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[VIDEO] Using Custom Fixtures for Precision Control of Machined Parts 5 Dec 2024, 3:16 pm
When something is hard to hold in manufacturing it requires special fixtures. We highlighted a previous video of the fixturing to make this part and now you’ll get to see the importance of those fixtures in use.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Hello everyone and welcome to another short video highlighting some of the contour tools, capabilities, and also some of the projects we’ve been working on. If you recall our last video, we highlighted the contour tool’s ability to manufacture and design its own fixturing, making the fixtures on our CNC equipment. Today, we’re going to show you the outcome of that, and we’ll show you the parts that we’re running on them. So if you join us out in the shop, we’ll go over that product. Thank you.
Okay, here we are in front of one of our CC horizontal machining centers, and here’s our fixture for our first operation, our first holding, and this is the part that we’re going to be machining. This is probably about 3,500 pieces a year. Of course, it’s made out of cast iron, and here’s the fixture. Once again, we made this fixture right on the CNC machine, which enabled us to shorten our lead time for our customer. If we take a closer look, we can show you what we’re doing here. As you can see, we have two parts here, and we also have two of the same on the back. We chuck up the part like so, then we go ahead and mill it and do all of our machining work on this side here, putting in notches and creating precision holes.
These are plus or minus one and plus or minus two. This bore in the middle is also plus or minus one, but it’s also at a one-degree or two-degree angle. So we’re able to machine all of this in the first chucking. Now what we’ll do is bring out pallet two to show you the second chucking. Okay, here’s our second work holding. Once again, these pictures were made right on the CNC machine, and we have the same scenario. We have two parts in the front and two parts in the back, and they’re all chucked up the same. We’ll get a closer look here. What we do is locate those two precision holes and chuck them up. We perform our planned machining on this side here. We put the holes here, tap all the holes, and we’re also able to index it and go ahead and work on the inside with the slots and drilled-through tapped holes. This milling on the inside is also at a two-degree angle and is perpendicular to that board. By looking at this part, we’re able to complete this in two chuckings. That’s it for the day. I’d like to invite anyone out there to take a look at our website, and if you have a product or a project that you need us to consider, I’m very confident that our tools can handle your requirements. Everyone have a productive day, and thank you for joining us.
[VIDEO] Custom CNC Machined Fixtures 4 Dec 2024, 8:47 pm
Why waste your time creating custom fixtures on old machines. Do it on a CNC in a fraction of the time with increased accuracy and repeatability.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Good morning and welcome to another short video highlighting some of the projects we’ve been working on here at contour Tool. Today I wanna talk about something a little different, that doesn’t necessarily get a lot of focus, but it is a very important piece in the manufacturing component parts, and that is the ability to design and manufacture our own fixtures, and we do that in house. Now, some of you say, well, every shop does that. Not necessarily true with the decline of skilled craftsmen or tool makers, we saw this happening a long time ago, and we put in place a lot of the tools and training in order for us to design and manufacture our own fixtures, right on our CNC machines. Today I’m gonna show you out on the shop floor a fixture we just recently completed. We’re currently in setup to manufacture the parts for our customers and we’d like to take a, a look at it and show you what we’ve done and give it some thought for your next parts. Let’s face it, not all parts are round or square. It takes a special fixture in order to hold ’em. So if you join us out on the shop floor, we’ll show you what we got going on.
Okay? We’re standing in one of, part of one of our DMG Moe NHX 4,000 horizontal machining centers. The fixture that we’re talking about is just one. Naturally. This fixture was designed by our engineering department. Mike did a great job on this, but we also machine the fixtures right on our c and C machine. This does several things for us and helps our customers. One, it shows and repeatability of the fixture from one to the other and also shortens up the lead time. Once we got all the raw material in all the socketed cap screws and everything else, we had maybe 35 hours or less machine, all four fixtures. In this particular setup we have pallet one, which we have duplicate fixturing on both sides. And then inside the machine we have Operation two. And it’s the same thing. We have a front and a back. The part we’re gonna be machining actually is odd shaped, so it takes a special fixture. So if you have parts that require special work holdings, give contour tool a try. You’d be surprised and also I think you would be amazed on what we can do here for you. I’d like to thank you for joining me and everyone have a great productive day. Thank you.
