Success Stories: Bell Helicopter
In 2007, the Bell Helicopter Drive Systems Center had maxed out their machining capacity, yet delivery pressures for the V-22 continued to mount. Manufacturing engineers could not make process improvements without the risk of adversely affecting delivery target dates; instead, they had to find a way to achieve higher productivity levels using existing equipment. Bell decided to investigate whether NC program optimization software could help them close the gap.
The Test Part
The V-22 carrier component was selected as a representative test part due to its high percentage of material removal (nearly 30 percent) and challenging workpiece material (titanium forging).
The Approach
- TWS staff train Bell Helicopter NC programmers and engineers on Production Module capabilities.
- Bell staff team optimize V-22 carrier’s roughing operations using Production Module’s load-leveling approach: spikes reduced, low forces raised.
- TWS and Bell conduct machining trial to validate optimization results and ensure part quality and tool performance have been maintained.
The Results
- Machining time reduced by 30% for test part
- Bell Helicopter purchased six seats of Production Module and have since upgraded to add six seats of the software’s NX interface
- Production Module software used for program-wide analysis of approximately 250 V-22 components, as a V-22 Cost Reduction Initiative
- To date, an average of 25% cycle time reduction achieved on V-22 components
- Tool life and wear resistance improved
- Highest return on investment of any V-22 Cost Reduction Initiative
