Blog - CNC Industries

CNC Industries partners with Stanford MU Corp.

Press Release

CNC Industries is excited to announce the addition of its newest manufacturing partner Stanford Mu Corporation. Stanford Mu Corporation is located in Carson, California. This company is an international leader in the field of propulsion systems regulators for satellites, spacecraft, transfer and launch vehicles. They are also the preferred supplier of PMA parts, maintenance, overhaul and repair services to the Airborne Industry. PMA also known as parts manufacturer approval is an approval granted by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Stanford Mu Corporation also has an FAA certification for its repair facility with PMA & DER (designated engineering representative) parts and components.

CNC Industries is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana and is a highly specialized CNC machining house that focuses on precision machining, rapid product development, and assembly of component parts for the Aerospace, Defense, Industrial, and Medical markets. Our vertical and horizontal milling centers have the ability to machine 3, 4 and 5 axis parts as well as our 2 to 7-axis turning and turn/mill centers. We excel at complex component parts and tight tolerances. We can handle making parts from various types of materials such as aluminum, steel, stainless steel, copper, brass and other materials. Our company was established in 1995 and continues to grow into the new addition of its 21,000 square foot expansion of its building that was completed in 2012. We currently have a total manufacturing floor space of 57,000 square feet and are aggressively looking for continued growth and further expansion.

This partnership is an ideal fit for both companies as the commitment to quality is top priority. Couple the past experiences with manufacturing excellence in the aerospace industry and CNC Industries familiarity with such components and this partnership will no doubt prove to be both beneficial and long term. If you have any machining or manufacturing needs please feel free to contact David Ratliff at CNC Industries for a quote today or to simply learn more about what CNC Industries can offer its manufacturing partners.

February 26th, 2015|

CNC Industries partners with Antenna Research Associates

Press Release

CNC Industries is excited to announce the addition of its newest manufacturing partner Antenna Research Associates. Antenna Research Associates (ARA) which is located in Beltsville, Maryland is a world class supplier of RF and antenna systems to the military, commercial and EMC markets. ARA supplies antennas for Communication Networks, RF Surveillance, RF Jamming, Public Safety Networks, and Civilian markets. Antenna Research Associates have been making both large and smaller orders for many projects and platforms for over 50 years. ARA’s strength is in the ability to design, develop and manufacture products that meet or exceed the end customer’s requirements. They are best known for their commitment to quality from their products which serve both civilian customers and save military lives.

CNC Industries is located in Fort Wayne, Indiana and is a highly specialized CNC machining house that focuses on precision machining, rapid product development, and assembly of component parts for the Aerospace, Defense, Industrial, and Medical markets. Our vertical and horizontal milling centers have the ability to machine 3, 4 and 5 axis parts as well as our 2 to 7-axis turning and turn/mill centers. We excel at complex component parts and tight tolerances. We can handle making parts from many types of materials such as aluminum, steel, stainless steel, copper, brass and other materials. Our company was established in 1995 and continues to grow into the new addition of its 21,000 square foot expansion of its building that was completed in 2012. We currently have a total manufacturing floor space of 57,000 square feet and are aggressively looking for continued growth and further expansion.

This partnership is an ideal fit for both companies as the commitment to quality is top priority. Couple the past experiences with manufacturing excellence in the electronics industry and CNC Industries familiarity with such components and this partnership will no doubt prove to be both beneficial and long term. If you have any machining or manufacturing needs please feel free to contact David Ratliff at CNC Industries for a quote today or to simply learn more about what CNC Industries can offer its manufacturing partners.

February 11th, 2015|

Locally Made TV Spot

“Locally Made Monday” on WFFT recently came out to do a TV shoot of the shop… Just as in our industry, the news media have become very lean. Instead of two or three people coming out for the shoot as in days gone by, it was one person who does everything himself – shooting, interviewing, editing and producing…

The image below is of Steven Deam, President of CNC Industries being interviewed by Andrew Logsdon of WFFT, Fort Wayne.

Below is a shot of Andrew filming a CMM measuring a part.

And a shot of Steve Deam Jr. and David Ratliff, a salesman for CNC Industries discussing a part.

Here’s the spot…

October 9th, 2014|

Fuselage Support for T-38 Talon

We recently shipped a sizable batch of fuselage supports for the Northrop T-38 Talon.

Northrop T-38-Talon

Obviously the fuselage supports are a very critical component of this trainer aircraft. The complexity of the parts presented several manufacturing challenges.

These fuselage supports started off as a solid block of 7000 series aluminum alloy. It was determined in a pre-flight meeting that the best way to machine these would be in a 4-axis machining center.

CNC Industries 4-Axis machining

One of the main challenges for parts like this is minimizing part distortion that results from internal stresses in the raw 7075 aluminum material. As material is removed, internal stresses begin to release which can lead to severe distortions in the part if the stresses are not managed. Since we have extensive experience with machining this material we anticipated how the part would react and planned our machining operations accordingly. The final parts are well within all required specifications and were immediately approved by inspectors for the Defense Logistics Agency.

Northrop T-38 fuselage supports

To insure safe arrival we individually packaged the high-value parts inside custom made cardboard boxes and then nested the boxes inside a wooden crate.

Northrop T-38 fuselage supports being packaged for shipment

A few tidbits about the T-38…

The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twin-engine supersonic jet trainer. It was the world’s first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2013 in air forces throughout the world.

The United States Air Force (USAF) is on of the largest operators of the T-38. The T-38 is also used by NASA and the US Naval Test Pilot School is the primary US Navy operator. Pilots of other NATO nations fly the T-38 in joint training programs with USAF pilots.

