Restoring a massive machine

————-

END USER: Hannon Electric Co., (330) 456-4728, www.hannonelectric.com. CHALLENGE: Achieving the required accuracy when machining large motor shafts held between centers on an engine lathe. SOLUTION: A re-engineered tailstock. SOLUTION PROVIDER: Riten Industries Inc., (800) 338-0027, www.riten.com

—————

Look up “gigantic” in a dictionary and you might find Hannon Electric Co.’s main facility pictured next to the entry. The company’s 165,000-sq.-ft. Canton, Ohio, machine shop is one of the nation’s largest serving the electromechanical industry. It’s also one of the few with a specialized department for balancing large motor shafts, both in-house and as a contract service for other companies.

Courtesy of Riten Industries

Top: Hannon Electric uses its Craven engine lathe to machine motor shafts weighing up to 180,000 lbs. Bottom: Andy Lachat, president of Riten Industries, stands next to the higher-capacity live tailstock and quill assembly Riten reengineered to achieve Hannon’s accuracy requirements.

The plant is equipped with high-capacity CNC engine lathes, the largest being a Craven lathe with a 130 ” swing and 29 ‘ between centers. After initially seeking a 120 “×25 ‘ lathe, Hannon purchased the even-larger Craven used in 2000.

Hannon, which specializes in repairing and rebuilding electric motors up to 60,000 hp, was beginning to quote on new business for motor shafts weighing up to 180,000 lbs. These shafts do not lend themselves to being run with steady rests because they support the middle of the workpiece. That’s where the windings are, so the steady rest would damage a motor shaft. That meant the capacity of the lathe between centers was critical.