[VIDEO] Holding ±.0003″ on an aluminum casting 4 Dec 2024, 8:46 pm
Tight tolerances are everywhere in manufacturing. How do you hold ±.0003″ in the bore of an aluminum casting? With the proper tools, gauges and approach it’s a daily occurrence for Contour Tool to hold these tolerances for our customers.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Hello everyone. Welcome to another contour tool short video on showing you some of the projects we’ve been working on for the past year. Today we’re gonna show you a part that we receive from a customer. It’s aluminum casting, and from the onset it doesn’t look like it’s that difficult of a part, but it’s all the internal workings that, uh, is the intricate part of this particular project. We had to come up with a way to work, hold this part in such a way that we can machine both the IDs and we’ll show that to you here in a minute. In one chucking there was always issues of non cleanup and alignment between the two bores, which caused problems. So we were able to design up a picture to hold this part and be able to attack both ends at the same time. In the same chucking.
If we looked at a cross section of a part, you’ll see the two bores that are in here. Now from the onset, that still doesn’t look difficult. However, these bores had to be held within plus or minus three tenths of an inch. And like I said, non cleanup was an issue with the customer. Uh, previously on these two bores, this kind of led us into a direction of investing in some high-end, uh, tooling in order to accomplish this. And after we did that, we were able to hold the tolerances, but we also had to invest in some high-end fix, uh, tooling. We also had to do some high-end gauging. And if you notice here we invested in a air probe system that allows us to check the bores to the plus or minus three times tolerance. We also had to hold a 16 micro finish, which we were able to hold anywhere from a eight to a 10 micro throughout the entire run. This is one of the projects that we have excelled in and we would like you to take a look at our website and take a look at some of our other projects that we’ve worked on and make contour tool your first place you stop. Thank you and everyone have a good day.
[VIDEO] Product Assembly Capabilities 4 Dec 2024, 8:45 pm
Here at Contour Precision Milling and Machining we not only machine the components and stock them for fast delivery but we can also assemble complete machines for our customers and package them.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Hello and welcome back to Contour Tool. I wanted to take the time today to show you that we not only have the ability to machine precision parts here, but we also have the capability to assemble products. This machine back here on the table is something that we manufacture, and we machine half of these components. The other half we stock on the shelf. All these bins behind me contain items that we stock to be able to build that machine. There are a few other things that we assemble here as well. If we move down here, you’ll see more of our stock on the top shelf. Below me, we have the boxes that these items are packaged into. We order these and build the boxes here, and we test every one of these machines before we put them into the box and send them off to our customers. So if you have anything you would like us to look at, whether it’s something you want machined, raw stock forging, casting, scale, aluminum, it doesn’t matter. Even if you need something assembled, we’re happy to take a look at it. We have the capacity and ability to do so.
[VIDEO] Tool Crib Design 101 for Improved Productivity 4 Dec 2024, 8:44 pm
In this video I’ll talk about the different stations we have within our tool crib to make it user friendly and sustainable. I won’t go into detail on our paperwork and work instructions but rather the overall layout which has helped us to setup tooling, teardown tooling and inventory our tooling better than we ever have before. This new layout has allowed us to reduce the tasks put on our main CNC setup personnel.
TRANSCRIPTON:
Hey, welcome back to Contour Tool. Today we wanted to highlight the tool crib area. Essentially, there are three areas here. The first station right here is for when a job is done and it’s going to get completely torn down. So we have the cart with our tools here, our tool bin, and our setup sheet. It’s all color-coded based on whether it gets a new tool, a coolant tool, or something special. All of these will be completely broken down, cleaned, dried off, and then placed over here. Over here on this rack, we have all of our tool holders separated based on the retention map or the machine that they go to, so that way we can keep things organized. Moving down a little further is our, essentially, station number two right here. This is where we will set up the next job.
With this, we have torque wrenches to ensure everything fits according to the proper specifications. Instructions will follow. Over here are all our pooling bins. Instead of having specific tools for each task, we have specific tools for each job because, as you know, all tools can be different. We make sure to use the same pool for the next setup so that we can start right where we left off. The last line over here, in these green bins, if you want to come around, we have it all organized and labeled. We have our collars here, sorted by size, and some more pallets down here with different sizes. We have our insertable drills, more inserts, and it’s all labeled based on what it is so we can order more of the same item. Our third station down here is where everything comes together. We go to our tool center, and this is something we’ve only had for a little over a year now, which has helped us tremendously because we’ve been able to set up the tools before they need to reach the machine. This way, our operators don’t have to spend time setting up and tearing down tools. Our operators and our setup personnel can have these tools all ready to go for the next job before it even gets to the machine. This has really helped us reduce setup time for many of our jobs, allowing us to change efficiently. So that’s our tool crib. Thanks for watching.
