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EPM Engineering took a part concept and produced a
ProENGINEER® model of a 3 sand casting assembly that
reduced cost. As an additional benefit of the casting
process, surfaces were blended and shaped to improve the
appearance of the assembly at no additional part cost.
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EPM Engineering redesigned their weldment as a casting and supplied ProEngineer
solid models of the
machined casting for their engineering department to review. Casting the part allowed material to be added
locally for stiffening and machining finish without causing clearance issues. The heat-treated casting was also more
stable during machining, eliminating rejects due to part movement. The design was approved and the
production of castings was begun.
The final design reduced cost, reduced rejects, reduced weight, increased stiffness, improved appearance, and
simplified assembly.
The project was so successful that the next generation development went directly to castings during the design
stage.
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Working closely with the customer’s Engineering and Quality Control staff as well as the extruder, EPM
Machine and Engineering developed a system to qualify incoming stock and produce the highest ratio of raw
stock to finished parts, reducing scrap to less than 5% in the raw, un-machined state.
EPM Machine also developed fixturing that allowed the extrusions to be machined in a ‘relaxed’ state ensuring
that a part that was machined correctly would remain in spec when delivered.
The customer was so pleased with the results that EPM was given the entire order for the parts.
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An international medical equipment manufacturer had an existing product that was
breaking in normal use.
The 90-pound mobile device was constantly being loaded into ambulances and life flight
helicopters. Although handles had been included in the design for lifting the unit, the
device also included a handle that was only meant for positioning the equipment. The
location of this handle made it a natural choice for lifting the unit.
By the time 400 units had been put into service, most of the original plastic handles had
been broken and replaced numerous times.
Realizing that further redesigns of the plastic handle would not solve the problem, the
manufacturer contacted Everett Pattern & Manufacturing for help.
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The prototype of this 66” X 42” X 10” Robot Base was designed as a machined hog-out, starting from a block of aluminum weighing almost 2,300 pounds and ending as a 1,400 pound part. The designers knew this was not a practical approach for production and prototyped a polymer concrete version that showed promise, but had some production problems that could not be resolved after almost a year of development.
With time to production running short, they approached Everett Pattern & Manufacturing.
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A major semiconductor equipment manufacturer was developing an air handling system as
part of a new product and needed a 30-inch diameter inlet housing.
The assembly had been designed as a 30 inch OD by 4.5 inch deep, turned housing and a
machined tripod support that would be bolted together.
Everett Pattern was asked to quote on six of each part as hog-outs and realized that the
two were parts of an assembly. EPM proposed making these two parts in a single
machined casting.
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EPM was asked by one of it’s automotive tooling customers to solve a long standing problem, how to inspect
window trim in a production setting.
Conventional three-dimensional part measurement systems typically use a number of measurement stations
spaced along a part. The gauges are a significant part of the system cost and require constant monitoring to
assure their accuracy and proper functioning. Periodic certification of each gauge is necessary and each
gauge must be carefully set and read to ensure accurate results. Because of the lack of production hardening
of these systems measurements generally must be made off the production floor in a laboratory environment.
EPM was tasked with designing a hardened gauge that could be used by production personnel on the
assembly floor to spot check parts.
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