(l-r) Joe Williams, President, and Mike Roberts, Operator, Wolfe and Swickard. Roberts loads a wheel collar for the mining industry onto the Chevalier FVL-1250VTC lathe.
Operator and Milling Team Lead Ron Barlow with the Chevalier FVM-4034DCL mill. On the machine is a wheel collar for milling industry applications and a pump housing for drilling.
"We are always trying to improve on our quality and productivity throughout our business," said Joe Williams, President, Wolfe and Swickard Machine Co. "Recently we were looking for a lathe with large turning capacity. We had other equipment of similar size but were looking for redundancy and added capacity in our equipment." The lathe needed to be large enough and rigid enough for aggressive machining while still maintaining large workpiece size and machining quality.
"At the same time, it was our intention to expand our machining capability into milling of larger parts," Williams continued. "In addition to the capabilities of the machine, we required a company that would stand behind its product and continue to be a partner after the sale. We found this with both Chevalier and its Indiana distributor J & M Precision Products, which recommended the Chevalier machines."
The Chevalier FVL-1250VTC (vertical turning lathe) met Wolfe and Swickard's requirements for turning capacity, rigidity, precision and value. Williams had previously considered purchasing used and rebuilt equipment. "However, we found it difficult to find a reliable machine that could handle our large workpiece size at the machining value we were looking for," he said. "While the new FVL-1250VTC did cost more, the Chevalier best fit our requirements."
"If you were to see in person the casting and construction of the machine, you would understand why we chose the FVL-1250VTC," Williams continued. "When we give tours of our facility, people are always awed by the amount of smoke pouring out of this machine as well as the volume of the chips being extracted. It truly is impressive to see this machine removing material as quickly as it does while maintaining our high standards of quality."
The FVL-1250VTC has allowed Wolfe and Swickard to save nearly 20% in material costs by allowing the team to purchase a more standard sized carbon steel ring with fewer foundry operations while adding relatively little additional machine time.
The FVL-1250VTC is consistently removing over 1,000 lbs. of material per hour from the carbon steel ring, a part used in the mining industry. The carbon steel ring is made of an SAE 1026 material and has finished dimensions of 57" O.D., 44" I.D. and an overall height of 7". The tightest tolerance on the part is ±.004" on one of the diameters. The part comes in with a raw weight of 2,875 lbs. and finishes at 1,100 lbs.
"We used to purchase the part as a rough machined rolled ring," said Williams. "With the addition of the FVL-1250VTC, we are now doing the roughing process ourselves. It added time to our machining, but with the addition of the FVL-1250VTC, the capacity problem was resolved and the time it takes to rough the material costs us less than the additional cost for the foundry to rough machine the part. The new Chevalier lathe basically gave us the ability to add more value to the part ourselves rather than pay someone else to do it. We saved around 25% on the material cost and added around 20% to our internal value add costs to the part. In addition, we reduced the material lead time to our door by nearly 70%."
FVL-1250VTC's load is entirely for the mining industry. The carbon steel ring accounts for 90%, and the remainder includes lower volume work across a part family of four different part numbers used in the drive trains of mining equipment.
In addition to steel, Wolfe and Swickard machines cast iron, ductile iron and aluminum.
Features of the FVL-1250VTC:
- Boxway structure
- Swing and cut diameter: 63"
- Max. torque: 8,453 ft-lbs.
- Max. turning height: 47.2"
- Spindle speed: up to 2,500 RPM
- Table motor HP: 49/50 ( α53).
Williams also purchased Chevalier's FVM-4034DCL double column machining center. "We were so impressed with the quality of the FVL-1250VTC that we decided to stick with Chevalier and purchased the FVM-4034DCL," said Williams. This series can machine large and heavy parts, and also has horizontal and vertical milling capabilities.
Williams said that the FVM-4034DCL is another impressive piece of equipment from Chevalier, and like the FVL-1250VTC, is another high point of their facility tours. "It is extremely rigid, even with the spindle fully extended in the Z-axis," he said. "The goal of the FVM-4034DCL purchase was to broaden our capabilities and allow us to enter the large part milling market. This machine has allowed us to find efficiencies in products we have already been running in terms of both time and quality, and has allowed us to take on more work."
Chevalier's FVM-DCL series with 6,000 RPM standard gear head spindle is built for heavy-duty work loads. The spindle has a two-speed range to accommodate heavy-duty cutting and finish cutting. Heavy-duty linear guideways in the XYZ axes provide increased acceleration and zero friction movement. The series features a user-friendly control (FANUC, Heidenhain or Siemens) and a comprehensive cooling system.
Founded in 1943, Wolfe and Swickard Machine Co. is a family owned and operated company that specializes in precision machining and supply chain management. "We work with our customers to go beyond the traditional supplier relationship and enter into a true partnership," said Williams.
For more information contact:
Joe Williams, President
Wolfe and Swickard Machine Co.
1344 S Tibbs Avenue
Indianapolis, IN 46242-0817
317-241-2589
jwilliams@wolfeandswickard.com
www.wolfeandswickard.com
Chevalier Machinery Inc.
9925 Tabor Place
Santa Fe Springs, CA 90670
562-903-1929
info@chevalierusa.com
www.chevalierusa.com
J & M Precision Products
10645 Deme Drive, Ste. A
Indianapolis, IN 46236
317-823-9900
info@jmppi.com
www.jmppi.com