Clevis Block

Here at Solutions Manufacturing we understand the importance of providing the “complete solution” to our customers manufacturing needs. This air cylinder clevis manufactured for the agricultural equipment industry is just one example of how our core machining capabilities, backed by our diverse value-added services has earned us a reputation for achieving project objectives as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The clevis was made of 12L14 steel with rough dimensions of 1.000” diameter x 1.750” long. The part called for multi-axis hole-drilling with a fully tapped 1/2”-20 thread and a 1/2” slot 1-1/8” deep. At a glance, one would think the part would best be produced by dropping it off complete in a multi-axis CNC turning center utilizing live tooling to perform the machining of the milled feature. At low volume that might be true, but with over 50,000 pieces EAU the project called for the use of a very efficient milling capacity.

Starting with 1” diameter material the turned blanks were produced on our extremely fast and accurate Takisawa 2-axis CNC turning center, equipped with a magazine bar feed and parts catcher for automatic operation. The large slot, the most demanding feature on the part, needed to be produced efficiently in order to drive the part cost down. We realized our customers cost objective by utilizing one of our geared-head Kitamura CNC machining centers to produce the slot feature as well as the 0.386” diameter perpendicular hole. The Kitamura was equipped with multi-station fixtures along with the necessary high-performance tooling to achieve the desired output. Our knowledgeable and experienced manufacturing engineering staff selected an aggressive 10 tooth carbide inserted slotting cutter and a special high penetration rate solid carbide drill to round out the process. The end result was a cost effective machining process that delivered speed and efficiency while maintaining quality and accuracy throughout the entire job.

But we weren’t finished there. After machining, the parts were deburred using a cost effective tumble deburr operation, case hardened to a case depth of .020”-.030” at RA 79 min., and finished with a commercial clear zinc plate, .0001” to .0003” thick. Finally, the parts were carefully packaged to prevent damage and in a specified carton size and quantity appropriate for direct use on our customer’s assembly floor.

Essentially, this customer could have used 4 different vendors in the production of this part, but because of our one-stop-shop service model at Solutions, we were the sole vendor. By supplying the finished product ready for the assembly floor, we removed the burdens of procurement, and lowered the customers operating costs.

To learm more about this project, or how we can put our manufacturing expertise to work for you, please see the chart below or contact us directly.