Many factors make an industrial CNC machining project challenging, from materials and tooling to complexity and tolerances. Sometimes the circumstances make it a challenge, like supply chain issues, tight timelines, or hitting budgetary goals with limited volume.
Stecker (SMC) has seen it all and worked with industrial clients to help them reach their goals and deliver the highest quality custom CNC parts possible. Here are a few examples.
1. Hydraulic Valve Housing
An OEM supplier of hydraulic valve bodies was looking for a shop to become a major domestic supplier. Their team toured Stecker’s facility and saw our commitment to keeping a clean shop and our state-of-the-art robotic cells. They were convinced that SMC was a solid fit and commissioned our team to produce hydraulic valve housings used in hydraulic control systems for large machinery from major global brands.
Machining for this project is complex, requiring three operations for machining on all faces, hydraulic ports, cross holes, and tight tolerances. Two castings are used to make six different part designs. The total volume each year is 33,000 units and requires two machining centers. SMC included plans to add a third machining center to accommodate growing numbers.
SMC chose to automate this project for several reasons including cost, quality, and volume. A robot picks the raw materials, loads and unloads the machining, washing, and engraving operations, and sends finished goods and quality samples on outfeed conveyors. SMC uses lean poka-yoke processes and incorporates scanners and barcode readers to control and track parts throughout the production process.
Cleanliness is critical in hydraulics; a micron of foreign debris could cause a system failure. SMC and the customer collaborated throughout development, learning from each other’s experiences. With strong input from the customer, SMC invested in an industrial ultrasonic washer to ensure cleanliness requirements.
2. Rotary Air Compressor Housing
A major manufacturer of portable rotary air compressors required the machining of gray iron for its complex compressor housings. Their initial projected annual volume was wide-ranging, between 100 to 3,000 units, making it difficult to scope the project while staying competitively priced. Stecker went the extra mile, coming up with a solution and producing production part approval process (PPAP) samples with a quick turnaround and meeting the customer’s expectations for quality and workmanship.
For final production, machining was done on a 630mm Horizontal CNC machining center. Knowing this had the potential for a long-term partnership, Stecker accommodated the customer’s initial volumes in anticipation of ramping up production in the future. When that happened, Stecker increased capacity in response, allowing machining costs to stay highly competitive.
3. Scroll Compressor Housing
A major European manufacturer in the global HVAC industry wanted to expand its presence in the U.S. market and sought reliable suppliers to meet the rigorous demands of its new compressor components.
As with many of Stecker’s projects, managing tight tolerances was a significant challenge for this project, especially because these parts required both turning and milling operations. Our manufacturing process begins with turning operations in a CNC Lathe. From there, parts went to a horizontal CNC machining center for additional machining operations. To ensure consistent quality throughout the process, we set up a specialized cell that was managed by a single operator. It required additional training for the operator to master both turning and milling operations. This strategy proved effective in maintaining precision and efficiency as well as controlling cost.
When the initial projections of higher volumes didn’t materialize, the team at Stecker worked diligently to further identify inefficiencies and optimize the production process without compromising quality or increasing prices for the customer. By collaborating with tooling vendors to extend tool life and enhance cycle times, Stecker successfully controlled costs while meeting the company's stringent requirements.
4. Frack Transmission Housing
One of the biggest challenges for manufacturers is finding a reliable CNC shop that can deliver on its promises. A major Fortune 500 industrial equipment manufacturer was disappointed in the quality of parts being supplied by another CNC shop. Parts were leaking at assembly and the high failure rate was causing major production issues. So the customer made an urgent call to one of their suppliers—our foundry partner—who recommended Stecker as a solution to their challenge.
And challenging it was! Not only did we have to work quickly and closely with the foundry to meet specifications, but the Stecker team had to leverage engineering designs, fixturing, tooling, programming, production processes, and pressure testing to deliver results within a few months. Complex machining was extra challenging because of the large size of the parts (4' x 3' x 3' and 350 lbs.) and configurations that made some features inaccessible with standard tooling.
Stecker was up for the challenge and the team came through to ensure leak-free housings. The project was such a success that the industrial equipment manufacturer doubled its monthly volume.
READ THE WHOLE STORY: Solving a Critical Parts Challenge
Up for the Challenge
Want to view additional complex CNC projects where Stecker Machine helped customers in a bind? View our collection of case studies by clicking the link below. Whether an OEM supplier, global brand, or stateside manufacturer, we’re up for the challenge. Contact us today to talk through your next project.
