Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Did you miss Siemens at AeroDef 2014? Here’s what you missed!
At this year’s AERODEF conference in Long Beach, California, Siemens will demonstrate new CNC solutions and services for machine tool builders and end-users. Under the theme, “Productivity in motion,” the presentation will focus on turnkey solutions for the aerospace manufacturing industry.
For the aerospace market, the Sinumerik 840D sl offers the latest in CNC technology that increases machine tool performance and user productivity. The 840D sl is a universal and flexible CNC system based upon the innovative Sinamics S120 drive platform that can be used for up to 31 axes. It is a distributed, scalable, open and inter-connecting system offering a wide range of specialized functions for milling, drilling, turning, grinding, handling and robotics technologies. It offers users innovative features that increase productivity on the manufacturing floor, especially the challenging aerospace segments of high-speed and five-axis machining.
For the job shop, the Sinumerik 828D numerical control is the ideal CNC solution for mid-range machine tools. It is designed to address the needs of complex milling and turning machines in the job shop segment by combining CNC, PLC, operator panel and axis control for six CNC measurement circuits into a single, robust operator panel.
The 828D is capable of full graphical, high-level language command and supports ISO programming that is customary in the United States. Programming time can be further reduced for small-batch production with the use of the ShopMill and ShopTurn graphical workstep programming system, while high-level language programming can be used in conjunction with programGuide to significantly reduce programming times for large-scale serial production.
With the introduction of the Sinumerik 828D, extensive online help animations and a new type of input prompting system with moving picture sequences provide the basis for exceptional user convenience. USB, Compact Flash (CF) card and Ethernet ports enable high-speed data transfers onto storage media or integration of the control system into corporate networks.
SOLUTIONS FOR CNC TRAINING
Recently introduced to the American machine tool industry, and based upon the new Sinumerik Operate graphical user interface, SinuTrain is the ideal solution for control-identical CNC training.
With SinuTrain, actual NC programs are developed and simulated, to speed the program generation protocol. In this manner, machine tool operators not only learn the control language commands, but they also visualize part programs on a PC screen that are identical to the machine tool’s screen. As an additional benefit, programs generated through SinuTrain can then be used on actual machines.
Offered in several languages, SinuTrain is available for different needs and budgets including a trial version, a study version, a single-user license and an educational license.
For more information about advanced CNC solutions for the aerospace industry,
please visit: www.usa.siemens.com/aerodef-pr.
Download this article as a PDF: Siemens AeroDef14
Download the Siemens Aerospace Brochure: Siemens Aerospace
Download the SINUMERIK Integrate Run MyRobot Brochure: SINUMERIK Run MyRobot
For specific product information and inquiries, call (800) 879-8079 ext. Marketing Communications or send an e-mail to: SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com.
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter: www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.
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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.
The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.
Continue readingDid you miss Siemens at AeroDef 2014? Here’s what you missed!
AeroDef 2014 – Siemens Industry Software announced today availability of a new version of their leading Operations Management System for Assembly and Complex Manufacturing.
Already an established benchmark in the market, the introduction of version 3.2 of this comprehensive suite consolidates Siemens at the forefront of production optimization software for the discrete manufacturing industry.
Built to deliver value right at the heart of the manufacturing facility, this powerful environment inherits the agility, speed, scalability and performance of the SIMATIC IT platform, providing customers with unparalleled out-of-the-box functionality and the flexibility to extend and tailor the solution to their needs.
Whether you are looking to reduce the complexity of your IT landscape, increase the agility and flexibility of your manufacturing facilities, render your production processes transparent and measurable, shorten time-to-market, streamline the link between shop-floor and supply chain or adapt to new regulations, SIMATIC IT is the right choice for your business.
The biggest opportunity for manufacturers lies in their ability to Continuously Innovate in a Consumer-driven market on a Global basis. This requires that manufacturing facilities are seamlessly integrated into both the PLM and Supply Chain processes, and this is where SIMATIC IT is of unique interest, for only Siemens has a comprehensive portfolio of Industry Software seamlessly integrating PLM, MOM and Automation functionality.
