volume 2

number 7

fall ’98

coverstoryMachining For Life – Dr. Robert Jarvik‘s Latest Life-Saving Innovation

featuresHaas Automation CelebratesIts 15th Anniversary

KB Golf May Truly Be The Mouse That Roared

Apprentice Program’s Forward Thinking Yields a Brighter Future

Wye/Delta Technology Explained

HRE Performance Wheels –Machining Pieces Of Perfection

I remember the excitement as wegathered to take photos of the prototypeVF-l as it was loaded on the truck andsent down the road to Chicago. I don’tthink any of us realized the floodgateswe were opening. We were just a smallgroup manufacturing CNC indexersand rotary tables in a 20,000-square-foot shop in Sun Valley, California. Saleswere less than $5 million a year.

By the end of June 1989, 10customers had purchased the newmachining centers and agreed to be testsites. By the end of 1989, an additional27 customers had taken delivery of HaasVF-1s. I think we especially owe a debtof gratitude to those first customers,because they helped us improve theproduct initially. Every new machineshipped incorporated upgrades andrefinements resulting from thesuggestions and requests of thoseowners. This program of continuousimprovement quickly became amainstay at Haas, and is still evidenttoday in every product we build.

The early success of the VF-1 led toour customers asking for machines “a little bigger,” and then “just a littlebigger,” until the product line expandedto include the machines you see today –

from the compact VF-E to the giganticVB-l (the 5-axis bridge mill launched atIMTS 98). Our customers asked for ahorizontal, so we designed the HS-lseries, the HS-2 series and now the HS-3. “What about turning?” some ofour customers asked, so we developedthe HL series. Thanks for asking!

We not only owe a special “thank-you” to the original Haas owners, but toall the owners of the 17,500 CNCmachines, and more than 24,000 rotaryproducts, now in use worldwide. Wethank you for your support andcontinuous feedback, and for having the confidence inour products to

make them the number one sellingmachine tools in the USA.

On this 10th anniversary, kudosmust go out to our distributors, whohave risen to the occasion each andevery year. They have expanded theirorganizations to meet our customers’expectations in sales, service andapplications. And we would be remiss ifwe didn’t also thank all of our suppliers,who have stretched and strained tomeet our production schedules as thedemand for Haas products skyrocketed.

Last, but certainly not least, I wantto thank all of the people at Haas, whohave exceeded all of our expectationsthrough the meteoric rise of thecompany. From the first move toChatsworth in 1992, through the 1994earthquake, and on to last year’s moveto our new 420,000-square-foot facilityin Oxnard (now 620,000 square feet),everyone on the Haas team has sharedin the triumphs and survived thedisasters. They made it all possible.

As I listed the groups above (andprobably missed a few), I couldn’t helpbut remember that these groups aremade up of individuals who havepushed the envelope, and helped make“Made in America” something to beproud of once more.

THE MASTHEADCNC Machining is published by Haas Automation, Inc., 2800 Sturgis Road, Oxnard, CA93030 • 805-278-1800, Fax 805-988-6918. Postmaster: Return invalid addresses to HaasAutomation, 2800 Sturgis Road, Oxnard, CA 93030-8933 postage guaranteed. CNCMachining is distributed free of charge by Haas Automation, Inc., and its authorized distributors. CNC Machining accepts no advertising or reimbursement for this magazine.All contents of CNC Machining are Copyright © 1998 and may not be reproduced without written permission from Haas Automation, Inc. CNC Machining is distributedthrough a worldwide network of Haas Automation Distributors, and by individual subscription request. Contact Haas Automation headquarters via mail or fax to be addedto subscription list. Published quarterly. © Haas Automation, Inc. & CNC MachiningMagazine names. Designed and Printed in the U.S.A. www.HaasCNC.com

On the CoverAn early stator blade design for the Jarvik2000 heart pump. Components are five-axismachined out of titanium on Haas VMCs.

Inset: Dr. Robert Jarvik with the Jarvik 2000heart pump.

Photos: Scott Rathburn

IN T

HIS

IS

SU

E MACHINING> CONTENTS

volume 2 > number 7 > fall ’98

COVERSTORYFEATURES

HRE Performance Wheels . . . . . . . . . . 25

KB Golf – The Mouse That Roared . . . . 10

PRODUCTUPDATE

The VB-1 – New Haas Bridge Mill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

The HS-3R – Tried and True HMC Gets Bigger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

INDUSTRYNEWS

Y2K – Your Haas is Ready . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Haas Automation Keeps Growing and Growing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Trade Show Calendar . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

RACINGREPORT

Sponsorship Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Off-Road Victory in Baja . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

SHOPTALKHaas Helps Students Get a Head Startin the Machining Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

BC Duo – Taking Chances Pays Off Big . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Wye Delta – explained . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22

EDITORIAL

Ten Years of Excellence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

15 Years of The Real Thing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Dr. Robert Jarvik, a leader in the field of artificialheart research, displays his latest heart pump. TheJarvik 2000 is a miniature axial-flow blood pumpthat is implanted directly into the left ventricle of thehuman heart.

12.Photo: Scott Rathburn

> EDITORIALDenis Dupuis General Manager, Haas Automation

This issue’s editorial was going to be the last of my four-partseries on managing a business as I see it. But then I realized this September is the 10th anniversary of the

introduction of the first Haas CNC machining center. The VF-1 wasintroduced to the world in 1988 at IMTS in Chicago. Ten years is along time, yet it seems like yesterday. A lot has happened to HaasAutomation since then, and I hope you will bear with me while Ireflect a little on the past ten years.

FALL 1998 1

A lot’s happened inthe last ten years

2 CNC MACHINING FALL 1998 3

PACWEST RACING GROUP

CART competition finds thePacWest team of Blundell (#18) andGugelmin (#17) fighting developmentalgremlins as new rules, engines andsuspension components tax the team’sperformance. New aerodynamicdevices designed to slow the terminalvelocity of the high-performance open-wheeled racers will likely guarantee“Big Mo’s” place in the CaliforniaSpeedway record books with theultimate fast lap of 240.942 mph setduring last year’s qualifying.

In Indy Lights competition, DidierAndre (#18) continues to addchampionship points to his credit as hemaintains his top-five standings in thePPG-Dayton series.

