Case Study

Automated 5-Axis Milling in a Hurry

The Challenge

  • Our customer’s demand for a family of products exploded overnight
  • Their existing long supply chain could not react quickly enough to satisfy the demand
  • The customer’s upper management demanded per part cost reduction

Product

Product: Manifold | 6061 Aluminum

Quantity: 500 pieces per week

Industry: Medical

Type of Fabrication: Machining | 5-Axis

Staub’s Solution

After taking a look at the part, Staub suggested eliminating the forging operation and machining the part with our DMU-60 5-axis mill, which is paired with a robotic loading cell. After Staub engineers redesigned the part for optimal machining, the efficiency gained in our process outweighed the benefit brought forth by the forging operation. We also absorbed the plating and cleaning processes and were able to deliver a finished part ready for assembly. Staub reached the customer’s initial demand of 250 units per week in just 8 weeks. When the demand increased later that year, pallets were added to our robot cell to match their demand of 400 units per week in just 4 weeks.

Result

With a simpler supply chain and an automated machining process,
we helped our customer fulfill a crucial order, which led to an unexpected increase in demand. Our customer reported:

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Increased part quality

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OVERALL GAINS IN PROFITABILITY

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Decreased cost