ShopSolutions Case Histories of Manufacturing Problem Solving Shop Gives Props to Cellular Manufacturing H
artzell Propeller Inc. (Piqua, OH) manufactures pro- peller assemblies—basically every component from an aircraft’s engine forward to its nose. The company, which traces its roots back to a relationship with the Wright Brothers, employs 300 people and is a high-volume produc- tion shop that runs 24/7. It produces between 350 and 400 propeller assemblies per month with each assembly consti- tuting about 200 individual parts. Half the shop’s business is producing brand new assemblies, while the other half is providing support and spare parts.
“Precision and quality come first, and our goal is manufac- turing quality products every time, with shorter lead times and at the lowest possible cost,” said Craig Barhorst, manufactur- ing manager at Hartzell Propeller. “We accomplish this—while also controlling costs and increasing productivity—through advanced manufacturing technology,” said Barhorst. In the early 1990s, Hartzell installed its first group of manufacturing cells. Today, it has 16 high-performance cells that are based on advanced multitasking Done-in-One machine technology from Mazak Corp. (Florence, KY). Cells include in-process inspection and are self-contained as well as self-directed. Adopting multitasking machine technology has enabled Hartzell to reduce the number of machines needed in a cell, increase output per cell operator, complete parts in single simple setups, improve part accuracy and slash overall part cycle times. In fact, Barhorst said that, on average, one Mazak multitasking machine allows his individual operators to each pump-out the work equivalent to that of four or five conven- tional machines.
Hartzell Propeller relies on advanced machining technology from Mazak to produce it world-class propeller assemblies.
be making to fine-tune the sequence of machining operations and achieve the shortest cycle times possible. Off-line testing, said Justin Carter, CNC programmer and process development manager at Hartzell, allows the shop to “work out all the bugs” of a new machining process without
“What this means is that a blade we produce today will be the same as a blade we produce in the future, but minus the variation we might have had in the past.”
When adding a new piece of equipment to one of its cells, Hartzell first proves out the machine at the company’s production simulation facility. Machinists determine the best part fixtures, setups and tooling to use. Then, they conduct production test runs of the actual part/parts the machine will
disrupting production operations at the main plant. The test facility also provides an ideal place for the machinist who will run the new system to actually train on it. “Once the produc- tion line is up, both the machinist and the new machine are instantly productive,” Carter said.
March 2014 |
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