Bringing fabrication to the fight

The noise of metal being blasted by water jetting from a machine at Mach 3 overwhelms the room. On one side of the shop, joints creek under the extreme pressure of a metal press; sparks fly from another corner.

In the 354th Maintenance Squadron's metals technology shop, Icemen can be found welding metal, manufacturing parts for F-16 Fighting Falcon, or repairing just about any type of metal that has been torn, broken or overworked.

"Any shop on base that needs a part or specialty tool built, whether it be aluminum, titanium or any other kind of metal, we're the guys," said Staff Sgt. Joshua Osvold, 354th MXS NCO in charge of metals technology.

Commonly, a part for an aircraft can't be bought or is just cheaper to make. Technicians running the equipment at the metals shop fabricate these special orders to precision accuracy.

"We are dealing with thousandths of an inch every day," said Senior Airman Robert Mason, 354th MXS metals technology journeyman. "Every measurement has to be exact. We consider grease holes, expansion, pressure ratings and every other characteristic of the part being fabricated."

Tools are an integral part of the aircraft metals technology work center. Airmen are certified to run water jets, which pierce metal using 55,000 pounds per square inch of water and abrasive mixture. They use computer numerically controlled or "CNC" machines to create 3-D cuts in even the hardest steel. They also use more common tools like welders and presses.

Although the technology executes the precision cutting, Osvold said there is no lack of dedication and hard work from the individuals who program these machines to function properly.

"Every design cut or piece of metal shaped has to be built in a CNC drafting program," he said. "Many people believe the machines do all the work, but water pressure has to be changed, calibrations have to be made and designs aren't automatically drawn by computers."

Mason said the job can be challenging yet rewarding, especially when running a machine which takes extreme calibration and intricacy to program.

"We may have to dislodge a stuck bolt or build a bushing for landing gear, it doesn't matter; every day is something different," he said. "It's hard to describe being able to overcome challenges and accomplish something significant on a daily basis."

Planning to make the Air Force a career, he said the best part about the job is being able to overcome challenges every day and make "pretty much anything" out of a chunk of metal.

"We are capable of fabricating complex products to support the mission here; anything to keep the jets in the air or the equipment on the ground running, no matter how long it takes," Mason said. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.careel-laser-engraving-machine.com.

Prevention Through Quality Assurance

The priority for packaging materials is on product protection, as food involves more resources than the packaging. Food product losses cause higher CO2 emissions than can be saved by using less packaging material. Material reduction or substitution is therefore always accompanied by optimized properties. The aim is to develop bio-based, intelligent and sustainable packaging systems. Initial packaging with a covering film of a paper-plastic composite is already used for cheese and sausage. The paper can be removed again from the composite material for the window cut-out using laser cutting. This makes cut-outs possible in any desired shape without having to use special tools, because laser marking machine  is easy to program. The appearance and touch are the same as paper and functionality is provided in terms of barrier properties, running properties on machines, rigidity and printability. The composite saves fossil raw materials and offers new potential for differentiating between products at the POS.

MAP protects food well, is consumer-friendly and usually resealable, although a problem still exists here between the force needed to open and reclose the package. It offers good barriers against gases, vapours, light and aromas and active properties like oxygen scavenger, moisture control or UV protection. The use of active substances like silver or nanosilver for anti-microbial treatment of packages is controversial. They could migrate into the product and they only kill germs if the products are moist. Their effect is very much slower at cold store temperatures.

A consortium of research institutions, a chemicals concern, meat processing firms and manufacturers of packaging systems are working on the “Safe-Pack” project – a plastic material that kills bacteria using a purely physical principle. This introduces an additional active agent, which could migrate to the content of the package. This material significantly extends the durability of fresh meat products. It will certainly take some time until the new packaging material can be used, as it still has to pass the regulatory approval procedures for food.

Adhesives are found in many food packages. Their spectrum of use ranges from folding boxes and labels to film packages. Spicy sauces and food containing vinegar or other acids place high demands on flexible packages. The aggressive contents damage the packages, including the adhesives used for laminating the packaging films. New laminating adhesives with a large non-volatile component manage with less solvent and suppress this unwanted effect. This saves material costs and reduces the energy consumption, as less power is needed for dryers. Another advantage of these adhesive systems is that the bonding agent used no longer blocks the application cell of the roller. Cell blocking can be avoided and the amount of adhesive used can be kept more constant over the whole application.