HENDRICK MOTORSPORTS

Jeff Gordon (#24) continues to holdcourt over the four-door doorless Fords,staying on top of the series pointsstandings with consistent top-tenfinishes bolstered by meticulousmachinery and quick pit stops. WallyDallenbach, Jr., is slated to finish out theyear in car #50 with numerous top tenfinishes already on the books. “Texas”Terry Labonte (#5) is keeping his MonteCarlo in the top ten of the points race,showing that Chevy is still a majorfactor on the Good Ol’ Boys circuit.

In NASCAR truck competition,Jack Sprague (#24) is keeping his Chevypickup at the lead of the points race, andrewarded his new primary sponsor,GMAC Financial Services, with a win at

California Speedway. The victory wasSprague’s eighth career super speedwaywin. “Mile Track” Jack hopes to becomethe first repeat winner of the truckseries, having won last year’s series andnow leading the standings in this year’scompetition.

C&C MOTORSPORTS

Dirt diggers Custer and Cline areputting the pedal down hard andbringing home the gold with first placefinishes at a number of racing venues.

Custer’s SCORE off-road racingpickup truck scored a first-in-classvictory on its first-ever outing in theBaja 500. Not bad for a shakedowncruise! Preparation continues for theBaja 1000 in November.

Cline had the sellout crowds ontheir feet and cheering at Perris Auto

Speedway as he out -dragged thecurrent points leader in SCRAcompetition and won the prestigious4th of July race. Witnesses say this wasby far the most exciting race of the dirttrack season, as Troy “Hotfoot” Clineled 22 laps of the 30-lap main event onlyto find his #11 sprinter three car lengthsbehind as he entered the final turn of thefinal lap. He dove to the inside of theturn and drove home the winner beforethe largest crowd of the season!

DANZE RACING

Sporting fresh paint and runningless than a half-second off the class recordat Willow Springs Raceway is the DanzeRacing Indycar Racing Series entrydriven by Alex Danze, general manager

of Innovative Metal DesignsIncorporated. Formerly driven by JohnAndretti against his father and twobrothers in the 1991 Indianapolis 500race, this Buick-powered Lola is capable of speeds in excess of 215 mph.Danze’s shop runs seven Haas CNCsaround the clock, and he hopes to runhis Lola to victory in the highly-competitive Indycar Series.

INDUSTRY NEWS < > RACE REPORT

Continued expansion at Haas Automation, Inc.

By the time you read this a new 200,000-square-footaddition to the Haas Automation facility in Oxnard, California –affectionately dubbed Haas II – will be complete.

The foundation for the new building was poured inJune, and the walls were tilted up in a mere four days duringthe second week of August. Plans are to have machinerymoved in as soon as October.

Haas II will be used to expand existing production linesand increase machine shop capabilities, as well as house onemonth’s supply of finished machine stock to speedshipments to customers.

Already the largest machine tool builder in the UnitedStates based on unit production, this expansion will alsomake Haas Automation the largest machine tool builderbased on square footage for a single facility.

Year 2000? Y2K? Are You Ready?

As the new millennium fast approaches, there seems tobe much worry about what will happen when all the internalcalendars in all the computers in all the world reach thatmagical number: 00. The year 2000, the dawn of a new age,Armageddon.

Fear not, ye owners of Haas machine tools. Thou shalt notbe subjected to the wrath of the Almighty Double Zero. EveryHaas machine from the dawn of time (or at least the dawn ofHaas Automation) has utilized an internal calendar with four,count ’em four, places to enumerate the year. Unlike those whofailed to plan for the future, there’ll be no double zero here inthe land of Haas. No! It will be the year 2000, with all theappropriate numbers in all the appropriate places.

So, while the rest of the world cowers with fear as theirclocks tick toward January 1, 2000, those smart enough tobuy a Haas will just keep on making parts.

Avirtual gridfull of racecars and trucks arecarrying the Haas Automation logo intocompetition throughout the racing world. From

international CART competition to dirt-slinging SCOREand SCRA entries, Haas-sponsored vehicles havegathered a fair share of checkered flags this season.

Joe Custer pilots the C&C MotorsportsSCORE off-road truck to a first-in-classvictory in the Baja 500

TRADE SHOW CALENDAR ’98-’99MTA ’98 Nov. 17 - 21, 1998 The largest machine tool & metalworking show in S. E. Asia.

Singapore

PRI ’98 Dec. 3 - 5, 1998 Buyers from around the world come to see what’s new in Indianapolis, IN hardcore racing products

Orlando ’99 APEX Jan. 19 - 21, 1999 The premier manufacturing exposition in Florida during ’99. Orlando, FL

Greenville, APEX ’99 Jan. 26 - 28, 1999 New show. Metalworking equipment and accessories.Greenville, NC

WESTEC ’99 Mar. 22 - 25, 1999 North America’s largest annual metalworking & manufacturing expo.Los Angeles, CA

’99 Cincinnati MTS Mar. 31 - Apr. 1, 1999 A premier manufacturing exposition for the Ohio Valley and Tri-State area.Cincinnati, OH

EMO May 5 -12, 1999 Considered the “World of Machine Tools,” this show will be Paris, France held at the Parc des Expositions.

C O M P L I A N T

photo courtesy of C&C Motorsports

However, as technologyadvanced and other trades becamemore lucrative, the efficacy ofthese programs waned. It was nolonger appealing to spend years asan apprentice learning a blue-collar trade that was consideredless than desirable. During thepast few decades, the basictutelage of entry-level machinistshas become the domain of publicschool “Shop” classes.

Old-world apprentice trainingpaved the road for the developmentof public school programs designedto introduce the basics of theIndustrial Arts. But an hour a day ofhigh school “Metalworking 101,”pounding out an ashtray for Dad,bears little resemblance to thetypical day put in by the traditionalapprentice of old.

To some degree, thepublic school system tookover the task of directingnovice workers into themachining trades – untilbudget cuts startednibbling away at whatmany considered weresuper-superfluous classes

and programs. Industrial Artsclasses were an easy target, andmany school districts pulled theplug – quite literally – on theirmachine shop programs. Thus thepool of students exposed to themetalworking arts began to dryup, resulting in a shortage ofqualified machinists entering thework force. That shortagecontinues today, and is provingdisastrous for the manufacturingindustry, in general, and themetalworking trade in particular.