[VIDEO] Machining Smaller Parts on our NLX 2500 4 Dec 2024, 8:42 pm
Watch Michelle, Derrick & Bob talk about our capabilities on one of our NLX2500 lathes. By running a complete bar with the machine unattended we can work on another machine running a different job at the same time to improve our productivity.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Hi, everybody here at Contour Tool again. I’m trying to share a little bit about some other things we do here. I am Michelle Reland, the second-generation owner at Contour, and I have my friend Bob Scott here, who is our setup guy on our NLX. You’ve met him before, and you’ve also met Derek, Eric Kinder, one of our manufacturing engineers. We had an opportunity with a customer who had some overflow work. Now, do we always have the ability to do overflow work? No, we don’t. But when we have the capacity and it seems like a good fit for us, we will surely take the opportunity. We have some bar stock here, and even though we are known as a small to medium volume shop with most runs here at Contour, we take the opportunity where we can to keep the spindles turning, even in a small lights-out capacity. So Bob’s going to show you, and Derek, a little bit about what we do to turn this stock into these parts. Bob.
Well, it starts with the bar, and we load it into the machine. Through the machining process, we drill, cut it off, and tap it, among other tasks. We can leave it running unattended during lunch and breaks. In fact, we had a meeting today while it was running. That’s how we’re trying to determine how we can make the parts more cost-effective.
When we looked at some of our product lines that we run here, we do handle short orders. However, we have the capability to run a continuous bar naturally. It’s shorter. We’re not equipped with a bar feeder, but the machine itself allows us to process the part and feed it out as if we had a bar feeder, using some tips that we have, and we’re able to keep the job running unattended. Naturally, every job will be different based on its complexity. This part is not too complicated. We have that capability here, not just for short runs.
So, absolutely, as any good machine shop knows, the proof is in the process and the engineering upfront. If these guys have done their jobs right from the beginning, they’ve provided us with a good and smooth process, allowing them to execute efficiently on the floor. We’re thrilled about it—thrilled about the opportunity. Send us a quote, guys. Take the chance.
[VIDEO] Machining Lower Volume Work on a Horizontal Machining Center 10 Dec 2021, 9:01 pm
“Never be hesitant to try something new, you might be surprised of your results.” And we did not hesitate! One of our current customers was experiencing capacity challenges to meet demands for their high performance racing piston line and looked to Contour Tool for help. Through a joint working effort with our customer, taking an existing process and a transfer of macro machining language and a well thought out fixture, we have been able to assist in machining over 100 different part numbers to date. The piston product line orders can range between 96 pieces and as low as 8 pieces. Since starting this project in late April 2021, we have produced thousands of pistons for our customer with an average change over from one part to another in less than 10 minutes.
Not all needs are the same, but let Contour Tool take a look at helping you today with your manufacturing needs!
Are You in Need Of Assistance With Your Difficult Parts To Be Manufactured?
Complex Bar Stock Machined Parts
Contour Precision Milling & machining has built an outstanding reputation of being able to produce precision machined parts to high quality standards. We have the unique skills needed and carry out the careful planning necessary to tackle the difficult work. Send us your part to quote today and see how we can help you, let our process and our customer partnership speak for itself.
Send your RFQ’s to: info@contourtool.com
[VIDEO] Precision Machining With No Visible Tool Marks 21 Feb 2021, 8:56 pm
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[VIDEO] About Contour Precision Milling & Machining 3 Feb 2021, 11:50 pm
In this video:
- Learn how Contour machines difficult, hard to hold castings.
- Learn how Contour has been a company known for solving customers problems and is able to machine their problem parts. Also check out our Success Stories!
TRANSCRIPTION:
Hello everybody. My name is Marty Farley. I am here at Contour Precision Milling and Machining, also known as Contour Tool. I am one of the quality engineers here, and I fill in wherever things need to be done. I set up some of the tooling for the CNC machines that we have, process improvements, and things like that. Now, over the coming weeks, you’re going to meet some of our team members. You’re going to see our machines. We want to share with you what we do and how we provide value. Before we head out there, though, today I want to take you on a little history tour. So fasten your seat belts, and here we go. Contour Tool was founded in 1986 by Paul and Donna Reichlin. The company was built around the screw machine industry, designing and manufacturing many inserts, platforms, and dovetail tools, whether it was something like this part here that is carbide tipped or if it was made from solid carbide or high-speed steel. You name it, we did it.
