Gear Production
Issue link: http://gear.epubxp.com/i/511821
June 2015—13 W.M. Berg—a division of the Rexnord Corp., call 414-747-5800 or visit wmberg.com. DMG MORI, call 847-593-5400 or visit us.dmgmori.com. complete without any handling. Running the machine unattended or minimally attended 24/7 for a stable, repeatable process has helped the company address surprise customer requests. "If we get calls late in the week and they need the parts the following week, we can accommodate the customer by simply running the machine over the weekend," Mr. Schmidt says. These last minute requests have been easier to manage thanks to the machine's remote monitoring capabilities (see sidebar). The accuracy and repeatability of the parts was another signifcant advantage. "Even if you haven't run the part for a month or six months, it usually falls right back into spec. You only have to adjust the bore size," Mr. Schmidt says. "We haven't had a drop in accuracy on any of our parts since we started running the machine fve years ago." In addition to helping the company produce high-quality gears faster and more effciently, the NT1000 plays a role in its push to improve internal quality. The Rexnord Business Systems (RBS) division boasts 28 core business processes that focus on areas like lean manufacturing, Six Sigma and continuous improvement. Brad Pockat, director of RBS, believes the NT1000 can take some credit for putting products in the customer's hands faster than they have in the past. "Our on-time delivery was around 90 percent with the dedicated gear cutting equipment," he says. "Today, we're meeting customer demand at 98 percent with the multi-axis machines. Anytime you can purchase a fexible, more effcient W.M. Berg moved to Rexnord's Special Components Division in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and began reevaluating its hobbing operation from a productivity standpoint.