There is a new ray of hope,however. A cadre of teachers,small-businessmen, corporateexecutives and shop managers arejoining forces to rebuild schoolindustrial arts programs and setup continuing education programs

for on-the-job training. DavidGoodreau, Chairman of the Board,Small Manufacturers Associationof California, is one of thoseworking to increase interest in themetalworking trades and resurrecttraditional-style apprenticeshipprograms.

“It’s important that we findsolutions,” Goodreau says,“because the alternatives aren’tvery good. We, as a country, haveset a path, and that path leads toruin. You cannot sell qualitymachines or technologicalupgrades if you don’t have talentedpeople to run them. The bottom hasbeen eroding out of oureducational support system for

4 CNC MACHINING

Story

and

Photos

Preston

Gratiot

Yearning for LearningApprentice Program Plants Seeds of Perfection

We understand your bottom line.At Haas Automation, each and every person works hard to keep the chips flying in your shop.

Because if the chips aren’t flying, you’re not making money. It’s that simple.

Our focus is your bottom line.

Where do novice machinists come from? The industry used to take care of itsown, bringing up the kin of family and friends through the school of “hardknocks” and teaching them the trade. Journeyman machinists took young

apprentices under their wings and passed on lifetimes of experience over a period ofyears. Over time, and under a watchful eye, these apprentices mastered the trade andgained the necessary skills to venture out on their own.

Working in an apprenticeprogram means on-the-jobexperience. While fewschools can boast of having the latest in CNCmachining centers, workingmachine shops can providethe real tools.

Please see page 6

6 CNC MACHINING

probably the last three decades, and it’sbeen a steady decline for the trueindustrial arts. We are at a realcrossroads: We have reached a pointthat demands some real strategicthinking if we are going to survive as aneconomic leader.

“We are trying to establish anorganizational body that will providetangible benefits for the participatingcompanies, educational facilities andthe potential work force,” Goodreausays about his association with theSmall Manufacturer’s Institute (SMI).“We’ve helped develop the MachineTool Partnership Academy (MTPA), a corporate-supported apprenticeshipprogram, at Van Nuys High School(Van Nuys, CA), and we’re going toreplicate this program at two other areahigh schools. ”

The MTPA is a cooperative effortbetween schools, corporate sponsors andlocal businesses, where students attendIndustrial Arts classes during the day andreport to an afternoon or evening “job” asa working apprentice. The program givesstudents the opportunity to learn a tradefirst hand, and gives businesses theopportunity to train their future workforce. It’s a win-win situation.

Goodreau says the students have toscore relatively high in their mechanicalskills to get into the Academy. “You takequalified kids who have the talent, thenyou connect the world of learning totheir interests – and to their futureearning potential,” he explains. “That’swhere the winning is. We have some 30mentor companies for these students,and these kids have got jobs! They’ve gota future. But the bottom line is this: Theyhave become part of a working family.

“It’s not uncommon for highschool students to think they have noneed for good grades or continuedstudies in the so-called basics becausethey have chosen a career inmetalworking,” says Goodreau. “Butgiven the chance to experience real-world production as an apprentice,they can see how some Readin’, ‘Ritin’and ’Rithmatic will help when theyactually enter the work force.”

According to Goodreau, “When akid gets in with the right company,there’s a chance he might stay in school.That’s important. The workplace needshighly-educated, agile employees.”

This is especially true with the kidsin the Van Nuys program. These studentsare all “at risk” kids who come fromrelatively impoverished backgrounds.The typical dropout rate for these kids is

50 percent. But the dropout rate forparticipants in the Academy Program isless than 10 percent.

“What we’re really trying to do isencourage this prospective work forceand let them know that metalworkingisn’t a dead-end occupation,” Goodreaucontinues. “It is more likely the startingpoint for multi-level, professionalopportunities.”

This year, 30 kids came out of theAcademy program, some of them arealready apprenticed with 12 collegecredits under their belts. “If they end upgetting into engineering or somethinglike that, most will probably know morethan the guys already on the job. This isbecause most straight engineers haveprobably never even seen a machinetool, and that is a crime,” lamentsGoodreau. “How can you havesomebody designing products that hasno idea how the product is made?”

This apprenticeship program is aninvestment – an investment in thefuture. “What we’ve forgotten is howimportant it is to shape people,” saysGoodreau. “Nobody is saying these kidsare going to end up being machinists.But I’ll tell you what, their experienceshere will shape their careers – and ourfuture as an economic power in theworld.”

20-hp vector spindle driveUsing the same closed-loop technology as our brushless servomotors, this Haas-designed vector drive optimizes the slipangle between the rotor and stator of the spindle motor todouble low-speed torque and acceleration, resulting in thefastest and most powerful spindle output ever.

Improved gearboxThe Haas-designed and manufactured gearbox now employs wider,redesigned gears with 50% higher load capacity to handle vector-drive performance of 250 ft-lb of torque at 450 rpm. This newdesign is also more crash resistant should an accident occur.

Dual-Drive motor switchingHaas direct-drive VMC models (VF-0, OE, 3D and 4D) now utilizeWye/Delta motor switching as a standard feature. The Dual Drivesystem delivers optimum motor performance by automaticallyswitching between low- or high-speed motor windings. The DualDrive provides better torque at higher rpm, and an overall wider constant power and rpm range.

Electronic thermal compensationWhen ballscrews rotate they generate heat. Heat causes theballscrews to expand. With high duty cycles, like those used in moldmaking, the resulting ballscrew growth can lead to cutting errors.Our new ETC algorithm accurately models this heating and coolingeffect and electronically compensates for screw position, providing near glass scale accuracy.

Get up to speed fasterThe dual, 32-bit architecture of the Haas control allows for a newtype of axis acceleration. S-curve acceleration and deceleration rateshave been doubled over the older system, allowing axis drives to getup to speed faster with less shock to the system. Molds are cutfaster and more accurately than ever before.

Electronic spindle orientationOrientation in one-half second without amechanical shot pin provides for smoother andfaster tool changes. With no moving parts towear out or adjust, our new electronic orientationprovides reliable, trouble-free operation.Changing a tool takes just over four seconds.

Haas machines are designed and built by the same type of people who own and operate them. At Haas,

we believe that straightforward engineering principles go hand-in-hand with constant refinement.

Feedback from customers, combined with our engineers’ quest for perfection, sees actual design

changes implemented as a routine. No one at Haas ever says it’s good enough. Listed here are just a few of the

advancements we’ve made to our machining centers in just the past few months:

THE INDUSTRY’S ONLYPRODUCTIVITY GUARANTEE!

