, causing less rubbing, decreasing heat, and improving tool life. When climb milling, chips will be removed behind the cutter, reducing your chances of recutting.

Utilize High Efficiency Milling

High Efficiency Milling (HEM), is a roughing technique that uses the theory of chip thinning by applying a smaller radial depth of cut (RDOC) and a larger axial depth of cut (ADOC). The parameters for HEM are similar to that of finishing, but with increased speeds and feeds, allowing for higher material removal rates (MRR). HEM utilizes the full length of cut instead of just a portion of the cutter, allowing heat to be distributed across the cutting edge, maximizing tool life and productivity. This reduces the possibility of accelerated tool wear and breakage.

Decide On Coolant Usage & Delivery

Coolant can be an extremely effective way to protect your tool from premature wear and possible tool breakage. There are many different types of coolant and methods of delivery to your tool. Coolant can come in the form of compressed air, water-based, straight oil-based, soluble oil-based, synthetic or semi-synthetic. It can be delivered as mist, flood, high pressure or minimum quantity lubricant.

Appropriate coolant type and delivery vary depending on your application and tool. For example, using a high pressure coolant with miniature tooling can lead to tool breakage due to the fragile nature of extremely small tools. In applications of materials that are soft and gummy, flood coolant washes away the long stringy chips to help avoid recutting and built-up edge, preventing extra tool wear.

Extend Your Tool’s Life

The ability to maximize tool life saves you time, money and headaches. To get the best possible outcome from your tool, you first need to be sure you’re using the best tool for your job. Once you find your tool, ensure that your speeds and feeds are accurate and are from your tooling manufacturer. Nobody knows the tools better than they do. Finally, think about how to run your tool: the rotation of your cutter, whether utilizing an HEM approach is best, and how to introduce coolant to your job.

Fleet Machine Co. – Featured Customer

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Featured Image Courtesy of Fleet Machine Co.

Fleet Machine Co. was founded in 2010 to dramatically outperform other contract manufacturers by fusing advanced machine tools, automation and custom software to achieve what they call “Zero Manufacturing”. The team at Fleet Machine take pride in their ability to produce zero defects, zero missed delivery dates, carry zero part and material inventory, and maintain zero process inefficiencies. Every strategic decision and investment that they make is based on this philosophy of eliminating waste and human error from the manufacturing process.

For Manufacturing Day 2018, the team at Fleet Machine hosted several shop tours for Harvey Performance Company employees. Employees across all departments from Customer Service and Marketing to Finance and Accounting were given a in-depth tour of Fleet Machine’s manufacturing process. Josh Pregent, co-owner of Fleet Machine, was kind enough to host the tours at his shop and talk to us for this post. We talked with Josh about manufacturing automation, the challenges of obtaining AS9100/ISO9001 certification for your business, and the advantages of different milling machine types.

Thanks for hosting our team at your shop. It was a great tour! To get started, tell us a little bit about Fleet Machine’s history, and what sort of products you typically manufacture.

Fleet Machine Co. was incorporated in 2010 in Gloucester, MA to manufacture precision components for the Aerospace, Defense, Medical, and Robotics industries. Fleet’s emphasis on quality, customer service, and professionalism quickly distinguished us from other manufacturers and allowed us to outgrow our original location and expand to our current location. Since our inception, we have devoted our company to automating manufacturing and business processes to minimize human interaction and error in the manufacturing process. Our ultimate goal is to completely eliminate all human involvement in production. This may seem like a lofty goal, but you have to have dreams!

Fleet Machine

Photo Courtesy of: Fleet Machine Co.

How did you first get involved in manufacturing?

My business partner and I both worked in a machine shop while we were in college and instantly became interested in manufacturing. Over the years, we advanced through the different facets of manufacturing, learning everything we could. In 2010 we seized an opportunity and decided to branch out on our own to start Fleet Machine.

Do you have any advice for someone who is looking to open their own shop?

Opening your own shop involves more than knowing how to program and machine. You also need to be willing to sacrifice some of your free time by working long hours to build your business from the ground up. Being a great machinist is important, but you also need to understand the basics of business, and you need to be able to sell your service and maintain a certain level of quality to keep your customers coming back.

We saw a good mix of machine types while walking around the shop floor. What sort of machines and software do you have here in the shop?