Siemens Industry Software presents the new version of its SIMATIC IT Suite for Assembly and Complex Manufacturing
SIMATIC IT ACM functionality includes:
SIMATIC IT ACM is part of the full Siemens Manufacturing Operations Management portfolio. The full range of SIMATIC IT products includes:
For more information about SIMATIC IT, please visit www.siemens.com/simaticit
Download this article as a PDF: SIMATIC IT ACM
Download the SIMATIC IT Assembly & Complex Manufacturing Brochure: SIM ATIC IT ACM
Download the SIMATIC IT Line Monitoring System Brochure: SIMATIC IT LMS
For inquiries, send an e-mail to: industrymanagement_simatic.it@siemens.com
Follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/simaticit
For more information on Siemens SINUMERIK CNC, visit www.usa.siemens.com/cnc.
For specific product information and inquiries, call (800) 879-8079 ext. Marketing Communications or send an e-mail to: SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com.
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter: www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.
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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.
The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.
Continue readingMost standard products available from Chicago inventory
Heimatec BMT 65 live tooling-axial style
Heimatec, a world leader in live tools, angle heads and multi-spindle drill heads, today announces immediate availability of BMT (Base Mount Tooling) standard products from inventory at its Chicago-area headquarters for the North American market.
In addition to standard X and Z axis tools, styles such as adjustable tools, speed increasers and internal coolant tools with capabilities to 140 bar (2000 PSI) are now available in an assortment of standard BMT tooling types, including BMT 45, 55, 65 and 75.
Heimatec BMT 65 live tooling-radial style
All Heimatec BMT tooling is supplied with the company’s unique U-Tec® flexible machining system, which provides extremely high power transmission via polygonal drive. Integrated collet nut, with easy changeout, can convert the output to arbor (for face mills), Weldon or ER collet extensions. The U-Tec® system further allows the cutting tool to be in closer proximity to the bearing, which results in much higher rigidity. The cutting tools last longer and yield an improved finish, as a result of this Heimatec design feature.
All Heimatec BMT tooling is manufactured at the company’s home facility in Germany and is now carried in inventory in the Chicago-area facility, which serves the North American machine tool market.
Heimatec products are sold through authorized sales representatives and machine tool distributors in North America.
For further information and literature, or to arrange a demo of this product line, please contact:
Preben Hansen, President
HEIMATEC INC.
16 E. Piper Lane Suite 129
Prospect Heights, IL 60070
Phone: 847-749-0633
Fax: 847-749-2445
Email: info@heimatecinc.com
Website: www.heimatecinc.com
Connect with Heimatec Inc: 
Hi!
Here I am. Marketing Information Specialist/Director of Social Media/Blogger all rolled into one – a perfect storm dynamic combo of job titles and caffeine.
Social media 101: Social media is, um – social. It’s engagement – it’s a conversation and I’m finding it difficult to have that conversation in 140 characters or less (à la Twitter). So, Hi. I’m new here. Offer me greetings of salutations below or on Twitter or Facebook. As an extended voice of our advertising/PR agency, I want to show you that there’s more than meets the “i” in our industrial world [haha – get it?]! And I’ll show it to you one blog post at a time. I mean for these posts to vary in levels of information and entertainment. After all, we’re not just PR robots here at Bernard & Co!
Say ‘hi’ NOW! Do it!
I just used 745 characters and it felt glorious. I love you, Twitter – but you can’t hold me back!
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Our own Tim Daro recently presented at AFS Twin Cities Chapter meeting, The Many Ways to Market Your Foundry, in Minneapolis. The presentation covered different ways that foundries could promote themselves to current and prospective customers.
Topics included “old” methods of advertising (direct mail and trade shows), as well as the new methods of online advertising such as e-blasts, interactive e-brochures, social media such as Twitter, Facebook and especially the targeted LinkedIn groups. Bernard & Company has experience in all these areas, helping industry supplier giants such as Hunter Foundry Machinery and MAGMA, current and past foundry clients, improve their marketing communications.
We’d like to thank Joy Clifford and Josh Jaycox at the AFS Twin Cities Chapter for including us in their line-up and for the cool casting they gifted us!
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The American Foundry Society exists “to provide and promote knowledge and services that strengthen the metalcasting industry for the ultimate benefit of its customers and the Society.” The objective of the Twin Cities Chapter are those of the American Foundry Society, namely, “exclusively to advance through research and education the arts and sciences relating to the manufacturing and utilization of metal castings.”