The machinery manufacturers have developed a number of inspection systems that can be integrated as modules into existing plant. Besides detecting foreign bodies, some of them take over additional tasks like weighing, verification of markings or leak inspection of the packages. MAP packages are increasingly used for meat and sausage, cheese or convenience foods, not least because of the trend to more convenience. Modular test systems supplement form, fill and seal lines and ensure reliable automatic checking for fault-free sealing seams, readable and correct labels and foreign bodies. Depending on the user’s requirement, multisensory inspection units can carry out optical or mechanical checks or combined optical and mechanical package checks.

Custom robots deliver the goods at Electrolux Adelaide plant

At a time when Australian manufacturing industry is confronted with substantial challenges, an innovative custom designed automation system is delivering significant productivity benefits for an Adelaide manufacturer.

Leviathan Design, in the Melbourne suburb of Rowville, has designed, manufactured and installed an automated cell to bond metal trim and plastic columns to a glass panel to form a door outer assembly used in free standing household cookers manufactured by Electrolux Home Products in Adelaide.

The Adelaide factory, which employees some 450 people, produces around 1300 cookers per day including Electrolux, Westinghouse and Chef brand names.

Leviathan Design has in-house machining facilities capable of producing all components required for the system. These were designed in 3D CAD and the model was used directly by the company's CNC machines to produce the components. This ensured that the company had complete control from design through to the manufacturing process.

Sales engineer at Leviathan Design, Glenn Westonsmith, points out that the automated production cell designed for Electrolux is extremely compact, with seven ABB robots all working together in the one cell, which is very unusual.

"A critical requirement of the project was to achieve a cycle time of 14 seconds. A full computer simulation using ABB's Robot Studio software was used to show the proposed system capability," he said. "This simulation was continually updated and tested throughout the project to check the cycle time."

The oven doors are constructed of three parts: painted glass sheets supplied in stacks, plastic injection molded columns provided in trays, and powder coated or stainless trim placed by hand onto the conveyor. Main elements of the automated production system are the robot oven door bonding cell, overhead link conveyor, and the robot storage buffer.

A key task of the robot oven door bonding cell is glass separation and paper removal. The glass sheets tend to stick together due to vacuum between the sheets, but this issue was solved by gripping the glass stack so that the top sheet can be removed by robot without the second sheet sticking.

Paper removal is provided by a high velocity fan creating a vacuum to suck the paper away to a hopper. Westonsmith says it is critical that glass and trim is accurately aligned for assembly of the doors, so glass and trim are placed on 'air tables' to provide a frictionless surface.

"Small holes release air to provide a flotation cushion so that friction between the glass and the table is reduced to almost zero. This ensures that the glass and trim consistently align to a datum position," he explained.Click on their website careel-laser-engraving-machine for more information.

Grand Woodworking Chooses Cabinet

To succeed in modern business during this economic recovery, companies must work more efficiently to produce the highest quality products with less overhead. This practice keeps the cost of goods reasonable while yielding exceptional quality. One key aspect of this process is often a greater reliance on computer software, and one company using computers to reduce manufacturing costs is Grand Woodworking.

Grand Woodworking is South Florida's newest and most competitive source for custom architectural woodwork and custom kitchen cabinets. The company is headquartered in Naples and draws on the expertise of architectural millwork and custom woodworking artisans with deep experience in creating masterpieces for distinguished homes and businesses.

Grand Woodworking has partnered with Cabinet Vision software and now uses the Solid Ultimate software product to take full advantage of its solid modeling technology. Solid Ultimate also enables Screen-To-Machine manufacture, the most powerful automated CAM solution in the woodworking industry, which sends all Grand Woodworking's designs as machine-ready G-Code straight to their Holzher Cosmec 510 three axis Laser engraver.

Neil Heuer, co-founder of Grand Woodworking explained,  "The Cabinet Vision software will create greater quality control ensuring a better product. Also it will allow us to utilize our CNC to its fullest ability and make a precision product that is of greater quality in a much faster period of time. We can also share detailed renderings of photorealistic quality with the client prior to the actual installation. This ensures that the unique custom manufactured woodworking pieces are exactly what the customer expected. "

Cabinet Vision's products help enable any furniture

, woodworking or kitchen cabinet manufacturer to fully automate and integrate its design through manufacturing processes, saving time, eliminating costly mistakes and increasing productivity.

