Ronlo Engineering

Ronlo Engineering faced growing demand for the manufacture of increasingly complex parts. To support challenging customer delivery and commercial requirements, it needed to dramatically compress manufacturing lead times and reduce piece part costs. This was particularly true for multiple-operation parts containing milling and turning requirements necessitating multiple part touches.

Assessment
Review of a representative part revealed a four-operation process; two turning operations on 2-axis lathes, followed by a drilling and milling operation both performed on a VMC. Each process was preceded by a lengthy set up and interrupted by batch and queue activity, resulting in a total lead-time of three weeks to process a 300-part batch. Close tolerances and multiple part touches with complicated fixturing, contributed to scrap of 8% .

Solution
A multi-process machining center, Mori Seiki NL 2000 SMC, and an SMW Bar Feed were used to complete the part in two operations. The solution enabled unmanned machining, lights-out processing through the night, and on-machine inspection in support of continuous process flow and optimal per-part manufacturing costs. New fixture designs also allowed for the processing of four parts at a time to accelerate throughput.

End Result
The move to multi-process technology reduced machining cycle times by 75% and eliminated 90% of the labor requirement. It compressed manufacturing lead-time from 3 weeks to 1 ½ days, and eliminated 50% of the set ups and part touches. Together with the improved machining capability, this has eliminated tolerance stack ups, reducing scrap by 88%. Embracing multi-process technology has further separated Ronlo Engineering from its competition and strengthened its ability to support customer delivery, cost, and quality requirements for complex parts.