Fleet currently has three two axis turning centers, four three axis VMCs (Vertical Milling), one mill/turn with sub-spindle, and two HMCs (horizontal milling) with sixteen work stations each. It is a long list, but the specific types of machines we have in our facility are listed below. For software, we use a custom Salesforce CRM module, E2 MRP, and Mastercam 2019 for programming.

CNC MILLING

  • (2) Akari-Seiki 450i HMC 27 x 26 x 25 X, Y, Z Travel, dual 400mm pallets, 15,000 RPM, through spindle coolant, 80 tools
  • (2) Mori-Seiki MV-40E VMC 22 x 16 x 18” X, Y, Z Travel, 20 tools, 8000 RPM
  • (1) Mori-Seiki MV-40B VMC 31 x 16 x 20” X, Y, Z Travel, 20 tools, 8000 RPM
  • (1) Haas VF-2 VMC 30 x 16 x 20” X, Y, Z Travel, 25 tools, 10,000 RPM

CNC TURNING

  • (1) Mori-Seiki SL-15 5000 RPM, 9” maximum turning diameter x 16” maximum length
  • (1) Yama-Seiki GA-2000 6000 RPM, 13” maximum turning diameter x 20” maximum length, programmable tailstock, tool setter
  • (1) Doosan Puma 240MSB 6000 RPM, 11” maximum turning diameter, 18” maximum length, dual spindle, live tooling, C-axis milling, tool setter, part catcher/part conveyor
  • (1) Mori-Seiki CL-200 4000 RPM, 11” Maximum turning diameter, 12” maximum length

lathe with lubrication

Photo Courtesy of: Fleet Machine Co.

How has the mill/turn CNC machine helped you speed up production? Would you recommend it to others?

Our mill/turn machine has helped us increase production by reducing our setup time. There is no longer a need to remove a turned part, get it over to a mill, and set everything up again. Most basic milling operations can be performed on the mill/turn machine, so it is a great time saver.

We would definitely recommend this type of machine to other shops. Ultimately, we highly recommend any machine/software/process/ancillary equipment that eliminates or reduces human labor. Manufacturing is a ruthlessly competitive, tech-driven industry and the failure to invest in technology of this type exposes you to over reliance on expensive, scarce, and potentially unreliable human labor and possible obsolescence.

You also have both horizontal milling centers (HMCs) and vertical milling centers (VMCs). What has been your experience with both, and do you prefer one style over the other?

In my opinion, HMCs are superior to VMCs in every respect due to the additional axis, superior chip evacuation, greater load capacity, and the ability to run unattended with pallet pools. VMCs are still useful for simple jobs and rapid prototyping, but for high production runs we lean on the HMCs to get the job done.

cnc metal parts

Photo Courtesy of: Fleet Machine Co.

What have been some of your keys to success for expanding the business and growing your shop to take on more work?

Fleet Machine provides a superior product in terms of quality and value and uses automation and poke yoke techniques to streamline processes and eliminate the possibility of error.

We noticed the banner hanging in the shop celebrating your AS9100/ISO9001 certification. How important has that been in your manufacturing process?

Having an AS9100/ISO9001-certified quality system will improve every aspect of your organization while eliminating waste, improving product quality, and improving OTD. Imposing the discipline required to attain certification on your company will reveal inefficiencies that you never realized existed.

Do you have any advice for shops looking to try and get their AS9100/ISO9001 certification?

It is easily worth the investment but it requires attention to detail, extensive documentation, focus on constant improvement, and a real commitment from all employees. It needs to govern every aspect of your business, from the quoting process to shipping. If you don’t have someone who is extremely organized and enjoys data collection, measurement, and documentation, or employees who aren’t compliant or don’t understand the value of certification, it probably isn’t for you.

Fleet Machine facility

Photo Courtesy of: Fleet Machine Co.

Who are some of your key customers?

Some of our key customers (the ones we can name) include Hill-Rom, United Technologies Corp, Rockwell, and B/E Aerospace. We do work under NDAs for some projects so we cannot reveal all of our customers, but they are heavily skewed to the Aerospace, Medical, Robotics, and Defense industries.

How do Harvey Tool products help Fleet Machine stay at the top of their game?

