productive times

Finish boring tools that just work

Each time Steve Jobs took the stage
at an Apple product release event, at-
tendees could rely on him summarizing
the performance of the companys new-
est gadget with one confident phrase: It
just works.
Just because the phrase holds water for
a tech company whose products evolve
each year, theres no reason it cant also
apply to a boring head designed to per-
form consistently after years of use.
At Southland CNC Inc., a Cornelia,
Ga.-based job shop, two lines of boring
heads have not only ensured parts are
machined to tight tolerances, but have
generated new business. The Kaiser 112
and 310 series of finish boring heads
from BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc.,
Hoffman Estates, Ill., have reduced scrap
rates, exceeded the performance of cus-
tomer-supplied tooling and earned the
loyalty of operators, according to Darren
Parks, Southland CNCs process manager
and CNC programmer.
Most of the parts the shop bores with
the heads are for the aerospace industry,
and are produced on vertical machin-
ing centers.
Much of the material Southland CNC
machines is aviation-grade die cast alumi-
num. The shop also manufactures some
sand cast parts. Depending on the work-
load, the 40-employee company runs
two or three shifts at its 15,000-sq.-ft.
facility, located about 75 miles north-
east of Atlanta.
Parks explained that when he receives
a blueprint and quotes a job, the hole
diameter doesnt influence the cost be-
cause he knows the boring heads work.
We look at other factors to see what
could cause us problems, scrap or down-
time.
One challenging job involves machin-
ing aluminum that has layers of steel lam-
inated into it for aircraft engine magneto
ignition systems. Because the steel helps
generate the power for the spark plug, a
boring head cuts both steel and alumi-
num. Interrupted cutting a hole 2" to 3"
(50.8mm to 76.2mm) deep only adds to
the challenge.
A coil inside the housing and a mag-
60 | DECEMBER 2014 | CTE
END USER: Southland CNC Inc.
(706) 778-0369
www.southlandcnc.
com
CHALLENGE: Reduce scrap and
tackle challenging
jobs.
SOLUTION: Adjustable finish
boring heads.
SOLUTION PROVIDER:
BIG Kaiser Precision Tooling Inc.
(888) 866-5776
www.bigkaiser.com
neto shaft, which has steel laminations
and is magnetized, also assist in gener-
ating power, Parks added. As the mag-
neto shaft passes in front of the steel in
the magneto housing, the coil is charged
and the spark plug ignites.
Sometimes, customers who have al-
ready purchased tooling to machine parts
The Kaiser 310
finish boring head
is easily adjustable
with an Allen wrench
and holds true
while changing and
tightening the tools
diameter path.
Southland CNC
in-house will supply Southland CNC
with that tooling to use on their parts,
though usually those tools arent as effec-
tive, Parks noted. For example, an avi-
ation customer supplied a boring head
that resulted in downtime and scrap be-
cause of the heads imprecision. We tried
it and fought with it, and we just threw it
out, he said. We grabbed the BIG Kai-
ser tooling and the problems went away.
The Kaiser costs more, but in the long
run, the scrap rate went from 7 to 9 per-
cent to less than 0.2 percent.
Issues with supplied boring heads en-
tailed frequent readjustments, a task too
time-consuming for a single operator to
perform.
Once Southland CNC started apply-
ing the Kaiser heads, Parks knew he could
trust the adjustment dial. If Southland
CNC receives customer-supplied tooling
thats not up to par, it replaces them with
its BIG Kaiser tools. If you have a 15-
or 20-minute cycle time and you throw
every third part away because the diame-
ter of the bores is incorrect, youve gained
nothing at the end of the day, Parks said.
Southland CNC has 30 Kaiser bor-
ing heads: 20 in production and 10
on standby. Some have been in use for
18 years with only the insert, normally
PCD-tipped, requiring replacement.
Southland CNC keeps detailed data
on its machining operations, which illus-
trate how well the boring heads works.
There are several times where the Kai-
ser boring heads have increased our out- Southland CNC Southland CNC
put at least 25 to 40 percent, Parks said. Before (left) and after photos of a starter housing component that Southland CNC
And because the boring heads and car- accepted after seven other machine shops refused the job. This job requires applying
bide bars are adjustable, Parks can train seven boring heads, ranging from 0.314" to 4.287" (7.98mm to 108.89mm) in diameter.
unskilled operators to use them instead
of relying on a machinist being paid $30 still produces the part, and can make the first run. Once the part is positioned
to $40 per hour. about 40 of them per day. and the dial adjusted, the second, third
The 112 series heads bore holes 0.016" When the BIG Kaiser boring heads are and rest of the parts will hold true, and
to 2.126" (0.4mm to 54mm) in diam- part of a properly designed setup, Parks we just keep rolling, he said. In other
eter, while the 310 hits holes 0.590" to knows he wont need to scrap a part on words, it just works.
8.000" (15mm to 203.2mm). Both ac-
commodate through-spindle coolant.
Southland CNC bores cavities from
0.236" (6mm), with a tolerance of
0.0002" (6m), to 4.287" (108.89mm),
with a tolerance of 0.001" (0.0254mm).
Richard Bevers, industrial sales repre-
sentative at BIG Kaiser, is confident that
when a customer adjusts a head only,
say, 0.0005" (0.0127mm), he will know
thats what the bore will change. When
they lock the lock screw, it wont affect
the adjustment.
Perhaps the most telling anecdote
Parks recalled about BIG Kaiser tooling
is when a new customer came to South-
land CNC with an extraordinarily dif-
ficult part to machine. The customer
had previously visited seven other ma-
chine shops and none of them felt they
could process the starter housing com-
ponent. They told us if we couldnt do
it to print, they were going to scrap the
project, Parks said.
After setting up the tooling fixtures
with seven boring heads, Southland
CNC was able to finish the part better
than the blueprints specifications, Parks
said. We did it right out of the gate
without a second try. Southland CNC
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