FandMmag.com |

Today's highly automated machining centers deliver completed parts faster than ever. But once a part is machined, if the next step requires finishing, time gained on the machining end can be lost on the finishing end. That's all changed for motion control component manufacturer Zero-Max, Inc. (Plymouth, MN). The company recently installed an automated black oxide finishing system that easily keeps pace with its machining operations while reducing finishing costs.

This "first of its kind" TRU TEMP CNC finishing system reduces machined part blackening time from five days to same day. Providing Zero-Max with many efficiencies, this in-house system is not only much faster, it has lowered part finishing costs from 20 cents to 4 cents for each component. In addition, it has completely eliminated all of the "hidden costs" previously experienced when sending components outside for hot oxide finishing, according to Ron Neff, Zero-Max vice president of manufacturing. Without having to add labor, Neff reports, this automated finishing system provides consistent high quality black oxide finishes and has even helped reduce machining center setups on select components.

Improving on its processes and delivering its products to customers in a timely manner has been key to Zero-Max success for over 50 years. By being responsive to customers' changing needs with innovative product designs and exceptional service, the company has grown into a worldwide motion control solution provider. Its products serve the most advanced and demanding industries, including wind power generation, military vehicles, packaging systems and machine tools, to name just a few. To improve its product deliveries, Zero-Max recently identified its outside black oxide finishing as an area for improvement.

"We constantly examine new technology to improve our processes, quality and responsiveness to customer needs," says Neff. "Our product lines are growing continuously and the requirements to manufacture them also change. We did a preliminary study recently to see how much time and expense our existing hot oxide finishing was costing us. We were astonished to find that we issued nearly 400 purchase orders in one year for outside finishing. We averaged about 50 parts per order. So factoring in the cost of the finishing, time to issue a PO, and following it through to the vendor and making payment was costing us around $240 for each purchase order."

This didn't take into account the hidden costs, such as grouping and wrapping parts to be sent out, lost time waiting while parts were away for finishing, receiving, sorting, inspecting and redistributing parts for assembly once they were returned. Another major hidden cost was machining center setup time for parts that needed a final machining operation after blackening. Doing a study of all of these factors led the company to look into installing an in-house automated black oxide system.

Collaborating with manufacturer Birchwood Casey and automation builder Unifab Corporation, a first-of-its-kind CNC finishing system was proposed to handle Zero-Max in-house black oxide finishing needs. "We did a cost-payback analysis showing that at our present production levels we'd have the automated system paid for within 18 months," explains Neff. "In today's competitive manufacturing environment, automation is the name of the game. The automated system would allow us to do our own black oxide finishing without adding labor. The TRU TEMP process itself was key because we required a quality finish, but we did not want the hazards and pollution associated with a traditional hot oxide process. This new process is a low temperature, non-polluting process with a high quality black oxide finish. Factoring in these benefits plus the hidden costs we'd eliminate was compelling for our board to approve the project."