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Siemens Industry, Inc. presents its new Sinumerik 808D Advanced CNC with compatible motors, drives and cabling, in vertical or horizontal variants for basic milling and turning machines
Siemens Industry, Inc. announced today its new Sinumerik 808D Advanced CNC, designed for basic milling and turning machines. Affordably priced for the machine builder (OEM), this new addition from Siemens offers a suite of design features to improve the accuracy, surface finish, safety and communication of the control. This new CNC is available now to the North American machine tool market.
The Sinumerik 808D Advanced offers up to five axes / spindle motion control on a single machine channel, with drive bus communication between the CNC and drive for better position control, data transfer over standard Ethernet protocol, plus Auto Servo Tuning (AST) for superior surface quality and repeatable part accuracy in mold and die applications. These include incremental encoder with 2,500 parts per revolution (ppr) or absolute encoder with 20-bit resolution.
Motor speeds up to 4,000 rpm are offered with Safe Torque Off (STO) and IP65 enclosure protection. Vertical and horizontal configurations of the Sinumerik 808D are available to suit all standard control panels.
The Sinumerik 808D Advanced T is the ideal choice for basic turning machines or turning centers without a Y-axis, with the option of driven tools, while the Sinumerik 808D Advanced M offers advanced surface finish and the SINAMICS V70 drive platform from Siemens, all with an attractive price-to-performance ratio.
Additional features of the Sinumerik 808D Advanced CNC include an RJ45 Ethernet port, 7.5” LCD color display with 640 x 480 resolution for easy viewing, machine technology-specific keyboards with hard keys shielded with protective membrane, a robust enclosure with no fan or hard disk, maintenance-friendly power with no battery, continuous data buffering with NV-RAM technology, LED tool number display and a master control panel with rotary switch for feed and spindle override. The rated torque is 1.9-40 Nm with drive line input of 400V and overload rating of 300 percent.
Part programs can be managed on an external PC, then fed to the control over an Ethernet cable or input via the USB port. Simple program sub-folders can be stored on the control, just like on the PC. Other standard features of the Siemens CNC for machine operators and programmers include intelligent jog, precise tool data handling with easy-to-recognize on-screen icons, tool wear data logging to ensure consistent high workpiece quality and startGUIDE engineering support, complete with the graphical user interface wizard for easier machine commissioning and startup and troubleshooting.
Siemens provides full training, on-site support and service plus a three-year warranty on parts and service. Proper machine registration is required.
For more information about the new Sinumerik 808D Advanced, please visit:
www.usa.siemens.com/808D-PR.
For more information on Siemens SINUMERIK CNC, visit www.usa.siemens.com/cnc.
For specific product information and inquiries, call (800) 879-8079 ext. Marketing Communications or send an e-mail to: SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com.
Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter: www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.
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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.
The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.
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No. 1033 is a 500ºC (932ºF) inert atmosphere oven from Grieve, currently used for heating polymer fibers at the customer’s facility. Workspace dimensions of this oven measure 54” W x 36” D x 84” H. 60 KW are installed in Incoloy-sheathed tubular elements to heat the oven chamber, while a 10,000 CFM, 7-1/2 HP recirculating blower provides vertical downward airflow to the workload.
This Grieve oven features 8” thick insulated walls plus an aluminized steel exterior and Type 304, 2B finish stainless steel interior. The inert atmosphere construction comprises a gas pressure regulator, flow meter, pressure gauge, internal high-temperature gasket, all welded expansion connection in doorway throat, air jacket on inner oven for cooling, ½” thick cellular silicone rubber atmosphere seal, blower shaft seal, pneumatic positive latching door hardware, adjustable offset door hinges, outlet with pressure relief, interior seams all welded gas-tight plus all wall penetrations are fitted with compression fittings. A 0-1500 CFM blower pulls air through the air jacket on the inner oven for faster cooling.
Controls on No. 1033 include a digital programming temperature controller, manual reset excess temperature controller with separate contactors, recirculating airflow safety switch, paperless event recorder, SCR power controller and trace level oxygen analyzer.