Our Guarantee:

Haas Automation guarantees 98% usable up-time for new Haas CNC machines purchased from January 1, 1998, to December 31, 1998.

If the Haas CNC machine covered by our Up-Time Guarantee is down due to in-warrantyfailure for more than 2% of its total operatingtime, Haas Automation will pay the owner ofthe machine $50 per hour for every hour over2% down measured on an annual basis.

The Haas 98% Up-Time Guarantee is availablein the USA, Canada and UK only. Completepublished details are available from Haas orany authorized Haas distributor.

Haas Automation SupportsCollege Program

“I’ve been working with Haas for a number of years,and helped get the apprentice program started,” says BillLavoie, instructor, Los Angeles Valley College (LAVC). “I talked with Gene [Haas] at one of the WESTECs andasked how I could get some Haas equipment at ValleyCollege. It took a few years, but because of theapprenticeship program, the college now has three Haasmachines: a VF-3 vertical machining center, an HS-1horizontal and an HL-2 lathe. I’m planning an openhouse this Fall so that more local companies can find outabout the LAVC/Haas cooperative program.

I’ve promoted corporate support of Industrial Artsclasses for years. But Haas was the first company to stepforward and put some real support on the classroom

floor. LAVC students are learning how to run CNCmachining centers in these classrooms, so they will alreadyknow the Haas control, all of the M and G codes, and theyhave already cut parts – they are off and running.”

Continued from page 4

8 CNC MACHINING FALL 1998 9

“The control is fully loaded withstandard options that other machinetool builders charge extra money for,”says Calvin. “But the Haas machinesallow us to keep our costs low, thusallowing us to compete in a verycompetitive marketplace.”

Calvin and John agree that theHaas control can be the difference whenit comes to making a short-run part payoff for the company. “When you’redealing in a job shop world, setup timecan kill you,” reasons Calvin. “We cut alot of short run parts, so it’s not justhow fast the machine can make theparts, but how quick you can set themachine up to make them.”

NETWORKING FOR NEW WORK

“We originally opened our doors inthis same building, but in a little 500-square-foot shop next door. It was alittle crammed-up place,” said John.“Mostly, the stuff we made on the millwas the stuff that nobody else wanted todo, ugly stuff. But we didn’t have much

choice in the beginning, because thoseare the only jobs you get. At least westayed busy.”

A good 50-percent of Duo’s initialwork was with Delta Dynamics, acompany located right next door thatspecialized in gearboxes and gears.“Our relationship with them has been agreat contributing factor to oursuccess,” says Calvin about theneighborly business pact. “I didn’tknow them prior to coming here, butJohn used to work with the guys back atVancouver Gear.”

John says Duo still does a lot ofgears, but lately they’ve seen a biggrowth in the aerospace market. “Weweren’t doing anything in this marketlast year, but this year it’s about 30-percent of our business.”

PROBLEMS & SOLUTIONS

However, working as a job shopdoes present the occasional problem part.“It was a job nobody else could master,”laughs Calvin. “But we happened upon a

simple solution, and it’s been fine eversince.” The part was an actuator housingfor the pulp and paper industry.

“We were trying to cut the stainlesssteel housings on our HL-4, but thematerial was centrifugally spun, so allthe crud and crap was in the crust on theoutside. We spent days on end bustinginserts trying to get something thatworked. Then, all of a sudden, I found it!Essentially, what I did was take one ofthe broken inserts and use it to cut thecrust away first, then start doing the realmachining afterwards with a goodcutter.” Kind of like eating crab legs!

The job’s been fine ever since,explains Calvin. “It worked great! Therewas nothing fancy about the job – theother guys just couldn’t find a way toremove the crust!”

Duo CNC Machining Inc.7630 Berg RoadDelta, B.C., Canada V4G 1G4604-940-5513

That’s how two coworkers inBritish Columbia made the jumpfrom employees to employers, andset up their own profitable jobshop. Their entrepreneurialescapade started when theyrealized that most of the shops intheir area were seriously behind intheir schedules – there was just toomuch work to go around.

Based on this recognized needfor on-time production capabilities

in their locale, the two machinistsgot to work formulating a businessplan that would convince one ofthe local banks to underwrite theirown job shop.

In business for only 20 months,Duo CNC Machining Inc., ownedby partners Calvin Jacques andJohn Belton, now has nineemployees and runs three CNCmachines in the 3,500-square-footshop in the Delta region of

Vancouver, British Columbia.Working two shifts a day, Duo

specializes in machining gears andhousings, parts for bicycles, oilfield machinery, electronics andaircraft componentry. Short runs,however, mean that the shopcounts heavily on Haas controlsand machining centers to simplifythe setups and save time.

RUNNING COSTS

Both owners agree that pricewas the main factor in their initialchoice of Haas machines for theshop. The first VF-3 was set up inNovember 1996, followed soonafter in December by the HL-4turning center.

Story

and

Photos

Preston

Gratiot

Insert Ideas Turn Problems to Profits

How do you turn a problem into a profitin a matter of months? Simple: analyzethe situation, formulate a solution, findthe financing and take a chance.

Partners Calvin Jacques, left, and John Belton built Duo CNC Machining into a success in just 20 months.

Turning steel on the HL-4 is a daily occurrence in support of the local pulp and paper mills, in addition to the many heavy equipment manufacturers located in the Vancouver area.

Duo CNC Machining builds its customer base by finding newways to machine problem parts that other companies judge toodifficult to tackle.

10 CNC MACHINING FALL 1998 11

addition of two Haas VF-3s, onein ’97 and another in ’98, completes thecontemporary production line.

In 1998, the sales and successes ofKevin’s milled putters acceleratedtremendously. A win at the Bob HopeChrysler Classic, and five top-ten PGAtour finishes in the first six months,justified a production run of 800 puttersper month. By July ’98, the productionrun had increased to 1,500 putters permonth. With all orders prepaid bydistributors and an asking price of $350a unit, capital worries have flown south

for KB Golf. In fact, another three Haasmills may soon adorn the shop if spacecan be created.

