It is curious to observe how a single drop of innovation can fall here or there on the globe, run off to join others, and eventually converge into the modern sea of technology. Since 1884, many such droplets can be traced from doors of Cincinnati Machine. But some 60 miles north of Cincinnati in Dayton, OH, surely another one or two fell on Ernie Fraze in 1959.

Reportedly, he found himself at a family picnic on a hot summer day with a cold can of beer but no opener. The frustration of the moment apparently prompted Fraze, the founder of Dayton Reliable Tool & Mfg. Co. (DRT), to begin pondering a way to produce a can that needed no opener. By 1963 he had refined his design and produced the first "easy open" can, featuring the ring-pull tab. The design, which was initially marketed by the Iron City Brewery in Pittsburgh, immediately won acceptance with the general public. For this achievement, he made Time Magazine's list of the business geniuses of the 20th Century.

The easy-to-learn and easy-to-use GE Fanuc 18 iCNC on the Arrow VMC-1250 ensures that Dayton Reliable Tool operators spend more time cutting than learning complex control systems.

Since the 1960s, Dayton Reliable has maintained its global leadership in the field of producing advanced precision tooling to serve the can making industry. In today's world, approximately 200 billion cans are produced each year for beers, soft drinks, and juices; the vast majority of them with easy open ends. By itself, the United States consumes some 100 billion drink cans, requiring 20 percent of all the aluminum produced in the world.

The Cincinnati Machine VMCs produce the tooling for the easy open can end system that Dayton Reliable ships around the world as well as spare parts for the tooling system.

Supplying the advanced precision tooling to accomplish that scoring, forming, and tab attaching is the primary bread-and-butter of DRT. And five Cincinnati Machine Arrow series vertical machining centers are employed in the production of that tooling. The five VMC's, all purchased within the last 18 months, are each equipped with a GE Fanuc 18i control, and located at the Dayton facility.

Meeting High Expectations

Cincinnati Arrow VMCs are meeting those needs.

"We've found the equipment to be a good combination of precision and rigidity, and have been given good service in a short time frame," said Tarvin. "The machines have been very reliable, with virtually no down time in the past eighteen months."

With regard to DRT's easy-open can end systems, the VMC's are used "to produce the tooling for both the system and the spare parts for those tooling systems that DRT ships around the world," Tarvin explained.

The verticals are called on to machine various types of tool steel, such as A2, D2, CPM4 and CPM 10V. The lot sizes are very low, usually, one to 10, and the size of the parts on the different machines may vary from a 2" x 2" piece of tool steel to a part 18" by 30" long. Most of work is done at comparably low rpm of 2,000 to 3,000 and at high torque, he continued.

"We have four station rotaries, Tarvin noted. "We can load and rotate four parts at a time. We also have the standard 21-station carousel tool changer. And the options that we put on them are the laser tool setter, the spindle probe, and 4th axis."

The Arrow VMCs machine a variety of tool steel, such as A2, D2, CPM4 and CPM 10V.

The laser tool setter and spindle probe referred to by Tarvin are the Renishaw NC-1 Laser Tool Setting System, and the Renishaw MP700 Spindle Probe, used for parts inspection while on the machine. These state-of-the-art options, available on Cincinnati machines, are supplied from Renishaw, another ground-breaking firm that has revolutionized the use of co-ordinate measuring machines for post-process inspection of manufactured components.

The NC-1 tool setting system is triggered by the formed tool moving through and breaking a laser beam, and thereby locating the tool, or detecting a broken tool. The presence of a broken tool, or the position of the tip, tooth, or cutting edge can be established at normal spindle cutting speeds. Errors caused by radial run-out of the tool and tool holder can be identified and compensated for.

Five Cincinnati Machine Arrow VMCs, each equipped with a GE Fanuc 18i CNC, provide the advanced precision machining Dayton Reliable Tool demands.

Besides being employed on the can end systems, DRT also uses the Cincinnati machines to machine production components for the gas turbine engines.

For instance, Tarvin said the Arrow VMC's were used to produce stainless steel locking parts, "they're odd shaped, anywhere from roughly 2" x 2" x 0.5", up to 6" in length...small components." Naturally, they fit in with the high precision, tight tolerance, complex geometry work at which DRT excels.

And, one would expect, Ernie Fraze would raise a beer can to that.