Don Diamond, Manufacturing Technology Consultant with Vero Software a leading CAD CAM software company and developers of Cabinet Vision stated,  "We at Vero Software Limited are very excited to be working with Grand Woodworking to help them improve their manufacturing processes, allowing them to deliver higher quality products and services to their customers. Cabinet Vision's industry leading technology combined with Grand Woodworking's skilled craftsmanship is sure to produce amazing results. "

The Ave is all about the art

For 15 years, Art on the Ave has brought art to Tacoma’s Sixth Avenue. But through the years, the street and festival have changed. The Ave has transformed from grungy hang-out into a yuppie destination, with public art pieces, a food co-op, spas, shops and upscale eateries. The festival, one of the city’s largest, also has seen a decline in actual art.

But this year’s Art on the Ave on Sunday, July 14, brings back art in droves, offering an assortment that includes professional chalk painters and sand sculpting.

“We’d gotten feedback from attendees at last year’s festival that there wasn’t enough art,” said festival director Angela Jossy. “They wanted to see more performance art, more live art. Each year, we’re dependent on which art vendors choose to show up. So we decided to go ahead and ask a whole lot of professional artists to come and show their work, and bring hands-on stuff for people to do.”

Past Art on the Aves have featured art that included live octopus mural painting and sewing-machine performance art. The live music and stage acts, such as singer Vicci Martinez or magic shows, have been a constant draw. But lately, it’s been mostly music, vendors and a bit of food from Sixth Avenue restaurants. So the art lineup this year is particularly impressive.

Take Steve Platt, for instance

. He’s a professional 3-D chalk artist from Selah who makes sidewalks look like flowing water fountains or steeply dropping canyons. Or Brent and Ethan Terry, a father-and-son sand-sculpting duo from Mill Creek, whose award-winning sculpture draws on Brent’s architectural studies. They’ll sculpt from one side of a giant pile of sand in the O’Reilly Auto Parts parking lot, while festivalgoers can try their hand on the other, helped by tips from the Terrys.

But that’s just the tip of the art iceberg. Metal sculptor Saign Charlestein, who makes props for TV and film, will wield a blowtorch to create his work, while Patricia Haase will sculpt in clay, and Tacoma’s FabLab will show off high-tech 3-D printers and laser cutting machine . There also will be live painters, glassblowers and graffiti muralists, many of whom will bring hands-on opportunities.

Possibly the biggest single attraction will be the Tacomapoly game. Played on a 45-by-45-foot piece of vinyl covering the Sixth Avenue and Pine Street intersection (outside Starbucks), the game reimagines the Monopoly board using Tacoma businesses instead of streets. Hand-drawn (and duct-taped) by the C.L.A.W. guys (Cartoonists League of Absurd Washingtonians) on the back of a recycled billboard, the game can be played by anyone who wants to make a donation (big or small) to the Sixth Avenue Business District, which sponsors the festival.

Participants will get a lanyard with a Tacoma landmark symbol, roll giant dice to move around the board and earn or spend Tacomapoly money, closely monitored by a celebrity judging panel who will broadcast the progress of the game.

The winner of each 10-minute game gets a voucher for Sixth Ave district merchandise.

“And if people don’t follow the rules, there’s even a mock jail cell,” Jossy said. “It’ll be really silly, Mad Hatter-style justice. But it’ll be a lot of fun.”

Add all this to the festival’s usual offerings: a Grub Crawl (which began last year, allowing festival-goers to sample $6 dishes from competing restaurants (see story on Page 6); three stages of live music from Ben Union, The Fame Riot, Not From Brooklyn, The Fun Police, Nolan Garrett and an undisclosed “national act”; and a Pin Up vintage car show and treasure hunt.

Finally, the festival has added free Wi-Fi throughout Art on the Ave, along with a cellphone application that lets you plan where to go.

At a time when other local festivals come and go — the Urban Arts Festival has announced it won’t happen this year, for instance – the sheer planning energy of this year’s Art on the Ave is admirable.

