Case Study

Aerospace & Defense Manufacturer Reduced Time and Assembly Cost by 60%

Return on Investment with New Kiwa Machines

Command Technology, Inc., in business since 1986, machines and bonds components for Aerospace, Defense, and Telecommunications industries, among others. Command Technology is known worldwide for their aluminum chemical bonding, investment castings, and brazed assemblies. But it was preparation for this specialized process that was ultimately slowing down production. George Braswell, Owner of Command Technology, reached out to Steve Norcio of MTA Company, Inc. and ultimately Methods. Steve and George spent time reviewing Command’s current operations and discussing various solutions available including the Kiwa product line. The solution developed was multi-phase involving purchasing of multiple Kiwa machine Tools, and retrofitting the ATC and APC in the machines that Command already owned.

The Kiwa Difference

In phase one, Command purchased two Kiwa KH-4500 horizontal machining centers (HMC) with 6 pallets and 220 tools each. This purchase began paying off immediately. All assembly components were now being machined simultaneously in just one machine cycle. Accuracy was up and production time was down. There was no more waiting for multiple machines to complete various parts of an assembly. Existing VMCs could now be used for other jobs that didn’t require bonding or brazing. As Command continued to expand, phase two involved purchasing a Kiwa KMH-300A, PC6 and taking an existing Kiwa KH-55 and retrofitting both ATC (tools) and APC (pallets) in place. Kiwa’s unique design allows for convenient retrofitting in the field to increase pallets (APC) from PC2 to PC6 or even PC8 and number of tools (ATC) from 60 to 120 to 220 with little downtime. With this purchase and retrofit, in addition to the previous machine purchases, Command was able to add mostly unattended 2nd, 3rd, and weekend shifts to production.

Command Technology’s Customer Base

With customers primarily in Aerospace, Defense, and Telecommunications, Command Technology is no stranger to the high demands of these industries. These industries require individual components joined together in one final piece. Command was faced with machining all of these parts on multiple separate machines before they could enter the bonding stage. Six or more vertical machining centers (VMC) were being operated to create each assembly. Command Technology’s Owner and President George Braswell says “We would utilize whole machines with multiple setups to try and complete just one component of an assembly”. Also significant time and specialized labor was being used manning these machines increasing the company’s costs and cutting into profits

60% Reduction In Time And Cost

“One Kiwa KH-4500-6APC takes the place of six or more VMC’s. The Kiwas are allowing us to achieve our delivery dates with super b accuracy and virtually no scrap,” stated George Braswell. “Our customers require our assemblies to be delivered in split-LOT quantities per month. With the Kiwas we can have all the components of one or more assemblies on one machine setup all the time. This eliminates having to setup the same parts over and over again in multiple VMCs. This reduces time and cost by at least 60% per assembly.”