Each lathe is equipped with a bar feeder. The bar feeder continuously loads bar stock into the lathes to be turned down into finished parts. Each part PRIER makes has two separate programs to machine each side of the piece. The first program, or main spindle program, will turn the front half of the part with different tools, such as mills, drills, turning tools and boring bars. The second program, or sub spindle program, will control the sub spindle. The sub spindle will latch onto the finished front half of the part before it is cut off. After the part is cut off the other half can be machined by the sub spindle with similar tools. Ideally, both of the programs will run at the same time to optimize cycle times. Both Swiss Turning Centers allow the capability to machine any part needed with only a couple pushes of a button, and with little down time.
After the parts have been machined, they have to be cleaned, dried, and placed into inventory. When the parts come out of the lathe, they are covered in cutting oil that needs removed. To do this, we run all of the parts through a parts washer filled with a de-greaser solution. The parts are then carried up a conveyor to a blower and then dried. Once the parts are fully dried they are placed into inventory waiting to be assembled into a PRIER or Mansfield Style hydrant.
Once the machines are programmed, running and the finished parts are cleaned and put away, the last thing to do is handle all of the scrap created from turning the brass. There are two different forms of scrap brass that are handled; chips and remnants. First, the chips come out of the lathe as tiny shavings, which are then placed into a spinner, similar to a washing machine, where excess cutting oil is separated from the chips and is recycled into the lathes to be used again. The second form of scrap is remnants. The last few inches of bar stock that the Swiss Turning Centers are not capable of machining parts from are turned into scrap. The bar feeder will retract the remnant from the lathe and will drop it into a bin, where it can be recycled back to the brass supplier.
The Swiss Turning Centers are just another way to help take PRIER to the next level in making our products innovative, reliable, value and built for life!
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