Also, aerospace materials can be valued at thousands of dollars per part, so mistakes can be costly. An AS9100 Rev D-certified company, WPP’s jobs include manufacturing structural and complex parts for the aerospace industry, which often have tight part tolerances and short lead times. The types of parts manufactured range from small, intricate components to large structural parts. WPP deploys a variety of machining technology, including lathes, mill-turns and Swiss-style machines as well as horizontal milling and vertical milling centers. Aerospace and electronics make up the majority of WPP’s industries served, in addition to hydraulics, power supply equipment, recreational equipment, semiconductor processing and testing and measurement equipment. WPP and its 85 employees handle projects from prototype through production in a high-tech, 48,000 ft2 (4,459 m2) production facility in the Portland, Ore. WPP has been a precision machining manufacturer for more than 30 years. During this time, the shop concluded that only the leading solutions would suffice for its five-axis setup. (WPP), Tualatin, Ore., made the decision to reinvent some machining processes by incorporating five-axis machining, it started planning and carefully considering the “big picture” over a six-month period. (All photos provided by Western Precision Products) With five-axis machining, WPP has realized an overall 65 percent reduction in setup time and a 30 percent reduction in the amount of setup parts, saving thousands of dollars, much of which they credit to using hyperMILL from Open Mind Technologies. In addition to the right machine, tooling and fixturing options, CAM software must be selected carefully. However, it takes more than the right machine tool to realize the full potential of a five-axis process. Implementing five-axis machining can be an excellent strategy for efficiently producing accurate, complex parts.
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