Performance plus

Given the economic turbulence we’ve all endured over the last five years, many businesses have reported doing more with less, and not as a matter of choice. But this common refrain needn’t always have a negative connotation. With the right equipment, end product manufacturers (EPMs) can do a lot more with less—as in less time and less labor.

“Whether they are operating a one-man shop or have 200 machines, manufacturers have to do everything they can to be competitive at all levels,” says Steven Kaplan, president of S. Kaplan Sewing Machine Co. Inc. in Newark, N.J. “They have to take advantage of labor-saving devices.”

Equipment manufacturers have learned a lot in recent years about what fabricators want from their purchases, and how these expectations affect the specialty fabrics industry.

Before proposing a machinery solution

, Hoffman Brothers will first try to qualify a customer’s needs, then offer several options in different price ranges. “We have a large staff of people with many combined years of experience, specifically in the cut-and-sew industry,” Hoffman says, “so we know what works and what doesn’t.”

Repair work and maintenance are at the top of customers’ requests when buying a machine from S. Kaplan Sewing. “It is very difficult to find good, competent mechanics nationwide,” Kaplan says, adding that most of his customers don’t have the time or desire to learn how to do the work themselves. “You would be surprised how many people send their machines to us from very, very far away to be repaired or rebuilt because my mechanics know what they are doing.”

At Grass Valley, Calif.-based Autometrix Precision Cutting Systems Inc., sales staff work closely with new customers “to assist them in developing a deeper understanding of the software side of their future purchase,” says sales manager Doug Hardy. Autometrix offers what it calls “Software Coaches” for online training before and after installation; after product installation is complete, the manufacturer trains personnel on both equipment and software at the customer’s facility.

Autometrix also sells an optional service contract that includes unlimited phone support, as well as a loaner program that ships a replacement component to the customer via overnight delivery.

Before delivering a spreading or automated laser cutting machine to a customer, The Fox Company in Charlotte, N.C., will first test it to ensure its performance. After the machine is installed, Fox will train personnel on operating, maintenance and troubleshooting, with on-call support should problems arise.

As president Harry Berzack puts it, “When you get into the more sophisticated sewing, spreading and cutting machines, where these could run customers six figures, they demand and deserve full support.”

Customization addresses a customer’s specific needs that may not be met in an off-the-shelf solution. Manufacturers and suppliers report that tailoring equipment is often the norm, not the exception. And even in situations that call for a standard machine, modifications are usually available.

“The customer comes to us with the concept of a product they want to manufacture,” Hoffman explains, “and if the machinery doesn’t exist to do that, we have the ability to design and manufacture specialty equipment specifically for the customer’s needs.”

Customization helps ensure that customers receive exactly what they need. “There is no point in giving a customer a 120-inch-wide machine if he isn’t going to use more than 60 inches,” Berzack says. “It is no use putting in a footer or an under-table rewind if he isn’t going to use [those features]. The industrial fabrics industry has an extremely wide range of different requirements.”

Some situations, however, do call for a machine that adapts to future needs. As fabric supplies get wider, so, too, do the machines, says Thomas Carlson, manager of Carlson Design in Tulsa, Okla., a provider of large-bed plotter/cutters. “If I have a 72-inch-wide bed and suddenly I want to cut 87-inch-wide material, I have to hand cut that,” he notes. “Once you automate, you don’t want to go back to hand cutting. My tendency might be to look ahead and get a 96-inch-wide machine.”

Almost the same as the Chinese

For more than 40 years, Maine Wood Concepts lingered in the background, turning hundreds of thousands of custom wooden Shaker pegs, toy wheels, dowels and other components for major game manufacturers, kitchenware makers and other customers who rarely knew the source of their products' parts. But with its purchase of Vic Firth Gourmet Kitchen Products division for upwards of $900,000 at the end of last year, Maine Wood is rebranding that company's rolling pins, salt and pepper mills and other kitchen items and striking out under its own Fletchers' Mill name.

The new business could help kick up Maine Wood's revenues by 30% this year, company President Douglas Fletcher, 58, told Mainebiz in a recent interview at the company's mill in New Vineyard. He's hired 30 new workers for that business.

A key part of that town of fewer than 1,000 residents, the mill buzzes with more than 100 employees and rows of lathes, spool machines, weinig moulders, back knife machines, CNC lathes, finishing processors and tumblers turning out every sort of imaginable wooden object. Wood-turning mills use a stationary blade to cut and shape wood while it spins.

