FPD Co.

United States

FPD has teamed up with two leading manufacturers of advanced high speed machining centers, Makino and Mori Seiki, to assemble a world class modern machine shop. Our 30 CNC machining centers incorporate the most advanced technology available to achieve the highest material removal rate possible in hard metals such as titanium, stainless steel and cobalt chrome. A pioneer in high speed machining, FPD has applied our knowledge of materials, tooling, advanced machine controllers and programming techniques to a highly successful semi-unattended 52-pallet Makino Machining Complex (MMC), integrating three high torque high HP 4-axis aerospace machining centers. Our machining capabilities include 4 and 5 axis complex milling and multi-axis turning of parts that are 30” x 30” x 30” or less. 52-Pallet Makino Machining Complex FPD installed a 52-pallet Makino Machining Complex (MMC) integrating three A81M high torque high HP 4-axis aerospace machining centers. Within one month of operation, FPD realized spindle up time in the high 90 percentile and first time part quality of over 99%. The system maximizes machine spindle utilization by scheduling machining operations based on customer due dates, raw material availability and cutting tool conditions. Operators preload fixtures mounted on pallets with raw material. The MMC stores the pallet and waits for the next available machining center. During the high-speed machining operation, many critical machining parameters, such as spindle and axis loads, tool life, tool breakage detection and coolant flow are monitored. The automated pallet system, combined with advanced controls built into the machining centers, allows FPD to perform complex machining operations with no human intervention.

A variety of forging technologies are offered by FPD to meet the specific requirements of our aerospace and medical customers. We specialize in producing precision net shaped, near net shaped and conventional closed die titanium forgings. We utilize 2, 500 and 500 ton hydraulic presses to form titanium aero structure forgings for commercial and military aerospace customers. Our 500 ton hydraulic and 250 ton mechanical presses are used to produce titanium hip, knee and bone fixation devices for the medical industry. Many titanium grades are forged at FPD including: Ti 6-4 Ti 6-4 Eli Ti 6-6-2 Ti 10-2-3 Ti 15-3-3-3 Ti 5-5-5-3 We use electric atmosphere and vacuum furnaces to post forge heat treat our forgings to the following conditions: anneal, beta anneal, stress relieve, solution treat, age and overage. Unprecedented lead times are achieved by designing and manufacturing our forge tooling in-house. FPD’s knowledge of advanced machining principles is evident in our extensive use of hard milling of forge tooling; EDM, conventional CNC milling and turning are also used in the fabrication of forge tooling. Modernization and Upgrade of Forge Shop FPD Completes the Modernization and Upgrade of Forge Shop — FPD recently completed the rebuild of the mechanical systems on our 2, 500 and 500 ton hydraulic presses. Our forge electric furnaces and solution treat furnaces were replaced with high efficient, high capacity Electotherm units increasing our throughput by over 50% on large forgings. As part of our continuous improvement strategy, we relocated every piece of support equipment in the forge shop to optimize work flow and reduce press setup times.