Harvey Tool products are an integral part of what we do, from the quoting process through finishing. Fleet relies on the tooling engineers and technical support team at Harvey to help us produce parts that we wouldn’t otherwise be able to make.

cnc

Photo Courtesy of: Fleet Machine Co.

What skills or qualities do you look for when hiring a new machinist?

Fleet Machine has a robust training program for all new employees. We look for important soft skills such as good written and verbal communication, reliability, a positive attitude, the ability to work as part of team, and basic computer skills. We have found that people with this combination of attributes rapidly surpass people with machining skills who lack these qualities.

Being well-rounded is important as an employee in any business, but as manufacturing progresses to become more and more technology-based it will be important to hire machinists with computer skills and technological know-how to stay ahead of your competitors.

Would you like to be considered for a future “Featured Customer” blog? Click here to submit your information.

B&R Custom Machining- Featured Customer

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Featured Image Courtesy of B&R Custom Machining

B&R Custom Machining is a rapidly expanding aerospace machine shop located in Ontario, Canada, focused primarily on aerospace and military/defense manufacturing. Over the past 17 years, B&R has grown from a 5 person shop with a few manual mills and lathes, into one of Canada’s most highly respected manufacturing facilities, with nearly 40 employees and 21 precision CNC machines.

B&R focuses on quality assurance and constant improvement, mastering the intimacies of metal cutting and maintaining the highest levels of quality through their unique shop management philosophies. They seek to consistently execute on clear contracts through accurate delivery, competitive price, and high quality machined components.

We talked with Brad Jantzi, Co-Founder and Technical Manager of B&R Custom Machining, to learn about how he started in the industry, his experience with High Efficiency Milling, what he looks for most in a cutting tool, and more!

B&R Custom machining

Photo Courtesy of: B&R Custom Machining

Can you tell us a little bit about how B&R Custom Machining started, and a little background about yourself and the company?

My brother (Ryan Jantzi, CEO/Co-Founder) and I started working in manufacturing back in 2001, when we were just 20/21 years old. We had 5 employees (including ourselves), a few manual mills and lathes, and we were wrapping our parts in newspaper for shipping. We took over from a preexisting shop and assumed their sales and machines.

We bought our first CNC machine in 2003, and immediately recognized the power of CNC and the opportunities it could open up for us. Now, we have 21 CNC machines, 38 employees, and more requests for work than we can keep up with, which is a good thing for the business. We are constantly expanding our team to elevate the business and take on even more work, and are currently hiring for multiple positions if anyone in Ontario is looking for some challenging and rewarding work!

What kind of CNC machines are you guys working with?

Right now we have a lot of Okuma and Matsuura machines, many of which have 5 axis capabilities, and all of them with high RPM spindles. In fact, our “slowest” machine runs at 15k RPM, with our fastest running at 46k. One of our high production machines is our Matsuura LX160, which has the 46k RPM spindle. We use a ton of Harvey Tool and Helical product on that machine and really get to utilize the RPMs.

B&R Custom Machining

Photo Courtesy of: B&R Custom Machining

What sort of material are you cutting?

We work with Aluminum predominantly, but also with a lot of super alloys like Invar, Kovar, Inconel, Custom 455 Stainless, and lots of Titanium. Some of those super alloys are really tricky stuff to machine. Once we learn about them and study them, we keep a recorded database of information to help us dial in parameters. Our head programmer/part planner keeps track of all that information, and our staff will frequently reference old jobs for new parts.

Sounds like a great system you guys have in place. How did B&R Custom Machining get into aerospace manufacturing?

It is a bit of a funny story actually. Just about 12 years ago we were contacted by someone working at Comdev, which is close to our shop, who was looking to have some parts made. We started a business relationship with him, and made him his parts. He was happy with the work, and so we eventually got involved in his company’s switch division and started to make more and more aerospace parts.

aerospace machining

Photo Courtesy of: B&R Custom Machining

We immediately saw the potential of aerospace manufacturing, and it promoted where we wanted to go with CNC machining, so it was a natural fit. It really was a case of being in the right place at the right time and seizing the moment. If an opportunity comes up and you aren’t ready for it, you miss it. You have to be hungry enough to see an opportunity, and confident enough to grab it, while also being competent enough to handle the request. So, we took advantage of what we were given, and we grew and went from there.

