Excluding initial part program development, PBM has experienced an average of 75 percent savings on its valve machining set-up times and 50 percent on cycle times, while also eliminating some work in process (WIP) with its Mazak INTEGREX e-420H-S II.
The Mazak INTEGREX e-420H-S II machines 4" ball valve bodies from raw castings complete in one set-up for significant savings in processing time.
PBM's Mazak INTEGREX e-420H-S II multitasking machine allows the shop to machine several of these 316 stainless steel valve components from one piece of 4-ft.-long bar stock to eliminate the time it takes to saw a lot of individual part slugs.
With the first turning spindle on its INTEGREX e-420H-S II, PBM will machine the front side of parts that then transfer over to the machine's second spindle for backworking - coming off the machine complete and processed in one set-up.
PBM designs and builds specialty valves, such as this three-way automated one, according to individual customer applications and relies on its INTEGREX e-420H-S II to help meet tight delivery times.
Standard single-process CNC machine tools may be a thing of the past at PBM Inc. now that the shop has acquired its first advanced multitasking machine. The Irwin, PA, shop manufactures specialty valves, and Stuart Zarembo, company President and CEO, predicts that, as the shop replaces its mills and lathes, it will most definitely do so with machines that provide multitasking functionality.
"There is just too much set-up time involved with our single-process machines, so they fall short in terms of cost-effectiveness for our quick run, small lot size parts with extremely tight deliveries," explained Zarembo. "In most instances, setting up multiple machines takes longer than does actually machining a job. While multitasking, on the other hand, dramatically reduces our set-up times and allows us to complete parts in one set-up and on one machine."
PBM, with 90 employees, develops about 600 new designs per year, and on average, it processes about 1,800 individual work orders annually. According to Zarembo, the shop's continued success as a leader in specialty valves hinges on instantaneous customer responsiveness and the shortest lead times in the industry - a claim that was recently put to the test with one of the largest orders in PBM's history. It was this job that also spurred the shop to acquire its first multitasking machine, an INTEGREX e-420H-S II from Mazak.
This order consisted of valves machined from corrosion and abrasive-resistant materials with specific deadlines that had to be met along with penalty clauses if those deliveries were late. In fulfilling all the customer's requests and meeting the deadlines, PBM worked with a local contract-machining supplier that uses Mazak multitasking machines.
"We saw the performance of these machines and, as a result, decided to incorporate the technology into our own processes," said Zarembo. "We evaluated several other brands as well, but to us, Mazak had a much larger installed base and extensively more experience when it came to multitasking machines. Plus, both Mazak and its local distributor A.W. Miller impressed us greatly with their responsiveness to our needs."
PBM's INTEGREX e-420H-S II delivers DONE IN ONE(r) part processing capability. It features two opposing turning spindles, each with 40-HP output, maximum speeds of 4,000 RPM and C-axis control in 0.0001-degree minimum increments. For multitasking operations, a strong 30-HP, 12,000-RPM integral motor milling spindle with CAT 40 interface swivels 240 degrees in the B-axis and allows for 5-axis machining at either turning spindle.
The machine, with a 3" through-spindle bar capacity, can cut part diameters up to 26.38" and accommodates those almost 80" long and weighing approximately 1,000 lbs. PBM also opted for a maximum tool storage capacity of 120 tools on its machine to further boost part processing versatility and support continuous multitasking operations.
For PBM, the ample tool storage and DONE IN ONE capability of the INTEGREX e-420H-S II generate significant time savings. Zarembo pointed out that, excluding initial part program development, the shop has experienced an average of 75 percent savings on set-up times and 50 percent on cycle times, while also eliminating some work in process (WIP).
The majority of PBM customers are from the pharmaceutical/biotech, consumer/personal care products, chemical, energy and other industries. PBM manufactures primarily ball-type valves that are custom designed and built to fulfill the exact needs of each customer's individual applications. Most involve uncommon types of liquids, those that are highly corrosive or abrasive, or that are thick in viscosity. And in almost all instances, the valves have specific dimensional requirements.
A perfect example of PBM's specialty valve capabilities is what it refers to as Fabflex headers. Again, built to a customer's specific requirements, a Fabflex header is a pipe (header) with several valves on it to form a modular system that is then easily installed.
In one particular application involving product mixing in continuous batches, PBM designed and built a Fabflex header modular system that featured an 8"-diameter, 11 ft.-long header made out of stainless steel with flanged ends and 23 automated valves. The product's various ingredients feed in through the individual valves and mix together. And it should be noted that PBM is the only valve supplier that will produce such a fully automated system.
Most of PBM's valves range in size from 1/2" to 12" from castings or bar stock. Materials include carbon and stainless steel, bronze, aluminum and special alloys such as duplex stainless, Hastaloy and titanium.
Valve processing requires about 60 percent turning operations and 40 percent milling. There is both I.D. and O.D. turning and boring work along with hole drilling and the occasional complex contours. With the first turning spindle on the INTEGREX e-420H-S II, the shop machines the front side of a part. The machine then hands it off to the second spindle for backworking. After which, the part comes off the machine complete and processed in one set-up.
"For most of our set-ups on the INTEGREX e-420H-S II, we simply clamp parts in a turning chuck," commented Matt Walters, CNC machinist at PBM Inc. "Plus, the machine's conversational programming makes that aspect of set-up fast and easy as well. Without the Mazak, we would have three or four different set-ups over a lathe and a mill with lots of parts staged by each machine. And with the Mazak, we can load 4 ft. lengths of bar stock and cut multiple parts to eliminate the time it takes to saw a lot of individual part slugs."
Because the INTEGREX e-420H-S II was the shop's first multitasking machine, training from Mazak was important to PBM. Five of the shop's CNC machinists went through Mazak training and later advanced training. Currently, two machinists run the machine, each assigned to one of the two 10-hour shifts the machine operates between Monday through Thursday and sometimes on Fridays and Saturdays. However, Zarembo added that those hours of operation continue to increase as the shop gets fully up to speed with the machine.
Zarembo, who has been leading PBM since 1991, spearheaded the first major investment in the shop's machine tools back in the mid-1990s. That investment added three CNC lathes, two CNC mills and a Swiss-style turning machine.
"While we could have purchased more CNC mills and lathes, we went with the Mazak," said Zarembo. "And now going forward, we will most likely opt for nothing but advanced multitasking machines like our INTEGREX e-420H-S II."
For more information contact:
PBM Inc.
1070 Sandy Hill Road
Irwin, PA 15642
724-863-0550
info@pbmvalve.com
www.pbmvalve.com
Tasha Riddell
Mazak Corporation
P.O. Box 970
Florence, KY 41022-0970
859-342-1700
triddell@mazakcorp.com
www.mazakusa.com
FOR NE EDITION ONLY:
W. NY
Bill Miller
A.W. Miller Technical Sales
East Aurora, NY
716-652-8282
bmiller@awmiller.com
www.awmiller.com
W. PA
Russ Weis
A.W. Miller Technical Sales
3 Tara Drive
PO Box 220
Harmony, PA 16037
724-453-1690
rweis@awmiller.com
www.awmiller.com