GF AgieCharmilles Customer Wins First NTMA Technology Award

GF AgieCharmilles has announced that the National Tooling & Machining Association (NTMA) recently honored Homeyer Tool & Die Automation (Marthasville, MO) with the first annual Excellence in Manufacturing Technology Award.

Nominees for the inaugural award were selected from NTMA members that submitted examples of how manufacturing technology enabled them to become more efficient or competitive. Homeyer Tool & Die Automation was selected based on the technical merit of tools and technologies used to solve a quality issue for the military.

"Representatives from the United States Armed Forces came to us after encountering complications with the aiming systems of their Howitzers," said Herb Homeyer, President, Homeyer Tool & Die Automation. "We realized that the systems were using conventionally machined bronze gears that were cracking and causing malfunctions."

The manufacturer found a harder material and machined it using a GF AgieCharmilles Progress 2 wire EDM instead of traditional milling and broaching methods.

"By using wire EDM, we were not only able to maintain perpendicularity and parallelism but also hold tolerances of +/- .0005 in with absolutely no scrap," said Sean Mundy, Wire EDM Specialist, Homeyer Tool & Die Automation. "The machine's treading capabilities allowed for long, uninterrupted burning cycles, and the use of a System 3R WorkPal provided countless hours of unattended machining. As a result, we improved our productivity and profitability, and received more work from the customer."

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