Uh, today, it is owned by Michelle Reichlin, who is Paul and Donna’s daughter, and we focus more on our CNC machine. We are capable of tighter tolerances and low to medium length production work, whether it’s something like this that’s machined from a solid piece of aluminum with tighter tolerances and smaller holes on the backside, or whether it’s something like this part that is machined from a casting. We do a lot of castings. We have four horizontal machining centers that we keep busy all the time. We have three Maki lathes and two Haas UMC 750s. Guys, those are impressive; it just sounds impressive. They are our five-axis machines, and you’ll see that as we create some of these videos. You’ll see some five-axis machining going on out there. That’s all I have for you on our history, so let’s head out there and meet Derrick and Bob.
All right, guys, here we are. We’re out here on the floor, and I’m going to introduce you to Derek. He’s one of our experienced CNC engineers here, and Bob is one of our experienced CNC machinists. So here’s Derek. Good afternoon, and here’s Bob over here. Good afternoon. So Derek, why don’t you share with us some of what’s going on?
Okay, well, we’ll get over this way, that way we can let Bob do what he does best. I’m also going to back up here a little bit so I can take off my mask, so you can hear me out here on the shop floor. As Marty stated, I’m one of the manufacturing engineers who just happens to be seasoned. I don’t know if that has to do with the gray hair or what. Talking about some of our capabilities here and some of our niches at Contour Tool, we specialize in machining complex, very difficult castings. What I mean by that is not because of the number of matches on a particular part, but because they are difficult to hold in the machining aspect. We work with very tight tolerances. This particular part here that we’re working on right now is kind of unique.
It’s for a customer who approached us with a problem, and typically we try to solve these issues for our customers. This part goes into a diesel generator projection system. This part was actually obsoleted many years ago, and they had a requirement from one of their customers for more of these parts. It has always been a difficult part for them to get manufactured. Here at Contours, we pride ourselves on going a step beyond and obtaining more information than just a blueprint. We want to understand the challenges they have faced in the past, and we always try to consider what we can do differently from any other shop to create a more productive and better part for them. By working with the customer, we were able to develop some design changes within the mold.
Uh, that’s going to allow us to control a lot of their data, a lot of their tight tolerances and requirements for this part. Uh, we’re currently working on the setups, but, uh, it’s starting to look a little bit like this. And I’m sure you’re going to see, uh, later in the videos. Uh, after this operation here, we’re going to go over to our five-axis machine and finish machine nest. Uh, that’s where the process begins for this part. As you can see, it’s not your typical part. We’re currently working on this part on this particular machine here. It’s, uh, one of our empty XS turning centers. We have a main spindle with a 10-inch capacity up front and a six-inch capacity in the back. We also have a turret with an assortment of tools. Now, this machine is very productive. It allows us to do front and back work all in the same setup.
That way, we can control our processes much better. We also have YIs capability on this machine as well. This is just one of them. We actually have one right across the aisle where Bob is currently working. Now, this is not anything new as far as equipment goes; every shop has one of these. However, what we have found here at Contour is that we get the most out of these machines. We also have a highly experienced staff, which always makes a difference in any company. That is why we are successful here at Contour: because of our diversity of experience levels throughout our shop. We take a team approach in tackling and conquering these very complex and difficult castings. Not only do we do casting, but we also handle your standard bar stock component parts, which can be challenging as well. I’m sure some of you are reviewing our website for the first time.
I welcome you to read all the notations in there. Take a look at our equipment and our certifications regarding quality. Also, take a look at pictures of our component parts, but that doesn’t necessarily tell the entire story of our capabilities. I encourage you to send us your quotes, especially for your highly complex castings that you have difficulty with. Let us take a look at them. The proof will be in the process, the product, and the partnership we can build with you. Marty, I thank you for your time. If you don’t mind, I’m going to go ahead and get back to work here. Everyone have a good day.
Alright, thank you Derek. Alright, that’s a little bit about Contour Tool. Thanks for joining.
PMPA – Precision Machining Careers Make A Difference 1 Oct 2020, 11:46 pm
What do a smartphone, sports car, basketball hoop, video controller and a military plane have in common? They all require precision machined parts! Check out this video from PMPA: