Northstar Aerospace - Agile CAM Improves Manufacturing Versatility

“We love Mastercam because it gives us so much control over what we want to do and how we want to achieve it. Our parts are so irregular and Mastercam has lots of functions where you can edit right down to the point. It is very different from other CAM software where you kind of just get what they give you. ”

- Michael Peterson
CNC Programmer
Northstar Aerospace

Printable Profile

Northstar Aerospace (Duluth, MN) decided to upgrade its CAM capabilities with software that would allow the company to automate CNC programming generation to the greatest extent possible, establish a viable manufacturing strategy for parts in a virtual environment rather than on-machine, and resolve potential problems before the part was set up for manufacturing.

The Challenge

Make the transition from being strictly an aerospace shop to an agile, diversified manufacturer capable of handling projects of any size.

The Solution

Mastercam Mill Level 3 and Lathe

Benefits

Mastercam is easy to learn and use
Mastercam gives you the ability to control toolpaths at any level
Ability to resolve potential CNC manufacturing problems in a computer-simulated environment
Working from Parasolid models dramatically reduces programming time and prototype manufacturing lead times

Project Details

The company evaluated several CAM software alternatives and decided on Mastercam X2 Level 3 with solids (CNC Software, Tolland CT). Don Winberg, Director of Manufacturing for Northstar, explained that Mastercam with solids fit in very well at Northstar because their parts can be so irregular. They can import the solid model directly from whatever CAD program the customer is using and generate the toolpaths automatically. On the other hand, in the places where tight control is needed, the programmer can go in randomly and edit the toolpath down to the point, if necessary.

Northstar’s new CAM capabilities allowed it to quickly land a massive prototyping job making nearly 300 complex, irregularly shaped parts and delivering them in a matter of months. The company's main programmer, Michael Peterson said, "The idea was to have our customer receive parts as fast as possible but everything had to be right. By importing the solid model we could be sure we would not miss anything and the part would replicate the CAD model every time."

To handle the tsunami of parts coming its way, Northstar bought a second Mastercam seat and trained several others to bring in CAD models and automatically generate initial toolpaths. Peterson put in final touches and validated programs before sending then to the CNC machines. He said a number of Mastercam features were instrumental in expediting the programming, minimizing machining time and assuring that there were no programming errors that would result in scrap. These included High Speed Roughing, Work Coordinates, using Mastercam’s CAD capabilities to quickly design tooling and fixturing, backplot and verify to assure a crash-free manufacturing process that removes just the right amount of material everywhere on the part.

Winberg said, “The big thing we have learned from this and similar projects is that we can use the advanced CAM software to shorten our lead times and drive out engineering costs. So everything we do can be profitable, no matter what the volume. This has allowed us to compete for and win projects that call for shorter runs than we have been used to. Not all of the new work is related to aerospace manufacturing. For example, we are making medical device parts. Being able to diversify our customer base has allowed us to keep our people and equipment busier, and our project volume on an upward trajectory.