FeatureCAM cuts part programming time by 30 per cent

Hawk Industries Inc is a designer and builder of specialist drilling tools for the oil and gas industry, based in Signal Hill, California, USA. The company has reduced the overall machining time for its alloy steel components by 80 per cent with its implementation of Delcam's FeatureCAM feature-based CAM software and an investment in CNC mills. The change to FeatureCAM also reduced part programming times by 30 per cent and helped the company to triple its output.

Hawk equipment is used to grab the pipe as it is pulled out of the well and break the threaded joint, or to make the joint as the pipe is put down the well. One part of the device holds the pipe, while another rotates the adjoining segment to accomplish the task. With the Hawk device, it takes only eight seconds to undo a joint in the field. The devices can save up to two hours a day; on a rig that costs $150,000-$300,000 to operate per day, that amounts to a lot of money.

Determined to be competitive not only in its quality but also in its manufacturing methods, the company upgraded its CNC milling capability with the purchase of three extra mills and FeatureCAM software to take models of its components into production more quickly.

Output tripled

Mike Russo, a manufacturing consultant at Hawk, had experience moving from simple 2D software to 3D software in his own business and so recommended FeatureCAM. The impact on Hawk's manufacturing capacity has been substantial. When Mr Russo got to Hawk, the company was shipping about 20 units each year. Today, with the help of FeatureCAM, the company is producing 60 units or more per year.

More than 400 CNC programs have been completed in FeatureCAM. Typical machining tolerances are in the 0.001inch range and are achieved consistently. The result has been a huge improvement in part consistency and a saving of more than 35 per cent in assembly time for the more than 500 different parts that make up the devices.

On one plate the combination of FeatureCAM and the new CNC mills reduced processing time from four hours to one-and-a-half hours. On another part, the machining and assembly time went from three hours to thirty-five minutes, and the fit between the two parts is now more consistent.

FeatureCAM saves Hawk programming time as well as machining time. Its feature-based programming makes it easy to create CNC programs for Hawk's models. Furthermore, most of the parts machined at Hawk are held in custom fixtures, designed with FeatureCAM. This not only maintains consistency, but also reduces set-up time and allows Hawk to machine several parts in a single set-up.

For more information about FeatureCAM, go to www.featurecam.com.