An Innovative Partnership: Saratech Teams up With Stretch Forming Corporation (SFC), Accelerating Aerospace Tooling Development.
Blog Article | February 21, 2024
In the ever-evolving landscape of aerospace manufacturing, innovation and collaboration have become the key drivers of success. Saratech proudly announces an exciting collaboration with Stretch Form Corporation (SFC), a shining example of how two companies, each excelling in their respective fields, can come together to create groundbreaking solutions. This article explores the journey of this dynamic partnership, highlighting its inception, success, and the potential it holds for the future of the aerospace industry.
About Saratech
Saratech provides engineering solutions that help companies develop better products. We specialize in engineering expertise, services, software, and manufacturing solutions to improve product development experiences. Our goal is to optimize engineering processes to accelerate product development and speed up time-to-market.
The Genesis of our Partnership
Our journey with SFC began with a chance meeting at the Paris Airshow. What started as a casual conversation about Saratech's success in 3D printing tooling quickly transformed into a strategic partnership. Within weeks, Saratech followed up with a visit to SFC's facility, leading to the creation of a game-changing collaboration.
SFC’s Challenges
SFC specializes in stretch forming where a piece of sheet metal is pulled over a forming tool, like a mold, and the metal takes on the shape of that tool. From there the excess material is trimmed off and the part is inspected before it’s sent to the customer. Many of the exterior pieces of any aircraft you look at today are made from this stretch forming process. In addition to stretch forming, SFC has several large CNC machines to cut parts for customers as well.
SFC faced challenges in the time-consuming and costly production of forming tools. Depending on the part, the tool may be created out of aluminum or Medium-density fiberboard (MDF). It takes time to setup the CNC machine to cut the part. This process ties up the machines by producing tooling instead of customer parts. SFC was limited in the amount of work they could take on due to the bottleneck of producing forming tools.
Advanced Manufacturing & 3D Printing Solutions
Saratech's expertise in engineering and 3D printing solutions became the catalyst for this collaboration. Our solution was to quickly create 3D CAD models from old drawings so that we could 3D print form tooling so that the form tools could be used in SFC’s forming machines to produce first time quality parts for inspection and delivery to their customers. We printed the tools using HP and BigRep print technology instead of machining them. Of course, our HP printer has a size limitation, but SFC had several parts that fit within the volume. We utilized BigRep for parts too large to fit the HP printer. We made the first tool for SFC, a small form block, and they were blown away by the results. Not only did the tool hold up to the strength needed to form metal, but it also met the dimensional accuracy needed, and most importantly was done in just 3 business days! We delivered a total of 22 forming tools in a span of about 2 months, which would have taken SFC at least 6 months using their traditional process. This success marked the beginning of a fruitful collaboration.
SFC had a customer deal for over 90 parts, which would have amounted to several months of lead time. However, we were able to produce the parts within 2-3 days per part, significantly speeding up their development process while meeting high-quality specifications. This accelerated process enabled SFC to revisit their aerospace customers and inform them that they now have the capability to handle a significantly larger workload than initially anticipated, thereby delivering more in less time.
Benefits of the Partnership
Reduction of Cycle Time, Production Lead Time, & Cost!
Recognizing the potential for a more extensive collaboration, Saratech and SFC are actively working to streamline processes, demonstrating a shared commitment to mutual success. The partnership enables us to utilize the best of both worlds: our technology, initiatives, and certifications, combined with SFC’s ability to machine and manufacture parts. We all agreed this is a really good relationship moving forward not only for 3d print, but for build to print, and part automation.
The collaboration's impact goes beyond revenue and efficiency gains. The partnership has successfully reduced the lead time of part creation from weeks to days, setting a new standard for the industry. This accelerated process empowers SFC to take on more work and positions them as a more agile and competitive player in the aerospace manufacturing sector.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the partnership between Saratech and Stretch Forming Corporation represents a paradigm shift in aerospace tooling development. From a chance encounter at the Paris Airshow to a strategic alliance, this collaboration has not only streamlined processes and reduced lead times but has also positioned SFC as a more agile and competitive force in the industry. By combining Saratech's advanced engineering and 3D printing solutions with SFC's expertise in stretch forming and machining, the partnership exemplifies the successful fusion of technology and manufacturing capabilities. This alliance, marked by its impressive reduction in cycle time, production lead time, and costs, sets a new industry standard and promises a future of continued innovation and success.