Constructed of carbon steel and 303stainless, seven operations arenecessary for the production of the eightmodels of putters produced by KB Golf.The initial cut is one inch wide and .200"deep. A single pass at 15 inches perminute is made with a 3/4-inch-diameter hog mill at a spindle load of45%. This maximizes the tool’sefficiency without jeopardizing the toolitself. Options that KB Golf elected fortheir Haas mills are a chip auger, rigidtapping, programmable coolant nozzle,tool management alarm and macros,and the engraving package. KB uses thelatter (engraving) to carve Kevin Burns’signature into each putter. An artist thenlacquers the signature by hand. Thisattention to detail truly distinguishesthe Kevin Burns Signature Series fromany of its competitors. Truth of thematter is, there is only one otherhandmade putter in the marketplace,the remainder are stock castings withnone of the balance or feel provided bythese custom-designed putters.

According to Kevin, professionalgolfers like aggressive putting, and thespecial softness of his putters (there is acopper insert in the putting head) hasstruck a nerve with many of the playingelite. Kevin has four past Masterschampions playing with his putters.Professionals demand a carefullyfinished product, and the utilization ofHaas mills has fulfilled the highestexpectations of players and staff alike.

Jerome Sorich, shop super-intendent, had this to say about the

exclusive use of Haas mills, “I’veworked on Mazak, Matsura, Fadal . . .and Haas is as trouble free as any. Youdon’t have to spend a million dollars tohave reliable machining; our reliabilityhas been outstanding . . . they (Haas)don’t break down!”

Jerome has inherited the researchand design program at KB Golf, whichrelies on a CAD program that isintegrated with the older VF-1. All theexperimental cuts are performed on theolder machine – this is its only role. Itshould also be noted that all of the jawsthat hold parts are custom made.Assisting Jerome in production are JohnBunuelos, Blair Phelps, Joe Gutierrezand Pete Dimas.

Obviously, the golf world is onnotice – KB Golf is distributing itsputters in the United States, Europe,Malaysia, India, Japan, Hong Kong andSingapore. Sixty percent of all productionis sold in the good ol’ US of A, and theremaining 40 percent is foreign. But morenotable is the special market niche KevinBurns has created with intent. Were thisputter a car, it would be a Ferrari, aPorsche. . . were it a liquor, it would bea Chivas Regal, a Jack Daniels . . . thehigh end, the premier, call it what youwant, the Kevin Burns Signature Seriesof putters is the ultimate marketphenomena . . . a special area ofdemand created by a superior product.What’s not to like?

KB Golf Manufacturing1177 Tasman DriveSunnyvale, CA 94089408-745-7768

Kevin Burns commenceddesigning and milling golf puttersin 1993. With a four-yearbackground in golf club repair,Kevin had the vision of his ownproduct, his own company, his ownprofit. After five years of researchand development, Kevin Burnsdecided that he had produced theultimate golf putter.

In 1996, Kevin traveled to fourWest Coast PGA tournaments,sneaking into locker rooms andholding lengthy discussions withpro golfers. By placing a fewputters into the hands of some top-flight pros, it only took threetournaments to establish his firstPGA win: the 1996 Nissan LosAngeles Open. With this success inthe record books, January of 1997saw Mr. Burns hiring a full-timetour representative, Eric Brown, tomarket his exclusive product. Nowthe mouse was playing in the lion’sden, competing against majorcompanies that were paying tourplayers to use their putter line.

Word of mouth saved KB Golfthe expensive task of buyingallegiance amongst the pros. By theend of ’97 there was a tour win (TheGreater Vancouver Open), as well

as four second-place finishes, threethird-place finishes, 21 top-tenfinishes and two U.S. Ryder Cupappearances. More noteworthy, theDarrell Survey, which surveys

professionals to see which clubsthey have in their bags on the firsttee, found the Burns putter to bethe number four putter, precededonly by Titleist, Odyssey and Ping.

In route to fulfilling his dream,Kevin plunked his money down ona used Haas VF-1 verticalmachining center in 1993. Thatmachine, number 1083, is nowaffectionately known as “Bambi”in the shop. Three years later, in1996, another VF-1 was purchased,and the two machines nowproduce an expanded productionrun of one of the highest qualityputters ever designed. The

Story

Gary

Brient

KB Golf – The Mouse That Roared!

Titleist, Callaway, Dunlop, Cobra, if youdon’t recognize these brands, you’re not aprospective customer of KB Golf. Tucked

into a small industrial park in Sunnyvale,California, a 2,200-square-foot machine shopassaults the giants of the industry and mills itsway into the hearts of golf aficionados worldwide!

Three of the Kevin Burns Signature Series putters available from KB Golf. Custom lengths, loft and lie are available upon request.

Using Haas VMCs, the team at KB Golfproduces what they consider to be theultimate golf putter – at a rate of1,500 per month.

Pho

tos

Cou

rtesy

KB

Gol

f

photo: Gary Brient

story and photos by Scott Rathburn

The heart. Oft considered the center of emotion, the embodiment of the

soul, the keeper of the spirit, it is seen by many as the source

of courage, intuition and affection. It is the symbol of love.

In reality, the human heart is a fist-sized mass of muscle connected to

the rest of the body by a network of blood vessels more than 60,000

miles long. Running non-stop from birth until death, it will beat

more than 2.5 billion times and pump more than

1 million barrels of blood.

Unless it stops.

TheHeart

ofthe Matter

you support sickhearts they improve,” Jarviksaid. “If you boost the output of the natural heart andkeep it working, you have the advantage that the heartstill regulates the body’s needs and the amount of bloodflow the patient gets.”

One of the issues that evolved from the clinical trials ofthe Jarvik 7 was that, in a number of patients, there wouldbe infections around the outside of the artificial heart. “Thatwas a hard thing to prevent,” Jarvik said. “In fact, withmany types of heart-assist devices, there’s a very highincidence of infection.

“I invented the intraventricular heart to preventinfection,” he continued. “By making an artificial heart that isso small it can actually be implanted inside the natural heart,you have the advantage that the natural heart is there tosupport and protect it. But also, now the artificial device issurrounded by blood, and blood has antibodies and whitecells and all the things that fight infection.”

Making a pump that would fit inside the left ventriclerequired a design that was very small and very efficient. Thesolution was a small axial-flow pump, where the blood flowsthrough the pump and parallel to the axis of rotation, like in

a turbine. Jarvik began

working with axial-flowpumps and the battery-

powered concept back in 1975 asa means to replace the external

compressed-air system of the Jarvik 7. Theidea was to use a miniature axial-flow pumpto pump hydraulic fluid which, in turn,

pushed the diaphragm of the artificial heart. “This would giveyou an electrically-powered, portable, very practical kind ofdevice,” Jarvik said.

