Demand Grows for Large

Super-sized parts and systems require manufacturers to go BIG and BIGGER.

As manufacturers see an increased need for super-sized parts and systems, demand is expanding for large-envelope machining centers, notably in energy, aviation, and oil/gas.

The appeal for OEMs to outsource those XL components comes from several factors: less capital investment, saving on employee training, and reducing scrap, said Jeff Vaughan, founder/owner of KVK Precision Specialties in Shenandoah, Va.

"It's a niche market," Vaughan noted. "Manufacturers would rather outsource to a specialty shop like us. It simplifies things for them."

The energy crisis and associated search for alternative energy sources in the onshore and offshore sectors have spurred demand, added David Mondek, marketing manager for Heller Machine Tools LP in Troy, Mich. As a result, he asserted, Heller has become an "indispensable partner for the energy industry, general mechanical engineering, aviation, and oil and gas."

KVK, founded by Vaughan as a machine shop in his garage when he was a teenager, expanded into large envelope machining 25 years ago. Large components now comprise 60 percent of the company's workload, Vaughan said, including big chillers for HVAC units and machine bases for industrial machine tools and drive systems.

To accommodate the large-scale parts and equipment, KVK makes use of 270,000 sq-ft [25,084 sq-m] of manufacturing space across five buildings. While the floor space ranges from 30,000 to 150,000 sq ft [2,787-13,935 sq m], overhead clearance is just as important.

"We have very high ceilings and very large crane capabilities," Vaughan explained.

About two years ago, KVK expanded capacity to increase the size of the components the company can make, from eight-foot cubes to components 12-ft wide, 12-ft high and 40-ft long [3.66 x 3.66 x 12.19 m], according to Vaughan.

"We added the capability to meet demand and to position ourselves where we can do the larger work because the competition is less," Vaughan said, noting the company is in the middle of a growth cycle and is receiving requests for such capacity.

"Significant and fast-growing industries have a need for complex parts and components with large dimensions," Heller's Mondek declared.

Heller's largest horizontal machining center, the venerable H 16000, which has long been available, is 41-ft long, 27.5-ft wide and 17.4-ft high [12.5 x 8.38 x 5.3 m]. The company's machining centers are suitable for economical and high-precision machining of components weighing as much as 10 tons and standing 1.8 m tall, according to Mondek.

"Machining centers must not only meet current requirements but must also be efficient and productive throughout their entire service life," Mondek said.

"Heller has built up competencies in application engineering because consistently practiced complete machining often requires the use of manufacturing processes that are only conditionally typical for a (competing) machining center. Heller machine tools are very robust and precise, and when you add our engineering knowledge together with the machine tool, we build and create solutions for our customers that many others cannot match."

One example is the Heller facing head, which enables many processes—including contour turning inside/out, facing and grooving—to be performed reliably and economically on single machining centers, according to Mondek. In addition to improving reliability, he said, this approach reduces primary and auxiliary times.

To fit into Industry 4.0, machines and systems must produce reliably in everyday work at competitive unit costs, according to Mondek. "To ensure this, a key requirement today and in the future remains the maximum availability and productivity of machines around the clock," he said.

"Automation and digitization are topics that make a significant contribution to meeting current manufacturing requirements.

"Basic equipment such as CNC control, tool changer and chip conveyor already allow machines and systems to work autonomously," Mondek continued. "The burning question is: for how long? Heller machines are designed to work 24/7 with maximized uptime. Heller machines, for example in automotive manufacturing, are running around the clock for years making a specified amount of parts per day that the customer needs to keep production flowing."

The process is dictated by the number of workpieces accessible in the machine.

"Accessible means feeding the machines as many parts as they can produce in the specified cycle or work time," Mondek continued. "For example, the customer needs 500 parts cut per day, we would use automation and feed 500 parts to the machine each day."

Automation concepts range from the simple pallet changer or the pallet linear magazine or pallet rotary magazine to the flexible pick-and-place robot to the combination with a rack system for tools.

"Tools can be fed by chain magazines for up to 240 tools or a rack-type magazine for a maximum of 425 tools," Mondek added.

For heavy-duty machining in the big part segment, Heller has also developed tools for rack-type magazines that allow tools of up to 1,000 mm in length and weighing 50 kg to be loaded into the machine, he said.

"In conjunction with the new XPC units and a recently developed tool changer, as much as 80 kg can be managed," Mondek said. "These variants also permit the use of spindle extensions, and so projecting lengths of up to 1,500 mm can be achieved in the work area. With the XPC units, HSK 100 tools with flat location 160 can also be used for heavy-duty machining."

Looking at Industry 4.0, Heller's goal is to increase overall equipment effectiveness for availability, productivity and quality, Mondek said.

"We consider Heller4Industry to include easier use of the machine, optimum integration into networks, and extended functionalities and service options."

As for KVK, the company has a Trumpf flexible manufacturing system that automatically processes sheet metal and significantly reduces labor, Vaughan said. KVK bought another FMS system in 2014 for $4.5 million that sets up and programs jobs, especially repeat jobs, he added.

But manufacturing large parts in small quantities means automation isn't always feasible.

"The big stuff is difficult for automation because of its physical size," Vaughan pointed out. "But what really drives automation is the volume. The volume has to be there to make the capital investment. Otherwise, it doesn't pay."

Remaining challenges are a reliable workforce and reliable, competitive machines.

The recession in 2008 and the current labor shortage have shrunk KVK in both sales and workforce, according to Vaughan. The company's best year was 2007, he said, when it had 128 employees and $24 million in sales.

Now KVK has 58 employees and averages $9 million in annual sales. The bulk of the business comes from 15 "strong" customers, some of which are local and regional, Vaughan said, and looking to save shipping costs on large components.

"Those customers are all I can support with the manpower we have," Vaughan said. "I could hire 20 machinists if I could find them. Fortunately, or unfortunately, we don't have a sales or marketing team in our company. It's all by word of mouth—I wouldn't be able to produce it all if we had a sales force. The big guys are outsourcing more. The buyers move from one location to another within a large company. Once they find a good supplier, they want to keep you. That's how we are able to grow vertically with them. It builds a good relationship for doing business."

Retaining workers is also a problem.

"I started in a machine shop when I was a kid, 11 years old," Vaughan said. "The biggest challenge today is qualified skilled help," he continued. "We have our own apprenticeship program. But we train and retain them to a certain level that they know what's going on, and then I can't afford to offer the pay and other benefits as the nearby pharmaceutical companies and breweries. Over the years, the industry as a whole hasn't kept up with apprenticeship programs and has allowed the workforce to go away."

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