Who are some of the major players who you work with?

We have great relationships with Honeywell, MDA Brampton, and MDA Quebec. We actually worked on parts for a Mars Rover with MDA that was commissioned by the Canadian Space Agency, which was really cool to be a part of.

Working with large companies like that means quality is key. Why is high quality tool performance important to you?

High quality and superior tool performance is huge. Aside from cutting conditions, there are two quick things that cause poor performance on a tool: tool life and consistency of the tool quality. One without the other means nothing. We all can measure tool life pretty readily, and there is a clear advantage that some tools have over others, but inconsistent quality can sneak up on you and cause trouble. If you have a tool manufacturer that is only producing a quality tool even 95% of the time, that might seem ok, but that means that 5% of the time you suffer something wrong on the machine. Many times, you won’t know where that trouble is coming from. This causes you to pause the machine, investigate, source the problem, and then ultimately switch the tool and create a new program. It becomes an ordeal. Sometimes it is not as simple as manually adjusting the feed knob, especially when you need to rely on it as a “proven program” the next time around.

So, say the probability of a shortcoming on a machine is “x” with one brand of tooling, but is half of that with a brand like Harvey Tool. Sure, the Harvey Tool product might be 10-20% higher in upfront cost, but that pales in comparison to buying cheaper tools and losing time and money due to machine downtime caused by tool failure. The shop rate for an average machine is right around $100/hour, so machine downtime is much more expensive than the added cost of a quality tool.

B&R Custom machining

Photo Courtesy of: B&R Custom Machining

Inconsistent tool quality can be extremely dangerous to play around with, even outside of machine downtime. We create based on a specific tool and a certain level of expected performance. If that tool cannot be consistent, we now jeopardize an expensive part. The machine never went down, but the part is no good because we programmed based on consistency in tool quality. Again, the cost of scrapped parts heavily outweighs the upfront cost of quality tooling. Tooling is a low cost of what we do here, but poor tooling can cost us thousands versus a few dollars more for quality tools. Too many people focus on the upfront cost, and don’t look downstream through the rest of the process to see how poor quality tooling can affect your business in a much bigger way. We get to see the whole picture because I am involved from cradle to grave, gaining feedback and knowledge along the way.

That’s great feedback Brad, and I think it is important for people to understand what you have laid out here. Speaking of tool performance, have you guys been using High Efficiency Milling techniques in the shop?

Absolutely. We feel that we are on the front edge of efficient milling. We are quite capable of all the latest techniques, as our programmers are well-versed and up to date. For our larger production work, we have programs dialed in that allow us to push the tools to their limits and significantly cut down our cycle times.

What advice would you have for others who are interested in High Efficiency Milling?

Make sure you are smart about using HEM. If we have one-off parts, particularly expensive ones, that do not have time restraints, we want to make sure we have a safe toolpath that will get us the result we want (in terms of quality and cutting security), rather than pushing the thresholds and taking extra time to program the HEM toolpaths. HEM makes total sense for large production runs, but make sure you know when to, and when not to use these techniques to get the most out of HEM.

B&R Custom machining

Photo Courtesy of: B&R Custom Machining

Have you been using Machining Advisor Pro in your shop when you run Helical end mills?

We have been, and it makes for a great point of reference for the Helical end mills. It has become a part of our new employee training, teaching them about speeds and feeds, how hard they can push the Helical tools, and where the safe zones are. Our more experienced guys also frequent it for new situations where they have no data. Machining Advisor Pro helps to verify what we thought we knew, or helps us get the confidence to start planning for a new job.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new machinist, or someone looking to take the #PlungeIntoMachining for the first time, what would it be?

Learn the intimacies of metal cutting. Get ultra-familiar with the results of what is actually happening with your tool, your setup, your part, and your machine. As well, don’t be limited to thinking “it sounds good,” or “it’s going good so far, so that must be acceptable.” In order to push the tools and confirm they are performing well and making money, you need to identify and understand where the threshold of failure is, and back off the right amount. This doesn’t end here though. Cutting conditions change as the tools, holders, machines, and parts change. Learning the nuances of this fluctuating environment and adapting accordingly is essential. Verify your dimensions, mitigate against risk, and control the variables.

