Playing it smart: General Industry Coverage

END USER: Smartech Corp., (914) 668-6801, www.smartechcnc.com.
CHALLENGE: Cutting cycle time for a 3,000-piece run.
SOLUTION: Two wire EDMs.
SOLUTION PROVIDER: MC Machinery Systems Inc., (630) 616-5920, www.mitsubishi-world.com.

Smartech Corp., Mount Vernon, N.Y., expanded its capabilities by adding two new wire EDMs: a Mitsubishi MD+ Pro III Advance and an MD+ Pro II Advance. The machines are from MC Machinery Systems Inc., Wood Dale, Ill.

“These machines were instrumental in allowing me to meet the demands of one 3,000-piece job, cutting the run time for each part by more than 40 percent vs. milling the part,” said Michel Chahade, Smartech’s owner. He noted the part has a complex taper shape with thin walls, and milling it required Smartech to create four fixtures for it and perform several setups and operations. “The more operations, the more room for error.”

The $1 million, 3-year-plus contract from the military was for a component of the M240 machine gun bipod. The part is approximately 3 “×2 “×1.5 ” (76.2mm × 50.8mm × 38.1mm).

Courtesy of MC Machinery Systems

The Mitsubishi MD+ Pro III Advance features an automatic threading system that can anneal a 14 “-long wire.

In addition to military parts, Smartech specializes in medical, motor sport, power generation, aerospace and automotive parts. The seven-person job shop has eight machine tools. It can handle workpieces up to 40 “×20 ” (140.6cm × 50.8cm) and 4-axis rotary work up to 12 ” (30.5cm) in diameter.