FRCSE installs spar mill to improve maintenance support to Fleet

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1 Backhoe Operator Andy Fontaine (left) and project supervisor Tim Alkire remove the floor in the FRCSE Manufacturing Division in preparation for laying the concrete foundation to support a state-of-the-art 143-ton milling machine. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- It took Fleet Readiness Center Southeast (FRCSE) more than six years to plan, purchase and install the $4.5 million gantry-style milling machine designed to fabricate large metal aeronautical components. The FRCSE Manufacturing Division s computer numerically controlled high-speed, 5-axis mill with its tilting head will fabricate 42-foot P-3 Orion wing spars, the main structural support in fixed-wing aircraft. The new mill replaces an antiquated Hydrotel mill the artisans used up until recently to mill the shorter F/A-18 Hornet wing spars. The 1986 machine has a 12-foot table, too short to mill spars for larger aircraft. Further, the machinist must change the cutting tools manually on the older model. Industrial Engineer George M. D Amato has been with the mill project since its inception. He worked closely with the Page 1 of 9

2 Spanish machine-tool manufacturing company to acquire the room-size machine that will produce one-of-a-kind or scarce parts and improve maintenance turnaround time to the Fleet. Currently, we are producing F/A-18 spars on an antique mill, he said. The new mill is under computer numerical control with an automatic tool changer that has 30 tools loaded into a magazine. The 50 horsepower spindle that holds the cutting tool spins up to 10,000 rpm. Before installation could begin, D Amato had to ensure the foundation would support the 143-ton machine. In February, Workers dug a hole 50 feet by 25 feet to a depth of nearly six feet. The opening required 120 cubic yards of concrete delivered by 12 cement trucks in March. In September, the machine left Spain by ship for the United States. Once in Florida, it took 14 flatbed trucks to haul 19 crates from the Jacksonville Port Authority to FRCSE. It took workers another two months to assemble the huge mill with its 31-foot table. In late November, contracted manufacturer technicians began the acceptance testing to determine deviations in the machine s performance, including safety and mechanical checks. They used a laser to verify the proper alignment of the moving components. Workers will cut a test part utilizing all five axes of motion. An independent laboratory will verify the dimensions and check the part against the Navy s performance specifications. Once the specifications are within tolerance, FRCSE artisans will train in the operation and maintenance of the machine, and production will begin. The first part milled will be a structural member of an F/A-18 fuselage called a former that is no longer available from commercial vendors. Page 2 of 9

3 In March, Industrial Engineer George D Amato stands in a hole measuring 50 feet by 25 feet with a depth of nearly six feet. When filled with concrete, it will serve as the foundation for a room-size spar mill. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) A subfloor constructed with 20-cubic yards of concrete dries in the FRCSE Manufacturing Division. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) Page 3 of 9

4 Workers weld steel reinforcements into the concrete foundation that will support an enormous high-speed 5-axis spar mill designed to fine-finish long aircraft parts. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) A room-size foundation with steel reinforcement awaits the wood framing needed before workers can perform a second concrete pour. The foundation will support a milling machine purchased from a Spanish manufacturing company. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) Page 4 of 9

5 Workers build wooden forms that will create voids in the concrete during the second application to match the exacting specifications for the spar mill. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) In April, workers apply a second layer of concrete to complete the foundation that will house a $4.5 million gantry-style mill. In all, workers poured 120-cubic yards of concrete. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) Page 5 of 9

6 The concrete foundation waits for the arrival of a milling machine that will manufacture aeronautical components, such as wing spars. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) In September, a 143-ton milling machine arrives disassembled in 19 crates at FRCSE. The civilian vendor shipped the mill from Spain by water to the Jacksonville Port Authority. Page 6 of 9

7 Installation begins in September on the spar mill that FRCSE artisans will use to fabricate large aeronautical components. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) It takes the prime contractor more than two months to assemble the 143-ton mill piece by piece. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) Page 7 of 9

8 Darin Nieman (left), the rigging company s president, and FRCSE Industrial Engineer George D Amato watch as a 45,000 pound cross rail is lowered inch by inch onto the massive carriage that will position the cutting tool during milling. (U.S. Navy photo by Marsha Childs/Released) In November, installers conduct laser alignment testing on the newly installed spar mill. (U.S. Navy photo by Vic Pitts/Released) Page 8 of 9

9 FRCSE Industrial Engineer George D Amato checks the cutting tool in the automated spindle that can rotate at 10,000 rpm, following a visual acceptance test to determine the machine s performance of the newly installed spar mill. (U.S. Navy photo by Marsha Childs) Page 9 of 9