The hum of the machines is music to Fletcher's ears

. But business hasn't always been that good. In the late 1990s through 2009, low-priced Chinese competitors silenced most of New England's wood-turning mills, and few came back. According to Fletcher, almost every town had a wood-turning factory in the 1970s, and now only three sizeable mills remain in Maine. They are his, Kingfield Wood Products, known for its music drum sticks, and Wells Wood Turning & Finishing Inc. of Buckfield, which gained fame for supplying about 100,000 wooden eggs for the White House Easter Egg Roll.

Nationwide, only a couple handfuls of the larger wood-turning companies remain, down from 85 mills in 2000, according to Mark Kemp, owner of wholesale crafts supplier Kemp Enterprises Inc. of Farmington, and a longtime customer of Maine Wood.

"If Doug sold an item for $1, China was able to sell it for 50 cents," says Smith, whose father started buying wood turnings from Fletcher's father, Wayne, some three decades ago. In the mill and distribution businesses, even a five-cent difference can be huge. "If we buy 50,000 wheels from Maine Wood, we'll sell them to 1,000 or more customers, 10-20 at a time," explains Smith. And that can involve holding the inventory up to two years.

Smith notes that most wood dealers bought from China to get the lower prices. Fletcher adds that the labor rates were so low that Chinese factories could afford to have extra people sand the turned wood if it wasn't smooth enough, something that was cost-prohibitive in the United States.

Smith and Kemp note that while China's ability to produce goods improved over time, there were some issues with mold and wood splitting, since the Chinese dry wood in the sun rather than in a kiln. And while the product quality at times equaled or exceeded some U.S.-made parts, prices in China have increased in recent years due to labor shortages and higher materials and shipping costs, opening the window for distributors to return to U.S. suppliers, Smith says.

"Doug can now make an item for 95 cents, almost the same as the Chinese. His quality and ability to beat China make him very much in demand," he says.

Smith at one time bought 50% of his goods by volume from China, and that's now closer to 20%, mostly small-diameter turnings. Some 20% of Smith's catalog of parts now comes from Maine Wood, which translates into $300,000 in purchases and millions of parts, including toy wheels, the staple of the wood-turning business. More information about the program is available on the web site at www.careel-tech.com.

A huge success for the Homag Group

With the largest presence at the show, Homag Group was certainly the talk of Ligna 2013. The company, which recently announced sales revenues for 2012 of 767m, had over 7000ft to display its innovations, world premieres and ground-breaking technological advancements.

Simon Brooks, sales and marketing director of Homag UK rounds up the highlights of the show with particular focus on machines ideal for the UK market: “The German engineers at Homag Group really outdid themselves once again at Ligna 2013. In fact, the group achieved the second highest trade fair order intake ever recorded in its history, falling just short of the record-breaking Ligna 2011 result.”

“One of the most versatile innovations was the introduction of powerTouch. The idea behind this concept is to standardise all Homag Group machines so that they can be operated using the same interface. With a widescreen HD multi-touch monitor, powerTouch combines design and function to create a user friendly system controlled entirely by direct touch.

“Using Homag Group brands as standard across a factory floor creates a simple yet efficient work process. The ultra-modern user interface offers an array of help and assistance functions designed to radically simplify the work experience. Now, with the introduction of powerTouch, it’s even easier for personnel to operate every machine.”

“Homag Group has solutions for every manufacturer from small to large,” continues Simon. “This means that as your business grows, Homag can help to deliver maximum productivity with the highest quality of finish.

“A perfect example of this comes from Holzma with its revamped HPP 300 saw. This model has been re-engineered so that high panel processing can be achieved at an entry-level cost. Then, as demand increases, the machine can be completely tailored to the customer’s needs by adding optional extras to improve efficiency and productivity.”

The HPP 300 was on display at Ligna with Holzma’s easy2feed system at the rear of the machine. The automated feeding concept reduces manual handling whilst increasing productivity and safety.

“Ligna is the perfect opportunity for Homag Group to tell the world about its new innovations,” explains Simon. “Weeke took advantage of this and unveiled its BHX 200 CNC processing centre, the next generation of compact vertical CNC technology with a low space requirement. It is the big brother to the already-widely popular BHX 050/055 series. Using the same vertical machining style, the BHX 200 boasts considerably faster machining speeds whilst maintaining high levels of precision in a small footprint.