“It’s that miniature rotary pump technology that hasevolved and developed into the Jarvik 2000 heart. Thedifference, of course, is that the Jarvik 2000 heart is aminiature axial-flow pump that pumps blood directly, sowe’ve eliminated all the diaphragms and the valves and thesize and complexity of the Jarvik 7.”

According to Jarvik, “The key to making a reallyminiaturized and reliable axial-flow pump is precisionmachining. The design has to be right, but we also needsome fairly elaborate three-dimensional blade shapes, liketurbo machinery typically has. We need precision, bloodimmersed bearings, and high-precision alignment of thepump parts that hold the bearings and rotor in order to get

HEART DISEASE is the number one killer in the UnitedStates, claiming nearly one million lives per year. Sincethe 1950s, researchers have worked endlessly to

develop artificial replacements and assist devices to stemthis tide of failing hearts.

One of the preeminent researchers in the field ofartificial heart development is Dr. Robert Jarvik, who hasbeen heavily involved since the early 70s. He is probablymost well known for his work on the Jarvik 7, the firstpermanent total artificial heart to be implanted in a human.

On a snowy night in December 1982, a Jarvik 7 totalartificial heart was implanted into the chest of a 61-year-oldSeattle dentist named Barney Clark. The world looked on asa team of surgeons removed his failing heart – so damagedthat it stopped pumping during surgery – and replaced itwith a mechanical assemblage of polyurethane and titanium.Connected by a pair of hoses through his abdomen to anexternal pneumatic pump, the Jarvik 7 kept the elixir of lifecoursing through Clark’s body, allowing him to survive.

Prior to surgery, Clark had literally been on the edge ofdeath. He could not get out of bed and had to stay in adarkened room. Doctors even restricted visits by his wife –the excitement was too much for his failing heart. Medicallynot a candidate for organ transplant, Clark’s only alternativeswere the Jarvik 7 . . . or death.

Following the implantation of the artificial heart, Clarkwas able to sit up, see his wife and eventually resume somesemblance of functionality. Though constrained to thehospital, he was able to get up and around, and at one pointwas even able to practice putting a few golf balls.

Despite the success of the implant and the valiantefforts of his doctors, Clark eventually succumbed tocomplications and died. Though he only survived 112 dayswith his replacement heart, it was 112 days of life heotherwise would not have had.

The Jarvik 7 was the culmination of many years of workby a multitude of people. Chief among them was Dr. Jarvik,who spent more than a decade of his life modifying andperfecting the design to bring it to clinical trial.

But even before the clinical trials of the Jarvik 7, Dr. Jarvik was looking for a battery-powered portablesystem. Today, he continues his quest for a reliable, practicaland forgettable artificial heart.

“If the artificial heart is ever to achieve its objective,”Jarvik stated in a 1981 Scientific American article, “it mustbe more than a pump. It must also be more than functional,reliable and dependable. It must be forgettable.” In otherwords, “It has to be so good that the patient goes about theirdaily life and, most of the time, doesn’t think about the factthat they’ve got an artificial heart.”

Jarvik’s latest effort at aforgettable artificial heart is theJarvik 2000. Unlike the Jarvik 7,which was a total artificial heartand required removal of thenatural heart, the Jarvik 2000 is aleft ventricular assist device, orLVAD, which leaves the naturalheart intact and acts as a boosterpump. About the size of a C-cellbattery, the Jarvik 2000 is actuallyplaced inside the left ventricle ofthe heart, making it anintraventricular device.

“The left side does 80% of themechanical work, or more,” Jarvikexplained. “And the number ofpatients that primarily need leftsupport only, rather than bilateralsupport, is probably about 75%.The estimates – year after year –

keep indicating that about three-fourths of the people will onlyneed a left-sided pump. That’s why we’re starting with that.”

Also, research has shown that it is better to leave thediseased heart in place, rather than remove it and put in atotal artificial heart. “There’s a lot of evidence now that when

FALL 1998 1514 CNC MACHINING

“By making an artificial heart that is so small it can actually

be implanted inside the natural heart, you have the

advantage that the natural heart is there to

support and protect it.”

A version of the axial-flow blood pump being built at JarvikHeart in Manhattan uses external batteries and electronics. Thecontrol boxes (above) and other components are machined ona VF-1 with a T5C tilting rotary table.

hydrodynamic support on the bearing film for a really reliable device.”

From the start, Dr. Jarvik has done his own designs andhis own machining. “I got involved in machining prettyheavily when I started out in Utah,” he commented. “I wouldalways machine most everything for the prototype models ofwhat I was doing. I have a lot of experience in machining.”

Jarvik still does his own designwork, but most of the machiningfalls into the hands of MichaelMorrow at Jarvik Heart, Inc., inManhattan, and Walter Wood atTransicoil Inc. in Norristown,Pennsylvania.

Michael Morrow is theresearch technician/machinist atJarvik Heart, a self-contained,development-type machine shoplocated on the 15th floor of aManhattan office building. WalterWood is a manufacturing engineerat Transicoil, a leader in precisionmotion control, actuation systems,pilot and interface products formore than half a century.

Transicoil’s involvementstemmed from their work withfractional horsepower brushless DCmotors. “We use miniature electricmotors in these types of pumps,”explains Jarvik. “At first, Transicoilwas building special little DCmotors for the earlier model axial-flow pumps. Now they are theprime contractor on the NIH(National Institutes of Health)contract for an innovativeventricular assist system using theintraventricular pump.”

The NIH currently funds threemajor blood pump developmentprograms that use rotary pumps,they are: the Jarvik 2000 atTransicoil; another axial-flow pump

from a company called Nimbus; and a centrifugal pump fromthe Cleveland Clinic. Additional work is also underway inEurope and Japan.

“What we’re trying to do is prove the feasibility of thisdesign, and demonstrate its effectiveness in humans,” statesJarvik, “and then have it grow from there.”

At present, work is underway on several differentversions of the Jarvik 2000 axial-flow blood pump. There isthe NIH-sponsored work at Transicoil, which is designed forlong-term use and features an implanted power supply andredundant electronics systems. There is a version which hasexternal batteries and electronics and brings power into theunit through a skull-mounted pedestal. And there is a plasticmolded version under development by US Surgical

FALL 1998 17

Corporation for temporary use during surgery as animprovement over the heart-lung machine.