As of 2012, the T-38 has been in service for over 50 years with the USAF.

December 9th, 2013|

A recent part for the B-1B bomber

We recently completed a first article part for the B-1 bomber. Once the fit and function are performed we will be producing several batches of this part.

Our understanding is that this component is part of the rudder assembly for the aircraft. This part was machined form solid 7000 series aluminum and presented several machining challenges which had to be managed. One of the main challenges is controlling the physical stresses that are created by the extrusion or forging processes. As material is removed the stresses can become unbalanced and create distortion in the part being produced. In this case, because of the thin walls involved the distortion could have become quite extreme.

Since we have a lot of experience machining 7000 series aluminum we were able to keep distortion under control. After going through several carefully planned roughing operations the final finishing operation was performed with a highly customized fixture designed to fully support the thin webbing. The finished parts that we produced are well within the required specifications.

Here are a few tidbits about the B-1B:

The B-1B is a multi-role, long-range bomber, capable of flying intercontinental missions without refueling, then penetrating present and predicted sophisticated enemy defenses. It can perform a variety of missions, including that of a conventional weapons carrier for theater operations.

The swing-wing design and turbofan engines not only provide greater range and high speed at low levels but they also enhance the bomber’s survivability. Wing sweep at the full-forward position allows a short takeoff roll and a fast base-escape profile for airfields under attack. Once airborne, the wings are repositioned for maximum cruise distance or high-speed penetration.

Numerous sustainment and upgrade modifications are ongoing or under study for the B-1B aircraft. A large portion of these modifications which are designed to increase the combat capability are known as the Conventional Mission Upgrade Program. The Air Force initiated to improve the B-1’s conventional war-fighting capabilities. The $2.7 billion CMUP program is intended to convert the B-1B from a primarily nuclear weapons carrier to a conventional weapons carrier.

November 18th, 2013|Tags: B-1B, CNC machining|

Our latest acquisition

CNC Industries located in Fort Wayne, Indiana is proud to announce the addition of a brand new Haas VF5 Vertical Milling Center to its lineup of machines. This addition will also allow CNC Industries to increase its capabilities and overall size of component parts that they manufacture. The Haas VF5 has a table size of 60” x 26” x 25”. The new machine will be utilized for several new contracts that the company has been recently awarded from the US Department of Defense. This new machine will give the company a total of 36 high speed CNC mills and lathes.

CNC Industries focuses on manufacturing component parts made of aluminum, steel, copper, brass and other materials. These parts are for variety of different industries including aerospace, defense, industrial, medical, and specialty automotive. The company was established in 1995 and continues to grow into the new addition of its 21,000 square foot expansion of its building that was completed one year ago. It currently has a total manufacturing floor space of 51,000 square feet and it is aggressively looking for continued growth and further expansion. If you have any machining or manufacturing needs please feel free to contact David Ratliff at CNC Industries for a quote today.

September 17th, 2013|

CNC Industries is featured in Modern Machine Shop

CNC Industries is featured in the March issue of Modern Machine Shop magazine. Titled “Adapting to Aerospace Change” the article talks about how the changing demands of aerospace companies have prompted machine shops such as CNC Industries to evolve their processes and equipment to become more competitive. Click the image below to read the article…

March 4th, 2013|

A complex part manufactured by CNC Industries

This is a fairly large, complex part which we manufactured for the U.S. Navy. It is part of a torpedo housing.

The part is approximately 24” long by 13” diameter and was machined from solid aluminum bar.

Click the image for a larger view.

This part presented a number of manufacturing challenges. As can be seen, the part has numerous external and internal features requiring a large amount of CNC programming. Once the outside and inside profile of the part was turned on a CNC lathe, the rest of the work was performed on 4 & 5 axis CNC machining centers.

Machining the features on the outside of the part was fairly straight-forward. Machining the profiles on the inside of the part was much more challenging. Many of the features were very deep in the part requiring a large amount of machine travel as well as many very long tools. Some of the internal features required an elaborate setup to be able to machine them at right angles to the bore of the part.

Complex part for the U.S. Navy

As can be imagined, inspecting the part was extremely time consuming and quite challenging as well. The government inspector who needed to sign off on it was quite impressed with the finished part!

November 19th, 2012|

Our expansion is complete!

The 22,000 sq. ft. expansion that we began in January of this year is now complete. For this project we chose Briner Building, Inc. out of Bluffton, Indiana. We have been extremely pleased with their performance on this project.

Phase one of this building, which was constructed in 2001, is filled to capacity with equipment and projects. We estimate that this additional space will allow us to double the amount of business volume that we can handle.

We are now ready to start filling this space with new manufacturing equipment. If you purchase custom machined and/or assembled components, please contact us for any upcoming projects that you may have. We look forward to establishing custom-tailored manufacturing solutions for your parts.

(Click either image for a larger view)

August 21st, 2012|

Our expansion is on-schedule…

Things are moving along very nicely with our expansion.

The weather has been so nice, the builder is running a couple weeks ahead of schedule. The above shot was taken a few weeks ago.

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This shot was taken yesterday. The additional floor space will almost double the amount of manufacturing space that we currently have.

Initially much of the new floor space will be available for new business. We are currently in talks with several new customers and expect to quickly start filling this space with brand-new CNC machining cells designed specifically for their work.

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If you would like to put the productivity and dependable quality performance of CNC Industries to work on your parts, please give us a call. We are accepting new business!

Once this space is filled, we have our eyes on a larger lot right across the street!

(You can click any image for a larger view)

May 16th, 2012|