“It is equipped with two individually movable high-speed drilling heads which activate a total of 34 high-speed drilling spindles – 20 vertical and 14 horizontal – enabling, for example, rows of holes to be processed considerably faster. As standard, the BHX 200 is equipped with two CNC-controlled clamping devices to position and fix the workpieces during operation.

“Brandt also introduced new machines to its portfolio of edgebanders at Ligna – the Ambition 1120 FC and the Highflex 1230. Both models provide through-feed solutions for the smaller workshop. The Highflex 1230’s innovative design includes a wide range of automation features to simplify the work of the operator, save time and offer an optimum cost-to-performance ratio.

“It allows complete post-processing of the workpieces as it is equipped with a profile scraping unit, a glue joint scraper and a buffing unit. The high degree of automation is a unique feature at this level of edgebanding machine.” More information about the program is available on the web site at www.careel-tech.com.

Comexi Group Introduces New Laser Technology

Common in-line laser processes include micro and macro perforations for the transmission of CO2 in packaging for fruit and vegetables, easy open systems for different types of packaging such as stand-up-pouches, the numbering of promotional offers, expiry dates and the printing of alphanumeric codes.

Thanks to the incorporation of this technology, Comexi Group’s slitting and rewinding machines can make 400 metres of micro perforations measuring 50u to 300u per minute and 150 to 200 metres of macro perforations of up to 6mm per minute; they can add easy open systems to packaging, using discontinuous or continuous lines in cross or web direction at speeds of 200 to 400 metres per minute depending on the system; and they can add barcodes, QR codes or numbers to different types of materials.

Designed and integrated by Comexi Proslit, CingularLaser heralds a new trend in in-line laser processes so that they evolve from a packaging process to a converting one.

Until now, packaging companies were responsible for this laser-operated stage of the process. This meant that a specialist laser marking machine was needed for different applications where a laser was used, thus affecting the productivity and versatility of the different machines while also raising costs due to the need for this specialist packaging equipment.

With the incorporation of CingularLaser to the Comexi Proslit range, laser applications have been integrated in the converting process, overcoming the previous drawbacks and boosting the versatility of both the converting company and packaging company’s machinery.

What is more, with a working life of 25,000 hours, CingularLaser brings numerous benefits to Comexi Group’s machines, enhancing their productivity and efficiency. Firstly, the machines have added flexibility, since with a single laser they can carry out tasks such as die cutting, rotary die cutting, hot needle perforation, pneumatic perforation, discontinuous pre-cuts on hardened roll both lengthwise and in the direction of the roll, and discontinuous transversal pre-cuts.

Secondly, it increases the precision of the diameter of the holes by synchronizing the diameter and shape. Thirdly, there are no limitations to the machine width, thanks to the bendable mechanical components.

As for the matrices, by incorporating CingularLaser, production times and the costs of die cutting can be reduced, as well as reducing stocks and the storage of the different matrices formerly needed with traditional systems.

Lastly, this kind of laser ensures substantial improvements when materials are handled, since they suffer less when they are perforated with this system. In short, this minor innovation will herald major new trends in the perforation of packaging.

To put this innovation into practice, Comexi Group has a production and assembly plant in Sant Quirze del Valles (Barcelona-Spain) where the entire process is carried out so as to ensure the device’s high standards and operational efficiency. Afterwards, the whole device is transferred to the company’s headquarters in Riudellots de la Selva, where it is fitted in machines from the Comexi Proslit range.

The incorporation of CingularLaser to the Comexi Proslit range forms part of the company’s bid for innovation and sustainability, which it applies to all its product ranges.

Shawnee High School students build mini golf course

Engineering students from Shawnee High School recently showcased their drafting, design, engineering and technology skills when they designed and constructed a custom, nine-hole miniature golf course in the school’s courtyard. They showed their compassion for a fellow student when they donated proceeds from the attraction to the classmate in the midst of a health crisis.

“Throughout the year, 11th and 12th graders have learned about various science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) principles, which were put to the test through this mini-golf course,” engineering teacher Stefani Kirk said.

