Machines, Service, and Support from Hartwig, Inc.

The Modig HHV3 (Horizontal High Velocity) Machining Center is a favorite among busy machine shops due to its improved machine times and efficacy with extrusion components. B&B Airparts, a precision machine shop in Wichita, Kansas, is in the process of integrating the Modig HHV into its vast equipment arrangement to level up its throughput serving the aerospace industry. 

Investment in Modig HHV3’s Spurs Growth

B&B has been experiencing rapid growth over the past two decades, and company founder Dan Barnard credits a portion of this success to their investment in the HHVs. They currently have purchased six; three are currently operating on the shop floor and another three will arrive in the fourth quarter of 2021, occupying an additional 10 acres of a massive expansion.

“We’re really excited about these machines,” said Barnard in a virtual sit-down with Hartwig and Modig. “It’s opened a lot of opportunities for us in aerospace and other sectors of manufacturing.”

The ability to offer more comprehensive machining and quality control services to a wider range of large airlines and aerospace manufacturers (Spirit and Gulfstream, to name two), B&B went from zero contracts five years ago to where they sit today at over 5,300 parts on long-term contracts and 8,586 active part numbers in full production. 

By 2022, the company will add an additional 115,000 square feet of manufacturing capacity to that 10-acre expansion. The new facility has been designed specifically around the new Modig HHV3 machines. In the future, that floor will hold upward of 18 machines to satisfy growth objectives into new sectors like automotive. 

The Draw to Modig

Larger aerospace customers meant larger parts, which led B&B to research what types of equipment they’d need to make those bigger and longer parts. 

They needed compact machines that could produce a lot more per square foot, and for that expertise, they turned to Hartwig. After discussing with their Hartwig team the challenges they were facing, we recommended the Modig HHV and brought in experts from their team to consult B&B on the implementation. With the details on run times and tool changes for the HHV, B&B knew they had the consultative partnership they needed to satisfy future parts and assemblies. 

As B&B’s director of product, Chad Tharp, put it: “We were seeing a lot of quotes for things we couldn’t do in-house, and we don’t like to outsource anything to another facility.” 

To learn more about B&B’s implementation of the Modig HHV3’s, check out the full case study.

If your organization is looking for versatile equipment and new sector opportunities, reach out to your Hartwig rep at info@Hartwiginc.com.

More About the Modig HHV3

Modig’s HHV3 is a universal machining center for bar or extrusion components. It is ideal for limited production runs, nesting, or high-volume production. Raw material is loaded from the left side into the machine, and the HHV3 automatically pulls the raw material into position for machining and delivers finished parts into a part catcher. Instead of cutting raw material into specific lengths, the HHV3 handles uncut bars and extrusions. The benefits of making many parts from the same-size bar or extrusion are reduced set-up time, no workholding, and a significant reduction in cycle time. Standard machining often requires multiple setups. The HHV3 machining parts complete in one set-up, with no workholding. The HHV3 can achieve up to 50% faster machining time over conventional processes, better than 95% machine up-time, and true lean and green production.

To learn more about the Modig HHV3 or to schedule a demonstration, connect with your Hartwig representative today!