According to Mike Fastuca, General Manufacturing's VP of Production, the company was started almost fifty years ago by Mike's grandfather. It is a provider of precision machined parts for military products, with a focus on small arms. Until 2000, the company was a manual machine company; however, following 9/11, they went from one Bridgeport to eleven Doosans.

Like many family businesses, Mike grew up in the shop. He worked closely with his father and took on all that was thrown at him. His late father had the belief that kids could handle what they are given, so give them more, and that is what he did. He often found jobs for Mike's high school friends, many of which are still full time employees that share in the responsibilities of getting the job done. Like his father, Mike has acquired a great can do attitude, he will tell you that more than once, he has taken on a job and then figured out how to do it.
It is this maverick spirit that led Mike to MD Tooling, and his first gear hobbing driven tool. The part in question features a bevel gear around a finished shaft. Without hobbing capability, General Manufacturing was forced to subcontract out the part. The desire was to bring the part in house, so that production schedules could be controlled.

Working with Bob Bauer, Applications Engineer, Allegheny Machine Tool, Mike was introduced to MD Tooling and their Gear Hobbing tool. The plan was for Mike to put the gear hobbing tool  on his Doosan Puma 2500LSY. There was however, a small catch, to cut a bevel gear with the hobbing tool, requires the polygon turning option within the Fanuc control.

The polygon turning option creates a synchronization between the live tool and the main or sub spindle, without the option you can only index the spindle and cut one tooth at a time. And that is exactly what Mike is doing. On a dedicated machine, General Manufacturing is able to take bar fed stock to engraved finished part in less than 30 minutes and does this 24/7. According to Mike, "Without the encouragement of my family, the knowledge and character I got from my dad and MD Tooling, gear cutting would be a lot more stressful. These three factors combined have led me to find a creative solution to meet my manufacturing requirements".

The limitations on implementing live tooling are limited only by imagination. The number of tools available and their applications are expanding at huge rates. Today's manufacturers must embrace this technology if they want to remain competitive in both foreign and local markets.

For more information on any of the technology mentioned, or to see what tools are available to fit your machines contact AMTSI at www.allegmach.com

Article courtesy of Tracy Gillespie, MD Tooling, www.mdtooling.com