(MISHAWAKA, INDIANA) – At first look, Allied Specialty Precision, Inc. ( www.aspi-nc.com) appears to be simply another good-quality provider of components and sub-assemblies for aerospace applications but it is much more. The company began in 1954, largely for the purpose of supplying precision parts to local powerhouse Bendix Aerospace, now part of Honeywell. Today, customers all over North America use ASPI parts for hydraulic and fuel control as well as braking systems. Flying on every civilian and military plane in the United States, applications range from B-52 and KC135 brakes to hydraulic pumps for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and even tiny fuses to relieve excess pressure in overheated airplane tires.
Allied’s pedigree includes certification under ISO 9001:2000 and the extended AS9100:01 standard for aerospace quality and reliability. In addition, it has achieved accreditation under Nadcap standards AS7110 and AS7116, which are sponsored and maintained by The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) specifically for aircraft and aero-engines manufacturing.
Not only are Allied’s quality certifications up-to-date, but the company is a Certified Woman-Owned Small Business, making it quite unique among contract manufacturers serving industry. Pam Rubenstein, owner and CEO, takes this certification as seriously as all the others because it helps open doors for her company in both the corporate and government sectors.
It is not a simple thing to achieve Woman Business Enterprise (WBE) certified status as Rubenstein and her core management group learned from full immersion three years ago. The process involves an extensive questionnaire about the financial control, and more important, the operational control of the enterprise. After reporting volumes of numbers, the certifying organization visits for one-on-one interviews with all levels of personnel to ensure that the owner is in full control of the day-to-day business, not just its shares. Financial control alone does not qualify for WBE status. And the certification must be confirmed annually.
Rubenstein arrived at Allied in 1989 after a successful career in education at high school and college levels, and began to work her way through various positions in the office and factory. In 2005, she purchased the company.
Rubenstein sees her role as avoiding the status quo. Her favorite question is a simple “why?” to enhance her own understanding of the issue and to encourage new thought processes about problem solving among her associates. True to her commitment to learning, Allied is proud to sponsor an apprenticeship program that is certified by the U.S. Department of Labor Office of Apprenticeship Training. She is also very active as a member of the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA), where she serves as the team leader for its educational programs. (See the separate profile for Ms. Rubenstein).
“We’re doing well,” cites Rubenstein. “We’ve doubled sales over the last three years, increased our employment as best we could and invested about $2 million in advanced technology for the manufacturing floor. Unfortunately, our issue remains skilled people.” The aerospace industry is booming and ASPI could add another shift if only they could find qualified operators and programmers. “The combination of an aging work force and fewer young people choosing to enter manufacturing hasn’t completely stifled our growth, but it will definitely effect how we continue to grow,”
Cutting processes and costs
Well-executed implementation of technology for machining allows Allied to be a front-runner with the same head count, only smarter. Ever inquisitive, Rubenstein traveled to Yamazaki Mazak’s World Technology Center and factories in Japan during a technology exchange session in 2005. There she learned about a variety of Mazak multi-tasking technologies used extensively in its own factories and came home a true believer. Multi-Tasking machine tools that combine a variety of operations onto one machine proved to be a significant part of the answer to the skilled labor shortage Allied faces. Non-value-added functions like part and tool setup, designing and building multiple fixtures, part handling and queue time, WIP inventory and more are cut to the minimum because the entire part can be machined in only one or two setups. She caught the “Done-in-One” philosophy!
Allied’s first Mazak VARIAXIS 500 5-axis Vertical Machining Center with two-pallet changer was installed in early 2006. Its configuration consists of a 30 HP, 12,000 rpm vertical spindle moving in three linear axes (X = 20², Y = 20², Z = 18²) combined with a trunnion-style rotary axis (A-axis) and an NC rotary table mounted on the trunnion (C-axis). The A-axis tilt travel is +30 degrees and –120 degrees and C-axis rotary table motion is ±360 degrees. An 80-tool magazine switches cutting tools in 4.5 seconds, chip-to-chip.
The first part chosen for the VARIAXIS was a highly detailed lever that Allied had been machining in quantity for some time. It is machined from titanium (Ti-6AI-4V) and was formerly cut from a rough forging. Since Allied was completely reprocessing the part for 5-axis cutting, it determined that a more efficient way of obtaining blanks was to simply buy 2-inch thick titanium plate and wire EDM the blank to as close to net shape as possible. This new process saved lead-time, eased work holding and reduced metal removal significantly.
The L-shaped lever is approximately four inches long on both legs. The tool-room at ASPI designed and built a two-position fixture, one for the turn/milled shaft end and the other for machining the multi-faced, multi-angled portion, which will connect with its mating part. The part program is designed to machine parts in both fixture positions, so a finished part is obtained at each machine cycle, with the exception of a final grinding operation on the shaft.
The lever end of the part may appear straightforward, but multiple features on compound angles led to a lengthy nine setups and discreet operations. On the VARIAXIS 5-axis machining center, all angled cuts are achieved by the A-axis and C-axis rotary positioning as opposed to being built into a fixture. This reduces the number of discreet operations from nine to three and eliminates six complete tools. ASPI had a lot of experience with this lever and recorded that the total cycle time was reduced by 44 percent and part quality improved from less handling, in addition to the tooling savings.
Another example of improvements in costs and throughput is found in an intricate gear-type actuator machined from 17-4 stainless steel. It contains a lever arm, hub, face coupling and approximately 100 degrees of a gear form on the outside diameter. The original process required six operations, while only one is needed on the VARIAXIS, with a 41 percent reduction in cycle time.
Multi-Tasking as strategy
A year and a half later, another VARIAXIS 500-5X was churning out parts. As the number of discreet part numbers had grown, so had the need for more tool storage, up to 120. Plus Mazak and Allied were finishing up installation of a new INTEGREX 200-IV ST Multi-Tasking Center equipped with a part load/unload material handling robot. The difference, however, is that this investment was made without a specific contract in hand.
The INTEGREX configuration allows the completion of a finished part to be accomplished in a single setup. This multi-tasking center offers done-in-one machining of turned and machined features with two opposed turning spindles that also have C-axis positioning and contouring control. Above the work piece is a rotating B-axis, 30-HP, 12,000 rpm milling spindle with a tool changer and 80-tool storage managing both fixed turning/boring tools plus mills, drills and taps. In addition, a nine-position lower tool turret allows for simultaneous turning/facing/boring operations to increase productivity where the part configuration allows.
Pam Rubenstein understands fully the benefits of multi-processing. This machine was brought in to address the many parts that were basically round in shape but with flats, cross-bores, drilled and tapped features that inevitably required an additional handling and setup. All were re-processed into one cycle using standard top jaws machined to hold the part. Tooling cost was reduced from thousands of dollars to hundreds and changeover time counted in minutes. INTEGREX can store and change 80 tools, already qualified, to offer tremendous flexibility and redundancy for often-used cutters.
A number of caps, plugs, spindles and spools already in-house were re-processed for multi-tasking, leading to cycle time reductions of 26% to 45%. In addition, ASPI could offer new capacity and new technology to help expand its business, whether within or outside the aerospace market.
But Rubenstein is most excited about the robotic automation on the INTEGREX machine. “Can you imagine?” she exclaimed. “A small company like ours being at the forefront of automation? It’s absolutely amazing, but it’s a place that we need to be to grow and succeed for our employees, families and community.” With robotic material handling and in-machine part orientation, a cut blank is unloaded from a storage pallet and a finished part put in its place every machine cycle with no operator intervention.
With this kind of entrepreneurial spirit, and more advanced technologies to embrace, Allied Specialty Precision, Inc. is preparing itself for its coming 50 years.