Part Name: Cable Head Connector Housing

Customer:  Aerospace/Commercial OEM

Location: USA

Part Name: Cable Head Connector Housing

Industry:  Defense

Materials: 6061-T651 Aluminum

Quality Details & Requirements:

• O-Ring Groove, + .002″/-0 on groove depth
• Precision Bores for alignment of cover to mating part, +.0004″/ – 0 [H7]
• N6 Surface finish on sealing surface
• Flatness tolerance of .004″ [.05mm] across entire sealing surface

Quantity:  400

Part Size & Dimensions:

• Height = 1.062” [27 mm)
• Width = 2.854" [72.5 mm]
• Length = 5.590” [142 mm]

Application(s) Used:

• 3-Axis CNC Machining, 2 Set ups
• High-Speed Machining
• Thread Milling (M2.5 x .45 6H)
• Reaming
• Trochoidal Milling

Engineering & Software Requirements:

• Solidworks CAD File
• PDF Drawings
• TopSolid/TopCAM for CNC Programing

Secondary Process:

• Chemical Conversion Coating per MIL-C5541, Class 3
• Anodic Coating per MIL-A-8625, Type II, Class 2 Black
• Masking of all precision diameters

Project Milestones:

• Developed machining process for dovetail shaped O-Ring goove
• Worked with customer to clearly understand Metric dimensioning/tolerancing

Part Name: Motor Housing

Customer:  Aerospace Tier 2

Location: US

Materials: 6061-T6511 Aluminum

Description:  Housing for electrical motor controlling environmental systems on aircraft

Industry: Aerospace (Commercial)

Quality Details & Requirements:

• Bearing seats: 2 precision inline bores: +.0004”/-.0” diameter tolerance
• .001” coaxial bores
• ID .001” total tolerance
• .0005” tolerance for alignment pins between housing halves

Quantity:  80 sets with yearly repeat orders

Part Size & Dimensions:

• Diameter = 6”
• Length = 11”

Application(s) Used:

• 5-Axis Positioning  CNC Machining
• Mill/Turn
• Sinker EDM of recessed slots in large half
• Precision Boring
• Slotting of fins using customer form saw
• Minor assembly -  instillation of heli-coils after plating
• Thread Milling

Cycle Time(s):

Large Half

• Milling and Turning, Protoypes: 5.5 hours
• Milling and Turning, Production: 2.25 hours
•  Sinker EDM: 1 hour

Small Half

• Milling and Turning, Protoypes: 3.75 hours
• Milling and Turning, Production: 1.5 hours

Engineering & Software Requirements:

• Customer supplied STEP file
• PDF Drawing
• TopSolid/TopCAM for CNC programming

Special Processes:

• Chormate Conversion (Iridite) Per MIL-C-5541 E Class 1A, light brown

 Project Milestones:

• Multi-year project.  Work with customer from single piece prototypes to production.
• Worked with customer on several revisions rounds
• Original prototypes used micro tapered end mill which proved to be extremely time consuming and highly unreliable due to tool breakage.  Developed process for machining fins using custom designed form slitting saw…dramatically reducing cycle times and improving part quality.
• GTI had to change to a different secondary processor on second production round due to poor vendor performance.  Customer was very pleased with second vendor’s performance on finish and color.  Precision diameters unaffected by chemical process with new vendor.

Part Name/Description: Lens Port Housing

Customer: Optics OEM

Location: US

Materials: 6061-T6511 Aluminum

Industry:  Military Optics

Quality Details & Requirements:

• 16 RMS Surface finish on ID and OD

Quantity:  200

Part Size & Dimensions:

• Diameter  = 6.5”
• Length = 5”

Application(s) Used:

• Mill/Turning
• 5-Axis CNC machining/5-Axis positioning

Cycle Time(s):

• 1^st Part in Run = 50 minutes
• Last Part in Run = 38 minutes

Engineering & Software Requirements:

• Solidworks Model
• PDF Drawings
• TopSolid/TopCAM

Project Milestones:

• Utilized main spindle and sub-spindle for turning and 5-axis positional milling
• Utilized expanding arbor on sub-spindle ID during part transfer
• Utilized High Positive insert to create 16 RMS surface finish

Part Name/Description: Ultra-Rugged Electronics Enclosure

Customer: International Aerospace/Military Manufacturer

Location: Israel

Materials: 6061–T651 Aluminum

Industry: Aerospace (Military)

Quality Details & Requirements:

• Special Customer-Mandated Project & Technical Specifications
• No Foreign-Supplied Raw Materials
• Silver Plating
• ITAR Compliance

Quantity: 1,000 Total (1-Year Duration)

Part Size & Dimensions:

• Height = 1/2” [12.7 mm]
• Width = 3 1/2” [88 mm]
• Length = 7 7/8” [200 mm]

Application(s) Used:

• 5-Axis Machining (OP1)
• 3-Axis Machining (OP2)
• 5-Axis Positioning
• High-Speed Machining
• Drilling
• Tapping
• On-Machine Deburring
• CNC Machining

Cycle Time(s):

• 1^st Part in Run = 45 minutes cycle time
• Optimized cutting & toolpath strategies; Rewrote Computer Aided Manufacturing (CAM) programming to improve Roughing & Finishing details
• Last Part in Run = 29 minutes cycle time

Engineering & Software Requirements:

• Solidworks Computer Aided Design (CAD) File
• PDF Drawings
• TopSolid/TopCAM Modeler
• CAM Program Refinements Throughout Project

Project Milestones:

• High Raw Materials Inventory Maintained Throughout Year-Long Project
• On-Machine Deburring Programming Developed to Reduce Cycle Time