The key to making a reliable axial-flow heart pump isprecision machining. From the outset Dr. Jarvik has reliedon machine tools from Haas Automation for his research. In the early days he performed much of his machining on aretrofit mill with a Haas 4th-axis rotary unit. Today, hededicates a pair of Haas VMCs with 4th- and 5th-axis rotarytables to his research: a VF-2 with a TRT-160 tilting rotarytable at Transicoil, and a VF-1 with a T5C tilting 5C indexerat Jarvik Heart.

The pump blades and housing of the Jarvik 2000 aremachined entirely out of titanium because of that material’sbio-compatibility, light weight and strength. It’s this lastcharacteristic, however, that makes the components of thetitanium heart difficult to machine.

Michael Morrow explains: “Titanium is really a difficultmaterial to cut, and it can break down a tool quickly, justbecause of the nature of the material. You need a good, rigidspindle, and a good, rigid table. Of course we’re not cutting

large pieces of titanium,” he continued, “but the tolerance wehave to hold is within two-tenths (two ten-thousandths of aninch). Your spindle has to be very rigid and run very true;and the table has to have very little backlash, and you haveto be able to compensate for the backlash very precisely. The Haas has really handled that very well.”

Walter Wood added, “Titanium is such a poor conductorof heat that if you get a little too aggressive with cutting,you’ll either burn up the tool or leave a lot of galling on thepart. And, some of the tools we use are pretty small indiameter, so we can’t push them too hard.”

The Jarvik 2000 is a very compact unit – about 1" indiameter by 2.5" long – so the individual components arequite small. The parts are also quite precise and require a lotof complex multi-axis machining.

“We have essentially four parts that we are contouringon the Haas,” said Wood. “The central part of the heartpump is simply a contour-bladed impeller such as you’d findin any axial pump. Then we have what we call the inflowcage, which is a three-arched bearing support for the motor.

Alien Heart

Such is the case with artificialhearts. Early designs attempted tomimic the function of the naturalheart, utilizing complex pumpingchambers and intricate valves tocreate the pulsatile flowconsidered necessary for life. Butthese designs were cumbersomeand inefficient, not at all like themiraculous organ they weredesigned to replace. The bodywas offended by the alienapparatus: Blood clots formed,infections raged, and bodilyenzymes tried to reduce theintruder to harmless nothingness.The result was often death.

Since the early 1970s,

Dr. Robert Jarvik has striven todevelop an artificial heart that thehuman body would accept andembrace. One that would providethe essential life-giving bloodflow, but without the death-inducing complications. His latesteffort, the Jarvik 2000, may bejust what the doctor ordered.

Rather than being a totalartificial heart, the Jarvik 2000 is aleft ventricular assist device, orLVAD, which supplements theoutput of the failing natural heartrather than replacing it. “It’s reallya true booster pump,” explainedJarvik. “It doesn’t have to do allthe work of the natural heart, it

just adds to what the natural heartis able to do. The natural heart stillregulates the body’s needs andparticipates in regulating the flowof blood. We’re using as muchfunction of the patient’s naturalheart as it can provide, and addingon the additional function to givethem exercise capability – to notjust keep them alive, but get themback to a mobile lifestyle.”

The Jarvik 2000 is a smallaxial-flow pump about the size ofa C-cell battery.

16 CNC MACHINING

The human body does not take kindly to havinga foreign object placed inside it – even if thatobject promises continued survival. Angrily thebody tries to encapsulate, destroy or expel theoffending item. Rarely is the invasion accepted at face value, without protest.

story and photos by

scott rathburn

Continued on page 30

The outflow elbow and bearing support of the Jarvik 2000 heartpump is the most complex part to machine. With both internaland external contouring, it takes almost six hours to run.

phot

o co

urte

sy T

rans

icoi

l Inc

.

We have the outflow stator blades, which are similar to theimpeller blades. And then the most complex part is an elbowwith both internal and external contouring, which is theoutflow end of the pump. That’s the most complex,” Woodemphasized, “it takes us almost six hours to run onealtogether.”

The majority of the multi-axis work for the Jarvik 2000is performed at Transicoil, with many of the prototype andsupport components being machined at Jarvik Heart inManhattan. Although the heart pump itself is made oftitanium, many different materials are utilized for othercomponents. “We run parts out of titanium, we use a lot ofaluminum, we use stainless steels, we use brass and we useacrylics,” Morrow explained.

“The first parts we made on the Haas were part of theimplant that would go with the artificial heart, and they weremade out of titanium. They were very small pieces, about3/8" in diameter, and we had to hold a tolerance of two-tenths on the mill work. We’re making injection molds forsome of the plastic pieces that will be implanted with theheart; those are out of stainless. We’re also making our ownelectronic boxes out of 7075 aluminum. We start with asquare billet and machine it into a box. Some parts of theboxes – the inside and a lot of the outside – are actually 3-Dprogramming, and we’re using Mastercam to program that,and machining it with a ballnose endmill.

“The Haas handles the materials very well. We didn’thave any problem holding tolerances on the titanium. Andthe control has been able to handle the large programs thatMastercam generates. We run our tolerances on theMastercam very tight, so it generates a longer program, butthe Haas control handles it very well,” Morrow said.

Transicoil’s Wood agreed, “We all like the control here.

We find it very well prompted, easy to follow and veryfriendly, especially since we were already primarily aFanuc-type shop.”

About 99% of the programming for the componentsof the Jarvik 2000 heart is done offline using acombination of standard and custom software. “We typically use a combination of several differentsoftware packages,” Jarvik explained. “We use CadKey forthe basic CAD layout kinds of things, we use Mastercamas the interface for machining, and we have some customsoftware that CNC Software, the company that puts out

Mastercam, has developed for us especially for machiningcomplex blade shapes.”

According to CNC Software’s John Summers, who hasbeen working with Dr. Jarvik since 1990, the impeller bladesof the Jarvik 2000 posed some interesting mathematicalchallenges. “There’s something peculiar to that part thatmakes it an unusual machining project,” he said. “Theleading edge and the trailing edge are very small radius, and

when you’re machining it, it’s important that the part is notturned at all. The cutter goes around the part to give it acylindrical leading and trailing edge. Then the rest of theblade is similar, because it doesn’t collapse on you – it’salways two points across the blade that are parallel to eachother. You could let that blade get as long as you wanted,and it would stay the same thickness and still be wrappedaround the hub. We made a 4-axis post processor that wasuniquely suited to the part, and made it possible forDr. Jarvik to machine the blades.”

