Wire-cutting, die-sinking, hole-drilling EDM

Founded in Rockford, Illinois, in 1870 as The Woodward Governor Co., Woodward is the world’s oldest and one of the largest independent designers, manufacturers, and service providers of control systems and their components for aircraft engines, industrial engines and turbines, power generation, and mobile industrial equipment.

Nearly 150 years after company founder Amos T. Woodward earned a patent for his mechanical non-compensating waterwheel governor, a device to regulate the speed of waterwheels and turns, that legacy of innovation is alive and well at Woodward. “Always innovating for a better future,” is at the core of their brand story. Woodward designs, manufactures, and services a wide range of products, including fuel pumps, engine controls, actuators, air valves, fuel nozzles, and electronics.

With about 7,500 people across more than 25 locations in 14 countries worldwide, Woodward reported 2014 net sales of $2 billion. The company’s systems control aircraft engines for the aerospace industry heavyweights, including General Electric, Boeing, Safran, UTC, Honeywell, Rolls Royce, Bell, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon.

Geoff Anderson, director of manufacturing with Woodward, says GF Machining Solutions’ wire-cutting, die-sinking, and hole-drilling EDM technologies – along with application expertise and customer service – are important assets to the company.

“Our relationship with GF Machining Solutions began in July 2012. We had hired a new manufacturing engineer with a lot of EDM experience. He was able to make our EDM machines from a former supplier more productive, but when it was time for us to expand our EDM capacity, he kicked off an effort to look at new resources,” says Anderson who, like Woodward’s founder, began his career as a machinist. “He led a team that looked at several EDM supply partners and proved, working with GF Machining Solutions, that the same parts we had been producing with our old machines could be made in a more productive manner on AgieCharmilles EDM machines.”

Attacking new parts in different ways

Woodward now uses GF Machining Solutions EDM technology as its preferred machine of choice.

“What differentiated GF Machining Solutions initially was productivity. But as we signed a long-term contract for all of North America and our new Rock Cut (Illinois) Campus (RCC), it became service, the complete offering, and our experience working with the whole team,” Anderson says. “Application support is particularly valuable to us. We work with GF Machining Solutions to attack new parts in different ways. For example, an automated or semi-automated process capability allows us to better allocate our labor resources and to better control the process.”

Innovation answers, technical challenges

Anderson says tight tolerances and recast layer are among the EDM technical challenges Woodward faces, and GF Machining Solutions answers.

“We achieve minimal recast layer and extremely tight tolerances,” he explains.

At its facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, Woodward uses AgieCharmilles die-sinking EDM to burn openings in fuel metering spool valves. Two Cut 200 Sp machines comprise a cell producing small links and levers for fuel metering devices in its Loves Park, Illinois, facility. In July 2015, Woodward opened its new 450,000ft2 Rock Cut Campus facility just a few miles from where the company’s founder set the wheels of innovation in motion. GF Machining Solutions is there, too. A Drilll 300 will be used to create starting holes for fuel-metering spool valves, and a Cut 200 Sp will burn metering ports in those valves. Two System 3R linear Transformer cells will ensure autonomy and flexibility for an additional product line, where Woodward has a takt time of minutes.

GF Machining Solutions

www.gfms.com

Woodward Inc.

www.woodward.com