Also, get intimate with what causes tools to succeed and fail, and keep a log of it for reference. Develop a passion for cutting; don’t just punch in and punch out each shift. Here at B&R, we are looking for continuous improvement, and employees who can add value. Don’t stand around all day with your arms folded, but keep constant logs of what’s going on and always be learning and thinking of how to understand what is happening, and improve on it. That is what makes a great machinist, and a successful shop.

B&R custom machining

Photo Courtesy of: B&R Custom Machining

How to Maximize High Balance End Mills

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High speed machining is becoming increasingly widespread in machine shops all over the world due to the proven benefits of greater efficiency and productivity through increased spindle speeds and metal removal rates.  However, at such high spindle speeds, otherwise negligible errors and imperfections can cause negative effects such as reduced tool life, poor surface finish, and wear on the machine itself. Many of these negative effects stem from an increase in total centrifugal forces leading to vibration, commonly referred to in the industry as chatter. A key contributor to vibrations and one of the more controllable factors, is tool unbalance.

Why Balance is Critical to Machining

Unbalance is the extent to which the tool’s center of mass diverges from its axis of rotation.  Small levels of unbalance may be indistinguishable at lower RPMs, but as centrifugal force increases, small variations in the tool’s center of mass can cause substantial detrimental effects on its performance. High Balance End Mills are often used to help solve the problem of vibrations at the increased spindle speeds. Balancing is used to make compensation for the intrinsic unsymmetrical distribution of mass, which is typically completed by removing mass of a calculated amount and orientation.

axes for high balance machining

Image Source: Haimer; Fundamentals of Balancing

Helical Solutions offers High Balance End Mills in both 2 and 3 flute options (see Figure 2), square and corner radius, along with coolant-through on the 3 fluted tools. These end mills are balanced at the industry standard of G2.5 at 33,000 RPM: G stands for the potential damage due to unbalance, which can be expressed as “Balancing Quality Grade” or G and 2.5 is the vibration velocity in MM per second. These tools are designed specifically to increase performance in highly balanced machining centers that are capable of elevated RPMs and feed rates. With high balance tooling, improved surface finishes are also achieved due to reduced vibrations during the machining process. Additionally, these end mills have been designed around current high-end tool holding, and come in a variety of neck lengths at specific overall lengths. These dimensional combinations result in maximum rigidity and reduced excess stick out, allowing for optimal performance and the ability to push the tools to the limit.

high balance end mills

High Balanced Tooling Cost Benefits

Machinists who choose to use High Balance End Mills will see certain benefits at the spindle, but also in their wallets. Cost benefits of opting to run this type of tool include:

Utilizing Tap Testers

What Tap Testers Do

Vibrations are your applications worst enemy, especially at elevated RPMs and feed rates. Using resources such as a Tap Tester can help decrease vibrations and allow you to get the most out of your High Balance End Mills by generating cutting performance predictions and chatter limits.

How Tap Testing Works

High balance

Image Source: Manufacturing Automation Laboratories Inc.

Tap Testing generates cutting performance predictions and chatter limits. In a tap test, the machine-tool structure is “excited,” or tested, by being hit with an impulse hammer. In milling, the machine-tool structure is usually flexible in all three directions: X, Y, and Z, but in milling applications where High Balance Tooling is used, the flexibility is commonly only considered in two planes – the X and Y directions. By hitting the X and Y directions with the impulse hammer, the impact will excite the structure over a certain frequency range that is dependent on the hammer’s size, the type of tool being used, and the structure itself. The frequencies generated from the initial hit will produce enough information that both the impact force measurement and the displacement/accelerometer measurement are available. Combining these two measurements will result in the Frequency Response Function, which is a plot of the dynamic stiffness of the structure in frequencies.

After the information from the Tap Test is gathered, it will then process the information into useful cutting parameters for all spindles speeds such as cut depths, speed rates, and feed rates. In knowing the optimum running parameters, vibrations can be minimized and the tool can be utilized to its full potential.

High Balanced Tooling Summarized

Keeping vibrations at bay during the machining process is extremely important to machining success. Because one cause of vibration is tool unbalance, utilizing a balanced tool will result in a smoother job, a cleaner final product, and a longer life of both the tool and spindle. Machinists who choose to use High Balance Tooling can utilize a Tap Tester, or a method for generating the perfect running parameters for your tool and machine setup to ensure that machining vibration is as minimal as possible.

