What does it take to succeed at machining hogouts?
This article has been reproduced from Modern Machine Shop with express authorization of the Editor
Copyright © Gardner Business Media, Inc.
Beyond the machining capacity, other important factors relate to the people and the understanding of the process.
R&D Manco is a Phoenix, Arizona, machining subcontractor serving prime contractors in the aerospace industry. The parts it machines include certified, highly engineered components of aircraft fuel and control systems. For its parts that begin as castings, a typical total lead time is 32 weeks. But when this shop can avoid casting altogether by instead machining the part's precise form out of a solid block or bar, it can typically cut the total lead time its customer sees by more than 60 percent, and it can typically cut the cost of the part by 20 percent. As a result, the shop has pursued a long-standing mission—the effort has lasted about a decade now—to convert as many parts as it can from castings to hogouts.
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