Fellow students, staff and neighboring elementary schools were invited to play the course. Shawnee’s math and science clubs planned end-of-year parties around it. The amusement was also open to the public for a community family fun night.

“The small fee ($1) we collect from those who play the course would have been used to reimburse students for out-of-pocket expenses incurred for supplies used to build their projects,” Kirk said. “But then a suggestion was made to donate the funds to Karing for Katie instead.”

After a unanimous vote by the students, all proceeds from the miniature golf course were earmarked for Karing for Katie-Katie’s Journey, a fund that supports fellow student Katie Kernan as she undergoes treatment for a brain tumor.

This is the second year Kirk has used a miniature golf course as a learning project.

“It was an original idea inspired while playing mini-golf with my husband,” Kirk said. “While doing research I found out about other teachers who had also tried it.”

Kirk plans for the project all year, mentioning it to parents at back-to-school night in September so they can start collecting and saving particular recyclable materials including wooden pallets, plywood, 2-foot by 4-foot electronic components and motors. The students buy some of their own supplies but may also request donations from local retailers.

Each golf hole is constructed of timber and lined with carpet padding. “Floor Coverings International in Southampton is a phenomenal sponsor,” Kirk said. Students were allotted a 6-foot by 10-foot portion of carpet padding for use in the project.

In addition, Photoshop skills are required to create a flyer and a poster to publicize the mini-golf course to students and the community. Students use a laser-engraver to create a marker that identifies each hole by number. All of these skills are considered during the grading process.

“They work on constructing the final project for about three or four weeks in class and at home,” Kirk said. “There are daily checkpoints that have to be met so I can be certain the project is on schedule. They had to present rough sketches and then final drawings done to scale on a computer.”

Because of all the planning and long lead time for collecting raw materials, the holes can be pretty dynamic, with moving parts like a windmill or multi-level holes that include a water component. The construction phase also had deadlines.

“Everyone has a cell phone that can take photos, so they would show me photos of supplies and preliminary work, what they had completed at home on their own,” Kirk said.

“There can be tons of changes that take place during the final weeks of the project, when improvisations and changes take place during the build phase,” Kirk said. “Every change has to be made on paper as well. The drawings must correspond to what is built.” Click on their website careel-tech for more information.

Breaking the mold

Many in the composites industry know that Janicki Industries introduced computer numerical control (CNC)-machined tooling to the marine industry and that it specializes in large, technically complex composite tools. But on a recent tour of its facilities, HPC discovered that this is only the top ply of an intriguing stack of layers. A composite of extreme aerospace precision and marine/small business pragmatism, this shop routinely achieves feats few have considered, such as vacuum infusing a 300-ply carbon fiber-bismaleimide (BMI) laminate — BMI is solid at room temperature — with near-zero void content. “This is where we want to go with high-temperature tooling for the large structures being considered in aerospace,” explains project manager Matt Robson.

The family-owned Sedro-Woolley, Wash.-based company is intensely entrepreneurial. Its employees describe it as performance-driven and constantly changing, and say the owners have a high tolerance for risk and little fear of failure. “If we haven’t thrown anything away in awhile,” quips one manager, “Peter [CEO] will challenge that we’re not pushing boundaries enough.”

Janicki is also a study in contrasts. As a pioneer in cost accounting for one-off projects, the company employs a robust software program (one project has more than 5,000 line items) to track work orders, schedules and costs in real time, but it is not bogged down by bureaucracy. In fact, management encourages employees to pursue novel ideas and gives new hires an almost immediate opportunity to make an impact.

Further, its CNC machines are among the most accurate in the world, but the company continues efforts to reduce error. This quest for precision has yielded remarkable technological advances in tooling and, now, in parts production.

“Our approach to marine tooling using CNC machining really started a revolution in the industry,” says Jim Payant, Janicki’s VP of marine, transportation and energy. “Now it is considered standard, but when we started, no one had heard of it.” Peter reportedly machined the first hull pattern for Bayliner (Bellingham, Wash.) in one week. Previously, the same hull might have consumed months of manual labor. CNC machining also enabled him to push the boundaries of scale. Janicki was machining 80-ft/24.4m hull molds long before anyone else thought it was possible.

