The Lynx 220LM turning machine with live tooling has kept work in-house at Paul Precision Machine, and it doesn't have to transfer parts to milling machines to complete operations.
Paul Precision Machine Inc. of Tulsa, Ok., got a job to produce a family of valve-cap parts for a large natural-gas compressor company.
At first, job quantities were around 10 pieces to 20 pieces at a time, andtwo machines were used to complete each part. The shop did the first and second part operations on a lathe, then transferred the parts to a mill for the remainder of operations.
When the customer increased job quantities needed, Paul Precision Machine struggled to keep up and was forced to farm out some of the work at various stages to eight other shops.
"Unfortunately, this cut into our profit and extended the leadtime of the job. We knew we had to cut as much labor out of the job as we could to do the parts in one operation and to eliminate having to farm them out," said Chuck Paul, president of Paul Precision Machine. The solution was a turning center with live-tooling capabilities.
The machine is a Doosan/ Daewoo Infracore (www.infracoremt.com) Lynx 220LM with a 20-hp motor that powers live tooling to speeds of 6,000 rpm. The machine's tool turret has twelve stations, and can hold 24 tools when double holders are used. The maximum turning diameter of the machine is 9.84 in.
According to Paul, the Lynx 220LM has increased the shop's part cutting speeds so much so that it no longer has to farm parts out to meet delivery times.
"The combination of the Lynx 220LM's many live tooling options and highpressure coolant, along with using carbide cutters, has improved our machining operations and part quality dramatically. But the real benefit is how seldom we have to handle parts. If shops are not looking at turning equipment with live tooling to accomplish this, they are going backwards because it (live tooling) makes that dramatic of a difference," he added.
