When production responsibilities for the F-35 dual vane pump were awarded to Massachusetts-based manufacturer Tell Tool, engineers knew the component would be challenging to program. The previous part supplier had not been able to machine the component within the production cost target, yet Tell Tool engineers had committed to producing four parts within budget before a first article inspection date. With funding from Hamilton-Sundstrand and no time for mistakes, Tell Tool engineers took on the manufacturing challenge by utilizing Production Moduleto help achieve customer requirements.
F-35 Pump
THE PART
- The dual vane pump is machined from a solid titanium block; the volume of the part is one cubic foot.
APPROACH
- TWS engineers train Tell Tool staff on Production Module capabilities.
- Tell Tool engineers load proposed NC programs with dummy feed rates into Production Module.
- Tell Tool and TWS engineers collaboratively optimize NC programs, using Production Module to set feed rates,
balance tool loads, and keep machining time to a minimum. - NC program parameters defined in Production Module implemented.
IMPACT
- All machining trials were run successfully.
- Production Module software purchased and institutionalized;
now being used to analyze every component Tell Tool manufactures.
