Case Study

Triumph Aerospace Boosts Production by Retrofitting with New FANUC CNC

Microtrol Engineering turned to FANUC when tasked with retrofitting the Cincinnati Milacron machines used by Triumph Aerospace. With new FANUC controls, Triumph has experienced reduced processing times, minimized risk of errors and damages, and improved production.

Challenges solved by:

Microtrol Engineering Logo

  • Increase productivity of old machines without replacing them
  • Reduce damage to processed parts due to power bumps
  • Improve machine capabilities 

Results

  • Reduced processing times

  • Time and money savings due to minimized risk of damage

 

Story

After decades of using Cincinnati Milacron skin mills to manufacturer the airframes for Boeing 747 and 767 aircrafts, Triumph Aerospace noticed the performance of these legacy machines dwindling. Triumph considered replacing these “old iron” machines, but after receiving quotes of $2-3 million per mill, the company turned to Microtrol Engineering, a FANUC authorized CNC system integrator, to retrofit their existing equipment.

Microtrol’s solution retained the existing machine, while stripping out and replacing all of the electrical equipment, controls and components. The three Cincinnati Profiler machines are now equipped with FANUC 31i-MODEL B5 controls, which provide accurate, high-speed machining. The dual-head skin mill required up to 9-axis simultaneous machining, so a FANUC 30i-MODEL B was installed.

By retrofitting these machine tools with FANUC technology, Triumph Aerospace was able to cut their processing time in half and limit the damage to parts caused by power outages, reducing the amount of costly processed parts they were forced to scrap to zero since the retrofit and drastically improving their production overall.

Brandt Fine – Microtrol

FANUC is a solid platform. I install and I forget. I don’t have to come back, I don’t have to worry about it breaking down.

Brandt Fine

President of Microtrol Engineering

Meet Microtrol – Authorized System Integrator

Microtrol Engineering is a leading provider of CNC retrofits and other machine tool services. When tasked with retrofitting Triumph Aerospace's older machines, they knew that FANUC was the right choice. With FANUC controls and technology, Microtrol was able to retrofit their old machines and improve their performance.

Triumph Aerospace

About Triumph Aerospace

Triumph Group designs, engineers, manufactures, repairs and overhauls a broad portfolio of aviation and industrial components, accessories, subassemblies, systems, and aircraft structures. We partner with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and operators of commercial, regional, business and military aircraft worldwide, to provide products and services that solve their hardest problems. So, whatever the part, component or complexity of assembly, Triumph Group is committed to quality, service and meeting the specialized needs of each customer.

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