For more information, please contact:
THE GRIEVE CORPORATION
500 Hart Road
Round Lake, IL 60073-2898
Phone: (847) 546-8225
Fax: (847) 546-9210
Web: www.grievecorp.com
Email: sales@grievecorp.com
Attention: Frank Calabrese, VP
The three-martini lunch was a viable business meeting venue, when I got into the ad/PR biz in 1976. Accomplished a lot and, moreover, forged solid friendships.
My old boss and our agency founder WAS the guy from Mad Men, who sold the clients and had all the great ideas. 
At 82 and retired 27 years now, he STILL drinks martinis and is sharp and quick-witted as ever.
Today, we’re lucky to see clients more than a few times, each month. Email, conference calls and the vid conference or webinar are the norm, for us and clients. One web conferencing service runs TV commercials, actually mocking business travel as arcane, costly and pointless.
Who remembers the classic United campaign, where the boss handed out plane tix to the sales guys, admonishing them to get back to direct contact with customers? Business lunches are still conducted, but the business and social sides of client relationships have changed radically.
Wonder what others are experiencing, both on the agency and client sides, as well as in the media?
We ad/PR guys invented the three-martini lunch, of course, right after the golf outing and the last-minute deadline!
Happy New Year,
TD
Tom Curfiss details the rapidly evolving business climate for retrofit; impacting large production department, job shop machine tool sectors alike
Siemens retrofit
CHICAGO —Various market factors and economic conditions have made retrofitting existing machine tools a very viable option for the large metalworking department at an OEM, as well as the job shop sector of moldmakers, tool & die and contract part manufacturers alike, according to Tom Curfiss, the retrofit business development manager for Siemens. Speaking from his Cincinnati area office, Curfiss comments, “Today’s business climate has combined with economic factors involved in the manufacture of control packages to create an ideal atmosphere for retrofit. Our company has long been involved in the upgrade of large gantry mills for aerospace production, for example. But today, it’s just as likely you’ll find our Retrofit Solution Partners outfitting a 3-axis mill or even a basic lathe with a new entry-level or mid-range CNC, motor and drive package. And, the best news for the job shop, this work can now be done at a price point comparable to just the cost of the CNC a decade ago, owing to economies of scale in the manufacture of these control packages.”
Siemens currently has 17 Retrofit Solution Partners under contract in the U.S. These companies work in close cooperation with Siemens to fully understand the possibilities of retrofitting machines with SINUMERIK CNC and to provide complete services for the installation and refurbishment of the CNC machine. These partner firms for the Machine Tool Systems business at Siemens must have a demonstrated ability to work on CNC, PLC, servo motor, digital drive and all accompanying peripheral products, plus have a proficiency in the development of software packages related to PLC and CNC applications. Every Solution Partner then commits to a battery of training sessions on SINUMERIK controls and is required to keep at least two Siemens-trained engineers on staff at all times, according to Curfiss. The Solution Partners are not geographic specific, as several have proven expertise in the field working on particular types or brands of machine tools. The selection process for the appropriate partner takes many factors into consideration, says Curfiss. “We have partners who specialize in 5-axis machines, others who have expertise in a certain industry such as aerospace or medical, and still others who have their greatest strength in a particular area of the country. Depending on the job specifics and the logistic costs involved, we work hard to match the right partner to the customer’s needs.”
Typically, Curfiss continues, the tipping point on a retrofit job is 60% of the price of a new machine. However, he also points out that many machines have outdated controls, although they still perform adequately in the shop or production department. “The challenge, when we do our onsite machine evaluation, is to determine whether a retrofit will make an appreciable difference in the performance of the machine, as other factors in the mechanics of the iron might make a retrofit impractical.” Curfiss further noted that today’s control technology is evolving at a very rapid rate, making some equipment that went out of production just 10 years ago less than optimum in contributing to maximum machine tool performance. “Running machine tools with 20-year-old technology today will simply not keep a shop as competitive as it needs to be.”
Existing equipment
Tom Curfiss has had his share of experiences with “old iron” in the field, as his background in machine tools spans over 40 years. “A lot of people think their old iron is just impossible to keep running, even with a retrofit, but we’re able to make the old equipment run better than it did when it was new, quite often.” He notes this achievement is the result of faster control processors, improved motor and drive technology, even more accurate and responsive encoders and other machine status sensing devices. On a practical note, Curfiss also remarks, “You cannot, however, fix a broken leg with a bandage, so the machine evaluation needs to be very comprehensive.”