Contouring Considerations

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What is Contouring?

Contouring a part means creating a fine finish on an irregular or uneven surface. Dissimilar to finishing a flat or even part, cnc contouring involves the finishing of a rounded, curved, or otherwise uniquely shaped part.

CNC Contouring & 5-Axis Machining

5-axis machines are particularly suitable for contouring applications. Because contouring involves the finishing of an intricate or unique part, the multiple axes of movement in play with 5-axis Machining allow for the tool to access tough-to-reach areas, as well as follow intricate tool paths.

Recent  Advances

Advanced CAM software can now write the G-Code (the step-by-step program needed to create a finished part) for a machinists application, which has drastically simplified contouring applications. Simply, rather than spend several hours writing the code for an application, the software now handles this step. Despite these advances, most young machinists are still required to write their own G-Codes early on in their careers to gain valuable familiarity with the machines and their abilities. CAM software, for many, is a luxury earned with time.

Benefits of Advanced CAM Software

Increased Time Savings
Because contouring requires very specific tooling movements and rapidly changing cutting parameters, ridding machinists of the burden of writing their own complex code can save valuable prep time and reduce machining downtime.

Reduced Cycle Times
Generated G-Codes can cut several minutes off of a cycle time by removing redundancies within the application. Rather than contouring an area of the part that does not require it, or has been machined already, the CAM Software locates the very specific areas that require machining time and attention to maximize efficiency.

Improved Consistency
CAM Programs that are packaged with CAD Software such as SolidWorks are typically the best in terms of consistency and ability to handle complex designs. While the CAD Software helps a machinist generate the part, the CAM Program tells a machine how to make it.

Proper Tips

Utilize Proper Cut Depths

Prior to running a contouring operation, an initial roughing cut is taken to remove material in steps on the Z-axis so to leave a limited amount of material for the final contouring pass. In this step, it’s pivotal to leave the right amount of material for contouring — too much material for the contouring pass can result in poor surface finish or a damaged part or tool, while too little material can lead to prolonged cycle time, decreased productivity and a sub par end result.

CNC Contouring planes

The contouring application should remove from .010″ to 25% of the tool’s cutter diameter. During contouring, it’s possible for the feeds to decrease while speeds increases, leading to a much smoother finish. It is also important to keep in mind that throughout the finishing cut, the amount of engagement between the tool’s cutting edge and the part will vary regularly – even within a single pass.

Use Best Suited Tooling

Ideal tool selection for contouring operations begins by choosing the proper profile of the tool. A large radius or ball profile is very often used for this operation because it does not leave as much evidence of a tool path. Rather, they effectively smooth the material along the face of the part. Undercutting End Mills, also known as lollipop cutters, have spherical ball profiles that make them excellent choices for contouring applications. Harvey Tool’s 300° Reduced Shank Undercutting End Mill, for example, features a high flute count to benefit part finish for light cut depths, while maintaining the ability to reach tough areas of the front or back side of a part.

CNC Contouring ball end mill

Fact-Check G-Code

While advanced CAM Software will create the G-Code for an application, saving a machinist valuable time and money, accuracy of this code is still vitally important to the overall outcome of the final product. Machinists must look for issues such as wrong tool call out, rapids that come too close to the material, or even offsets that need correcting. Failure to look G-Code over prior to beginning machining can result in catastrophic machine failure and hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage.

Inserting an M01 – or a notation to the machine in the G-Code to stop and await machinist approval before moving on to the next step – can help a machinist to ensure that everything is approved with a next phase of an operation, or if any redundancy is set to occur, prior to continuation.

Contouring Summarized

CNC contouring is most often used in 5-axis machines as a finishing operation for uniquely shaped or intricate parts. After an initial roughing pass, the contouring operation – done most often with Undercutting End Mills or Ball End Mills, removes anywhere from .010″ to 25% of the cutter diameter in material from the part to ensure proper part specifications are met and a fine finish is achieved. During contouring, cut only at recommended depths, ensure that G-Code is correct, and use tooling best suited for this operation.