“We have recently secured a significant number of new hardware and services contracts from the U.S. Dept. of Defense and other related OEM manufacturers that required more manufacturing floor space to accommodate programs involving military equipment like tank components (turrets) and helicopters,” explains  Millard Jernigan, VP for special projects for Huntsville SES. “The helicopter work includes modification, upgrade, rebuild, and painting of all types of Army helicopters. In Huntsville, we have had a 61,000 sq ft manufacturing facility for the past 12 years, but we recently leased 500,000 sq ft of the old Dunlop Tire facility and have completely refurbished this space to handle some of our new programs.”

The space is completely heated, air-conditioned, and newly painted. Large milling machines and a large waterjet cutting machine with a 13 x 13 ft bed, capable of cutting up to 8-inch armor plate, were installed. The capital investment program included a large CMM to provide the high-quality inspection needed for checking large airframes.

tial initial;">Finding an ‘Xsperienced’ Machine

“We looked on the Internet and discovered Xspect Solutions, a company that not only sold new CMMs but had the capability to find us a pre-owned CMM,” Jernigan continues. “I think Xspect calls them ‘Xsperienced’ machines that could meet our needs at a significant savings. Keith Mills, Xspect Solution’s president, explained to us that in some cases older CMM frames were originally manufactured to more exacting standards than some of the newer machines, and with the right level of remanufacture can effectively operate for 15 to 20 more years. We asked Xspect Solutions to show us what they could do.”

“It wasn’t very difficult to find a pre-owned gantry CMM of the size that SES required, because there are only six of them here in the U.S.,” says Mills. “We were able to purchase an older DEA Lambda 5509 gantry machine that was originally owned by Caterpillar. This is a big CMM. It stands 300 in. high with a work envelope that includes X travel of 320 in., Y travel of 128 in., and Z travel of 100 in.”

Apart from going thoroughly through all the mechanics of the machine, Xspect rescaled it, replaced all of the original cables, retrofitted it with a new Wenzel CNC controller, and upgraded the software to OpenDMIS. In the end, SES had a like-new ‘Xsperienced’ gantry CMM with a savings of nearly 70% compared to the cost of a new machine.

CMM Raises the Roof

“Xspect Solutions provided us with a turnkey program for this project,” adds Jernigan. “We consulted with them on the specifications for the isolation pad that was required and the modifications to the building that we needed. We actually had to raise the roof of the building 11 ft to get the CMM in, and ultimately provided a new ceiling for the CMM area that was 11 ft higher than the original. We currently have our CMM technicians being trained on using the OpenDMIS software and creating the inspection programs we now need.

“We’ve used CMMs for a number of years, but nothing like the size of this gantry machine. But this capability now allows us to accurately inspect products like 9 ft diameter tank turrets and helicopter frames. The installation of this CMM provides SES the additional opportunity of offering quality measurement services to other commercial or government organizations.”