In the end, Tom Curfiss suggests, both the large production departments and the job shops alike need to have regular assessments done on their prototype and production machine tools to determine if a retrofit might be in order. “The savings can be substantial, compared to purchasing new machines, because it’s not just a matter of the dollars saved at the outset, it’s also the long-term production improvements that inevitably lead to even greate Tom Curfiss has had his share of experiences with “old iron” in the field, as his background in machine tools spans over 40 years. “A lot of people think their old iron is just impossible to keep running, even with a retrofit, but we’re able to make the old equipment run better than it did when it was new, quite often.” He notes this achievement is the result of faster control processors, improved motor and drive technology, even more accurate and responsive encoders and other machine status sensing devices. On a practical note, Curfiss also remarks, “You cannot, however, fix a broken leg with a bandage, so the machine evaluation needs to be very comprehensive.” In the end, Tom Curfiss suggests, both the large production departments and the job shops alike need to have regular assessments done on their prototype and production machine tools to determine if a retrofit might be in order. “The savings can be substantial, compared to purchasing new machines, because it’s not just a matter of the dollars saved at the outset, it’s also the long-term production improvements that inevitably lead to even greater profit for the job shop or OEM.”
For more information on Siemens SINUMERIK CNC, visit www.usa.siemens.com/cnc.
For specific product information and inquiries, call (800) 879-8079 ext. Marketing Communications or send an e-mail to: SiemensMTBUMarCom.industry@siemens.com. Follow us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/SiemensCNC or Twitter: www.twitter.com/siemens_cnc_us.
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Siemens Industry Sector is the world’s leading supplier of innovative and environmentally friendly products, solutions and services for industrial customers. With end-to-end automation technology and industrial software, solid vertical-market expertise, and technology-based services, the sector enhances its customers’ productivity, efficiency and flexibility. With a global workforce of more than 100,000 employees, the Industry Sector comprises the Industry Automation, Drive Technologies and Customer Services Divisions as well as the Metals Technologies Business Unit. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/industry.
The Siemens Drive Technologies Division is the world’s leading supplier of products, systems, applications, solutions and services for the entire drive train, with electrical and mechanical components. Drive Technologies serves all vertical markets in the production and process industries as well as the infrastructure/energy segment. With its products and solutions, the division enables its customers to achieve productivity, energy efficiency and reliability. For more information, visit http://www.usa.siemens.com/drivetechnologies.
Continue readingUnique rod lock assemblies from Advanced Machine & Engineering built into Boeing fixtures; used to stabilize airframe, maintain structural integrity during and after major repairs
AMLOK® rod locks shown at wing fitting attach points on A-10 Warthog
During the maintenance and repair operations of A-10 Warthog aircraft at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, a unique product design from Advanced Machine & Engineering (AME) helps maintain the structural integrity of this heavy airframe. AMLOK® pneumatic rod locks keep the load steady and ensure the aircraft will return to flight in its proper configuration. Boeing in St. Louis designed and built the fixtures for the Air Force and specified the rod locks, 28 on each of five (5) fixtures constructed for use at the Air Force base.
In use, each rod lock holds up to 5000 lbs. and maintains position with 0.002”-0.003” maximum backlash and repeatable positioning. The AMLOK® design functions by holding the cylinder rod in place and locking the load in place, when air pressure is removed. Only when the pressure is restored can the load be released. This power-off clamping protects operators and workload alike.
Rod locks shown on nacelle attach points
The Air Force contracted Boeing to produce a series of fixtures to help perform major structural repair operations on the A-10. This was a new product design, conceived by Boeing, to solve the problem of holding the massive A-10 airframe in position while major structural sections were removed and replaced. In application, the rod locks provide a means of attaching the main fixture to the aircraft structure without introducing any external load to the structure. This fact is key to the overall repair operation, as the original shape of the craft must remain consistent during and after the repair. In addition, since the locking feature on the rod lock is activated when the pneumatic power is removed, it prevents inadvertent activation of the lock during the repair process, increasing technician safety substantially.
