St. Paul, MN (September 25, 2020 ) — Located in California, F&L Tool Corp. has operated as an industry leader in Precision Machining since 1972. F&L’s ability to meet extremely difficult customer requirements has enabled F&L to stay competitive for over 40 years.
F & L is a small business industry leader in Precision Machining, specializing in machining complex castings and parts made from raw material and forgings. This ability to manufacture extremely difficult customer requirements has enabled F & L to partner with the success of our customers.
F&L realized that the future of machining was 5-axis. Keeping their finger on the pulse of the industry, F&L Tool Corp. began shopping various machine options.
Although the world of 5-axis was foreign to the engineers at F&L, the commitment to superior quality carried over. With that in mind, they needed a machine that would allow them to complete the complex work they were aiming for, while holding tolerances for years to come.
This led them to a Matsuura 5-Axis MX-520 Vertical Machining Center.
With high-precision, performance, speed, accuracy and reliability, the MX-520 provides a simple, effortless and cost-effective transition for 3-Axis users making the transition to full 5-Axis operation. Matsuura’s MX-520 5-Axis Vertical Machining Center provides a simple, effortless and cost-effective transition for Three-Axis users making the transition to full Five-Axis operation.
The Matsuura MX-520 is designed with a RAM type structure, which offers a compact and highly-rigid machining platform. The machine guarantees high rigidity, as well as, a generous machining envelope with excellent operability. The MX-520 also offers an assortment of configurations, which are ideal for all applications, all industries and all materials.
The headstock and trunnion on the MX-520 have been configured to minimize collision while maximizing tool access and reach. The MX-520 is offered with two table sizes: 11.81 in. and 19.68 in. (option). Loading capacity is 440 lb.
Although Production Engineer Ryan Lacroix was happy with their choice of machine, they ran into issues when coming across a part that was almost too big for the machine to handle. The location of the spindle on the MX-520 allowed F&L to mill on one side of the component, flip around the C-axis and get a larger work envelope.
The issue was that Mastercam did not support this, and at the time, neither did TruePath. When Ryan Lacroix reached out about this, CAMplete saw his issues and acted.
This was a defining moment for Ryan, noting the importance of support in this industry while praising the support staff at CAMplete. He followed up on this by later adding that “In this industry, support is almost more important than the product. All of these products are complex, and without good support, you are dead in the water.”
The biggest factor for Ryan Lacroix is the fact that CAMplete TruePath has allowed them to become more competitive, taking on work that they would otherwise be unable to. As F&L Tool continues to take on increasingly challenging projects, they have recognized the need to add additional machines.
By choosing a machine that is already supported by CAMplete, F&L Tool has a software solution ready to run from day one.
CAMplete, a perfected Post and Simulation Tool comes standard on all Matsuura 5-axis machines. CAMplete TruePath bridges the gap between your CAM Systems and your Matsuura Machine. TruePath provides flexibility to combine CAM Systems in a single project and transfer an entire project from one supported machine to another.
CAMplete works closely with Matsuura, using machine models built directly from their original design data. These highly detailed and fully integrated machine models provide confidence in the simulation.
Learn more about F&L’s equipment and capabilities on their website: https://fltcorp.com/
Thank you to CAMplete for this customer testimonial. Learn more about CAMplete at https://camplete.com/
Machinery USA, Inc., located in St. Paul, MN is the U.S. subsidiary of Matsuura Machinery Corporation in Japan. Since 1935, Matsuura has been the forerunner in designing innovative technology and manufacturing solutions to a variety of industries around the globe. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. delivers unmatched excellence in 5-axis, vertical, horizontal, linear motor, multi-tasking CNC machine tools and machines with a powder bed metal AM platform with machining capability. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. provides the service, applications and technical field support that have always been the Matsuura standard for business. For more information on Matsuura products, contact: [email protected].