The aerospace industry requires a variety of complex structural parts. Building a quality part at a competitive price and delivering it on time are prerequisites. Behind this statement is a host of other requirements necessary for a company to remain viable in this market.

The aerospace market requires experienced personnel, state-of-the-art equipment and leading edge programming capabilities and L&S Machine Co., Inc. has them all. Production is accomplished through the latest and best computer controlled 3 to 5-axis machine tools available, and programming is developed with the NCL multi-axis machining software.

Located in Wichita, Kansas, L&S began business in 1951. Since that time it has specialized in precision machining and assembly of "Built-To-Print" aerospace components and systems; welded assemblies, including bent tubes, sheet metal and machined parts; and aluminum dip brazed assemblies. The company has a 140,000 square foot facility and 150 employees. Its primary customer list includes Boeing and the U.S. Government.

L&S competes aggressively in the commercial aviation market and is one of the first aerospace subcontractors approved under D1-9000. Also, it has earned an enviable reputation as a predominant supplier in production products for the military aviation market. L&S has produced quality components for virtually every U.S. warplane since the B-52 and has built one of the most complete military specification libraries in the Midwest.

Investing Now For Present As Well As Future Business
In order to meet the strict quality control and delivery requirements of aircraft manufacturers, L&S has made a large investment in its in-house NC programming capabilities. According to Evert Weinhold, L&S’ Systems Programming Manager, NCL was selected because of its multi-axis programming capability, especially in aircraft parts machining. Evert stated, "Three to five-axis machining is required on 50% of the parts we make. NCL has over 20 four and five-axis control modes, many of which are found in no other system. Full parametric programming allows design and manufacturing data to be represented as variables, which are easily modified to produce new designs and NC Programs. This allows the inclusion of numbers and formulas in the programming process, which in turn simplifies the creation of part families. We have been using NCL for over seven years and find that it excels in a production environment where machine time is critical."

CAD Is Also Required In Machine Shops
L&S also used another NCCS product - VARIMETRIX. VARIMETRIX (VX) is a NURBS based parametric solid and surface modeler. The unique VX Unified Parametric Geometry (UPG) engine incorporates wireframe, surface and solids modeling capabilities, as well as drafting, Computer-Aided Manufacturing, assembly modeling, change management, and utility functions in a unified database with a Graphical User Interface (GUI). Models originating in VX are immediately available for multi-axis machining in NCL, and models and tool paths are fully associative. A change in the VX model results in changes to the NCL tool path.

VARIMETRIX comes in handy since some of L&S’ customers don't have solid modeling capabilities, especially when machining repair parts using old blueprints or actual parts as a reference. Others, have sophisticated CAD programs and VX allows the programmer to enhance data imported from systems such as CATIA. Or L&S may receive just a drawing of the part. As Evert Weinhold explains it, "Almost 35% of our business is manufacturing repair parts. By building a solid model of the part in VX, we can develop tooling and add surfacing required for machining. Since NCL is integrated with VX, we can take that data and develop our tool paths. We can then verify the NC program, and if necessary, we can show the customer their part on a monitor before we even make a cut."

A Post Program That Works
In addition to NCL and VX, L&S uses PostWorks from NCCS. L&S has a variety of multi-axis machining centers as well as multi-spindle machines including various models from Cincinnati, SNK, Niigata, and Hitachi Seiki. PostWorks is a universal 2 through 10-axis postprocessor and postprocessor generator. PostWorks converts output from most major CAM systems (including CATIA CL files) into NC data files which can be used to run virtually any NC device including mills, lathes, EDMs, lasers, CMMs, Mill-Turns, Ultrasonic cutters, and routers. A simple Motif-style interface enables the user to easily establish machine configurations, control unit features, and output file formats. PostWorks automatically creates a solid model of the machine and dynamically simulates the machine's movement. PostWorks also provides a comprehensive macro language for easy customization.

Summary
"By using high level CAD and CAM programs, we can effectively compete against anyone. The aerospace industry almost universally is moving to using IGES files instead of blueprints. This eliminates many quality problems because with a solid model there is little chance of making mistakes in the interpretation of data. By eliminating data problems right at the beginning, many quality problems are resolved before a part is machined. In the old days, there was much head scratching when looking at blueprints, with quality problems inherent from the beginning. Today, data comes in, can be analyzed in CAD, NC program developed, program verified, and then sent directly to the machine, all operations taking place with original customer data. Even if we do receive blueprints for older parts, by having the VX/NCL combination, data can be developed that is equal to today's aerospace standards," said Mr. Weinhold.