Auto parts maker saves 60% with mill and chuck solution
Auto parts maker saves 60% with mill and chuck solution
Auto parts manufacturer SB Dezigns in North East, Maryland, has implemented a new end mill and chuck solution that helped them save 62% in costs on a recent application.
Auto parts manufacturer SB Dezigns in North East, Maryland, has implemented a new end mill and chuck solution that helped them save 62% in costs on a high-performance shifter part machining application for the racing industry.
SB Dezigns invested in the Emuge-Franken Top-Cut VAR end mills and a FPC milling chuck from Emuge Corp. in West Boylston, Massachusetts.
Established in 2003 as a home-based machine shop, SB Dezigns has evolved into a full-service precision production machine shop and tier-two automotive supplier. The company has grown to the point that it required a move to a larger facility.
Billy Crabtree, owner and CEO of SB Dezigns, takes great pride in his larger, state-of-the-art machine shop. "It is very important that 
we keep evolving with the latest and best technology, and that includes the cutting tools," said Crabtree. When Crabtree and his team encountered long cycle times milling stainless steel automotive shifter parts, they sought out a way to reduce time and free up resources for other machining projects.
"We were having excellent results with versatile Emuge MultiTAPs," he said, "so we were all ears when Emuge and our local distributor W.C. Chapman suggested we try an Emuge-Franken end mill solution for the manufacture of the shifter parts." At the time, SB Dezigns was using a couple of different brand end mills and was not optimizing the milling process.
For the shifter parts, Emuge recommended and tested its Top-Cut VAR end mill and FPC milling chuck solution, as well as more aggressive feeds and speeds on the vertical CNC machining center.
The standard length Top-Cut VAR End Mill with corner radius is made from premium solid micro-grain carbide with ALCR Coating. The mill dampens vibration, increases feed rates and can be used in nearly all materials and milling strategies due to its special geometric properties.
The Emuge FPC milling chuck provides a critical part of the solution, offering unprecedented rigidity, vibration dampening, concentricity and optimal pull-out protection via a pin lock collet system to ena
ble faster machining speed and longer tool life.
Crabtree said the new tools reduced cycle times, and lated longer, which provided them with more than 60% cost savings on shifter parts manufacture.
"With the EMUGE end mills and holder combination, we are able to save over 30 hours of machining time and more than $5,000 for every 500 shifter parts we manufacture," he said. "And I don't have to wait for my tools – they are locally stocked at our distributor."
