Raytheon Aircraft
Company has been a global leader in designing and manufacturing aircraft
for more than 65 years. They have a tradition of innovation and profitability.
They have a reputation for success. And they took that high-brow track
record and threw it by the wayside.
In this age of cutthroat competition and ever-evolving technologies,
Raytheon understands that there is always room for improvement. They
know that the company that best understands shifting market paradigms,
that sets the competitive standard instead of following it, that steadfastly
scrutinizes its business processes to ensure continuous improvement
will be the one at the top of the heap, with happy shareholders and
a bursting bottom line.
"All key processes...are being reconfigured into cells to maximize
throughput and efficiency," explains Larry Caspersen, director of two
Raytheon Aircraft manufacturing plants. "Each year we manufacture and
assemble more than 15,000 parts—it is essential that each one is perfect."
Raytheon raised the bar by investing in high-speed machining, dramatically
reducing cycle times and delivering more consistent, more accurate parts.
"Machining a part out of sheet metal and attaching multiple details
onto it—angles, webs, beams, ribs, stiffeners and doublers—creates multiple
tolerances," explains Bill Jones, manager of manufacturing and technical
support at Raytheon. "We realized parts like a forward pressure bulkhead
can be designed more simply.
"That's an understatement. Moving from conventional manufacturing to
high-speed machining of the bulkhead reduced cycle time from 17 hours
to 3.5. It used one part instead of 53 and zero rivets instead of 350.
Using a Makino MC1516 high-speed horizontal machining center with a
seven pallet MMC, Raytheon utilized a state-of-the-art technology solution
to machine the forward pressure bulkhead from a single piece of billet
aluminum. In two setups, the MC1516 machines thin wall tolerances under
.00010 of an inch to near net shape. Roughing and finishing is conducted
simultaneously using carbide end mills. Powered by the MC1516’s Jet
50 spindle, these end mills reach 12,500 rpm and achieve metal removal
rates as high as 320 cubic inches per minute.
Talk about redefining business processes.
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