Since then, Janicki has designed, fabricated, built and installed eight more CNC machines, and the company also has written its own control software. Payant relates, “When you move a big heavy machine (weight of a Chevy Suburban) quickly, inertia requires you to start slowing it way ahead of when you want to turn. When Peter built that first machine, the available controllers could look ahead 14 points, but he wanted 2,000 points. So, being a mechanical engineer, he wrote a program that took the cutter location instructions, translated them into machine code and did the inertia calculations to enable precise maneuvering.” A dedicated team still builds on Peter’s early work. “We have a Ph.D in mechanical engineering who oversees this group now,” says Payant.

CNC mill operations manager Eric Friesen claims that accuracy is what differentiates Janicki. “Despite the many CNC mill compensation systems available in the industry, we continue to write our own,” he points out. “The compensation systems you can buy simply do not work well on mills of this size and complexity.” Those systems assume certain mechanical accuracies in the machine, but Janicki prefers to measure and account for possible error instead. Friesen credits this attention to detail to Dr. John Weller, who runs the Automation and Mechatronics department at Janicki Industries. “He and his team of engineers have translated a 5-axis CNC mill into a huge mathematical problem, and then developed proprietary software to solve it with four- and five-decimal-place accuracy.” More information about the program is available on the web site at www.careel-tech.com.

Big machines, small tolerances

Massive filtration systems were developed to efficiently remove cutting debris and dust on large projects. Because the mills ride on 120-ft/36.6m steel rails, a temperature-induced change in dimensions can be problematic.  For that reason, the temperature of the overall facility is held to within ±5°F/±3°C of the set point, and the CNC mill rooms are kept within ±1°F/±0.6°C of the set point.

CNC mill operations manager Eric Friesen claims that accuracy is what differentiates Janicki. “Despite the many CNC mill compensation systems available in the industry, we continue to write our own,” he points out. “The compensation systems you can buy simply do not work well on mills of this size and complexity.” Those systems assume certain mechanical accuracies in the machine, but Janicki prefers to measure and account for possible error instead. Friesen credits this attention to detail to Dr. John Weller, who runs the Automation and Mechatronics department at Janicki Industries. “He and his team of engineers have translated a 5-axis CNC mill into a huge mathematical problem, and then developed proprietary software to solve it with four- and five-decimal-place accuracy.”

The mill, as it glides on the rails, forms the x-axis, the carriage moves back and forth across the bridge in the y-axis, the mast moves up and down on the z-axis and the machine head “wrist” articulates and rotates, making up the final two axes. Compensation for inaccuracies is developed by “clocking in” the CNC machine.

“We mount a laser tracker in the head of the machine spindle and track its movement, using multiple lasers triangulating on its position as it moves through its volumetric envelope,” Weller explains. “We then use that data and our proprietary algorithms to solve a massive nonlinear system of simultaneous equations with millions of unknown coefficients. The hardware and software in modern computers make this possible and relatively easy. We have a program that takes the measurements automatically in a few hours, coordinating the movement and communication of the laser engraving machine and the mill. Then the math is solved on a PC in the controller in a few minutes and, presto! … we have a dead-accurate CNC mill in five full degrees of freedom to around ±0.002 inches. This is an astonishing feat for machines that are large enough to produce tooling for wind turbine blades or wings on commercial aircraft.”

Another example of this accuracy is geometric tolerancing of holes. For Lockheed Martin’s F-35 parts, the accuracy of the hole centerline had to be within a 0.007-inch/0.178 mm diameter cylinder (on the scale of human hair). Over a period of more than two years, Janicki claims it has drilled more than 500,000 holes in F-35 components within this tolerance without a miss. During HPC’s tour, Friesen showed a machined structure that had to meet a surface flatness and roundness of profile tolerance of ±5 mils — the thickness of a sheet of paper. “When you get this low in surface deviation,” he notes, “you have to blow the dust off the surface before you take measurements or it throws you off. Right now, the degree of accuracy of our mills is bumping up against our ability to measure it. So we are as accurate as can be measured.”

Why such attention to accuracy? CEO Peter Janicki replies, “In the end, our customers get accurate tools that produce accurate parts.” Accurate parts cascade benefits throughout the program. A reduction in hand sanding and finishing saves much time and cost during assembly. “It also results in superior cosmetic surfaces,” he adds, pointing out that “the more someone sands and polishes on a tool, the further away it gets from the original intent of the CAD model, modifying subtle feature lines and other details.”