The most challenging aspect of the femorals is their contours and tolerances that the machine holds to exacting standards.
According to Green, Exactech plans to further expand
the scope of the Helitronic Vision to do other large joint replacement components as well as the femorals. “Grinding these other components would be a greater challenge on our existing equipment,” he said. “With the Helitronic Vision, we are confident that our manufacturing engineers can meet the challenge with great success.” “Setups on the Helitronic Vision are very easy,” commented
Ray Morse, CNC grinding machinist at Exactech. “Plus, it is a much faster machine as compared with the other equipment we use. And we attribute that capability, in large part, to the Helitronic Vision’s programming, along with the advanced non-dress wheels, automatic wheel changing and the ma- chine’s shear speed.” Green added that, in addition to the machine’s perfor-
mance qualities, the partnership with and support from United Grinding are the reason the Helitronic Vision is on the company’s manufacturing floor. “Teir continued sup- port is what impresses us,” he said. “Tey didn’t just provide us a machine and that was the last we saw of them. For the Helitronic Vision, they invested time and effort in program- ming, fixture development and were on site while we tested the proposed process.”
Exactech must account for all the materials it uses, as
well as any new ones added to production. Any object or any process that makes contact with the final product has to be documented, tested, and approved. For instance, when the shop added the Helitronic Vision, process validation took a full year before the machine produced one part. “Validation doesn’t always take this long, but with the Heli-
tronic Vision, we had to prove out a whole new design and pro- cess, as well as a new synthetic grinding oil and new composite- type wheels,” said Green. “United Grinding was instrumental in helping us make sure none of these aspects of the process created issues as far as finished product was concerned.” When asked about future process development, Green
said “we don’t always know what product is going to drive our growth, so we need our equipment and processes to be adaptable. Te machines we invest in now have to give us that type of product responsiveness. And based on the Helitronic Vision’s performance and on the level of accompanying appli- cations support, United Grinding and its advanced technology will most definitely be at the forefront for future projects.”
Feature edited by Yearbook Editor Michael Anderson from information provided by United Grinding.
Medical Manufacturing 2014 75
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