Another aspect of the AME rod lock design, they provide an uncomplicated, easy-to-install interface between the main repair fixture and the surface of the fuselage on the aircraft, doing so in a way that prevents the introduction of positive or negative loads to the fuselage in the resting position. Prior to start-up of operations, laser tracking measurements of the A-10 Warthog fuselage were consistently monitored by Boeing personnel during the initial prototype repair processes.
Overall view of the structure built by Boeing St. Louis to hold the airframe of the A-10 Warthog during the refurbish/repair ops at Hill Air Force Base in Utah. 28 rod locks on each of the five (5) total fixtures built by Boeing hold 5000 lb. load and maintain a .002-.003” maximum backlash, with no external load on the work surface, thus assuring the structural integrity of the fuselage during and after repairs
In operation, rod locks are positioned at seven (7) points on both sides of the fuselage along its entire length to provide adequate structural support. These points of contact also provide convenient attachment points on the aircraft, in relation to the components typically installed. In removing and replacing large sections of the fuselage, excess pressures can be exerted on the airframe, a potential cause of distortion.
Jack Bucheit, the lead tool engineer at the Boeing facility in St. Louis, notes, “The size and weight of the aircraft necessitated a unique solution. Our requirements exceeded the capacity of the standard rod locks catalogued by AME in size and weight ranges. AME stepped up and developed, then tested and supplied a specific rod lock designed to our specifications for this application. The performance was in line with all our expectations.” Others on the Boeing team included Jerry Dunmire, A-10 program manager, Dan Dudley, project manager and Brad Moore, tool engineer.
Gun bay attach points
The AMLOK® rod locks on these fixtures minimize the over-travel, drifting, bouncing and reverse travel often encountered in pneumatic motion applications, according to the engineers consulted for this story.
Acting as the representative for AME on this project was Ray Varady, president of V-TEC Machine Tools, Inc. in Glen Carbon, Illinois, near St. Louis.
Shane Hatfield, sales manager at AME, led his team in the design and delivery of the rod locks to Boeing, who subcontracted the building of the fixtures to John Wisker and his team at WB Industries of O’Fallon, Missouri, also near St. Louis.
For more information on the repair ops referenced in this story, please contact:
Richard Essary
Chief of Media
Hill AFB Public Affairs Office
Hill Air Force Base (Utah)
Richard.essary.3@us.af.mil
Jim Pruin
Logistics Mgt Specialist
A-10 Program Manager
A-10 Depot Support Section
Hill Air Force Base (Utah)
James.Pruin.1@us.af.mil
For more information on the fixtures referenced in this story, please contact:
Bradley Moore
Tool Engineering
Boeing-St. Louis
314-233-8560
Bradley.m.moore@boeing.com
For more information on the rod locks referenced in this story, please contact:
ADVANCED MACHINE & ENGINEERING
2500 Latham Street
Rockford, IL 61103
Toll-Free: 800-225-4263
Phone: 815-962-6076
Fax: 815-962-6483
Web: www.ame.com
E-mail: shane@ame.com
Attention: Shane Hatfield, Sales Manager
Connect with AME online: 
Advanced Machine & Engineering Co., is a manufacturer located in Rockford, Ill., serving the Machine Tool Industry with precision components and accessories, including spindle interface components, workholding devices and, through our sister company, Hennig, machine enclosures, chip removal and filtration systems. The Fluid Power – Safety markets are served with cylinder rod locks and Safety Catcher devices; and the Production Saw market with our AmSaw carbide saw machines and Speedcut blade products. AME has manufacturing partners and service centers around the world and across the U.S. To learn more, visit www.ame.com.
Hennig, Inc. designs and produces custom machine protection and chip/coolant management products for state-of-the-art machine tools. Hennig products are designed to protect against corrosion, debris and common workplace contaminants. Manufacturing facilities are located in the U.S., Germany, France, Czech Republic, Brazil, India, Japan and South Korea. Repair centers are located in Machesney Park, IL; Chandler, OK; Livonia, MI; Blue Ash, OH; Mexico City, Mexico; and Saltillo, Mexico. To learn more, visit www.hennigworldwide.com.
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