Case History

IN-HOUSE CAPABILITIES FULFILL DESIGN/MANUFACTURING DEMANDS!

In April of 2005, Blue Ash Supply, Cincinnati, OH came to Whitney Tool with a request for the design and manufacture of a series of custom carbide tipped milling cutters. The cutters were for a customer of Blue Ash Supply, Douglas Machine, also of Cincinnati, for use in the manufacturer of titanium jet engine components. The challenge was that the cutters were a complex form ranging in size from 2" to 3" with extremely tight tolerances. There was another complication: Douglas Machine was on a tight schedule and needed the special cutters in three weeks.

The geometry of this particular jet engine component is very complex. It takes five different custom milling cutters to machine different portions of the component’s contour. Douglas specified the contour of each cutter, and Whitney Tool then manufactured the cutters to a tolerance of +/- .001 to ensure that all the shapes blended precisely to create the finished component.

Fortunately, Whitney has the capability to not only design the tool but also heat treat the blanks and braze on the carbide tips in-house. This total in-house design/manufacturing capability allowed Whitney to complete the blanks in less than two weeks. The tools were then finished on CNC Grinders, using special software to grind the intricate shapes.

Whitney produced the cutters on time and the tools conformed to Douglas Machine’s specifications. As often happens, before the cutters could be used, the design changed. Again, in partnership with Blue Ash Supply and Douglas Machine, Whitney Tool accepted the challenge and altered the tool. In one case, Whitney completely remade the tools and turned around the altered set in one week to keep Douglas Machine on schedule with their customer.

Whitney’s expertise in the production of special cutting tools was clearly put to the test by the deadlines and design parameters of this project, but Pat Terry and Scott Blackwell of Whitney worked closely with Steve True from Douglas to ensure success.

The decision to produce special cutters from steel blanks with carbide tips, rather than from solid carbide, was based on two factors. First, carbide tipped cutters can be manufactured in intricate forms similar to HSS cutters – configurations often not possible with solid carbide tools. Secondly, the cost of carbide has increased dramatically in recent months.

In this particular case, special carbide tipped cutters from Whitney Tool provide greater design flexibility, similar cutting characteristics and significantly lower costs compared to solid carbide.