18 CNC MACHINING

Left: Most of the components of the axial-flow heart pumpand its control system are very small, requiring precisemachining. Below: A finished control unit for the Jarvik 2000 and the corresponding parts.

FALL 1998 19

“Mastercam has been very good,” Jarvik commented,“and it interfaces very well with the Haas machines. We’reusing these same programs both at Jarvik Heart and atTransicoil.”

Although the heart is still in the research stage, humantrials are expected to begin this year. “We’re doing animaltesting now, and we’re getting ready for the first humancases,” Jarvik said. “We’re very confident that, based on theanimal data, we can do very well with humans.

“Interestingly,” he continued, “in the history of artificialheart devices, the results in patients have always been betterthan the results in animals. With animals, there are moreinfection problems. An animal in a laboratory doesn’t havethe kind of medical care and nursing care and all thetechnology that exists for the patient. And when thesedevices are applied in a sophisticated, modern hospital, theresults are better. So we always expect to do better inhumans than we’re able to do in animals. And we’re alreadyable to do very, very well with the animals.”

It’s estimated that 50,000 to 100,000 people each yearneed an artificial heart or heart-assist device. Even though asmall number of devices currently exist and are used as abridge to transplant, including a variation of the Jarvik 7,they account for only about 2,000 patients per year. “It doesn’t have any major impact on public health,” Jarvik stated. “It’s not until we have a really practical,forgettable permanent device, that it will.”

If the human trials of the Jarvik 2000 heart aresuccessful, the impact on public health will be far-reachingand important. Maybe then the tide will turn in the battleagainst failing hearts.

Jarvik Heart333 West 52nd StreetNew York, NY 10019-6238 • 212-397-3911Transicoil Inc.2560 General Armistead AvenueNorristown, PA 19403-5214 • 610-539-4400

FALL 1998 21

From the street it looks likeyour everyday Manhattanoffice building. The lobby

contains the usual directory ofbuilding occupants, and a coupleof elevators provide transport tothe upper floors. As with manyearly skyscrapers, there is no 13thfloor – it was considered unlucky.

The no-frills elevator deliversyou to the 15th floor, where thedoors open to reveal a stark whitehallway leading to a glassed-inoffice, also in white. Entering theoffice, there is a reception deskand a small waiting area. A largelogo announces you have enteredJarvik Heart.

All around, large windows flood the room with light,emphasizing the cleanliness. The Manhattan skyline isclearly visible in all directions. Beyond the receptionarea, counters and work benches topped with blackFormica line the left side of the room. On the right, a cage of wire mesh houses medical supplies andelectronic components.

At first glance, the room appears to be a medicallaboratory, or an electronics assembly facility. In reality,it’s both. But what isn’t apparent is that Jarvik Heart isalso a fully-functional machine shop. Venturing furtherinto the facility reveals an assortment of CNC machines,including a Haas VF-1 vertical machining center. This

doesn’t seem that unusual . . . until you realize you’re 15 stories above the ground.

Just how do you get a Haas VF-1 on the top floor ofa Manhattan office building, anyway? Well, according toTom McGill of Allendale Machinery (Allendale, NewJersey) it takes some careful measuring and a littlecreative disassembly.

“The elevator was the big problem,” McGill said. “It had a load limit of 6,000 pounds and was 60 incheswide. There were also floor load concerns, but Dr. Jarvik resolved those with the building engineersand the building maintenance people. They determinedthe floor load would not be a problem, but did positionthe machine over existing column support on the floor below.

“Basically,” McGill continued, “we took off thecomplete enclosure, the X- and Y-axis way covers, andremoved all the motors to reduce the weight as much aspossible.” (A fully-assembled VF-1 weighs in at 7,100 lb,or 1,100 lb over the elevator’s load limit.) “And, if I’m

Machine shop over Manhattan

Please see page 32

Above: The Jarvik 2000 has undergone several incarnations during its development. The current version is the pump at bottom right. Below left: Michael Morrow, research assistant andmachinist at Jarvik Heart, sets up a job on the VF-1 with TRT-160.Q&A

20 CNC MACHINING

CNC – How did you get into the fieldof artificial heart research?

Jarvik – I got interested in bio-engi-neering pretty early. When I was in highschool I began working on the develop-ment of surgical stapling instruments.Through that I met certain people who hadan interest in bio-materials for artificialorgans. That led to an opportunity to workon the artificial heart, which was veryinteresting to me because my father hadheart disease. I thought he would need anartificial heart, and I hoped to be able to getsomething ready for him on time.

CNC – What is your background?Jarvik – I did a master’s in bio-

mechanics . . . When I was a student, Iwas rejected by every medical school Iapplied to, at first. So I went to medicalschool in Italy and was working to getinto medical school in this country. Oneof my motivations for starting work inartificial heart research was to have anavenue to get accepted into medicalschool, something more than the averagestudent was doing.

CNC – Did you get your master’s in

bio-mechanics before you went to medical school?

Jarvik – I was in medical school inItaly, and then I took off a year to do themaster’s in bio-mechanics at New YorkUniversity. Then I decided to move toUtah to work with Dr. Kolff* in artificialorgan research and work on the artificialheart project.

That was in 1971. I worked on theprogram for a year, and applied to med-ical school as an in-state resident. I wasaccepted and started medical school allover again, without taking any credit forthe work in Italy, which was two years. Iworked extensively on artificial heartresearch – 30 or 40 hours a week –throughout medical school. *(Dr. Willem J.Kolff is the father of the artificial kidney andthe heart-lung machine. A pioneer of artificialorgans, he led the effort to develop the artifi-cial heart for 25 years.)

CNC – Was your father still alive atthat time, and was that still part of yourmotivation?

Jarvik – Yes. Actually, he died theyear I graduated. But that personal moti-vation was only part of the reason forworking on something with a very broadneed. And certainly, after he died of heartdisease, I wanted the artificial heart to

succeed all the more.CNC – You started out by working

with some of the other doctors who weredeveloping the artificial heart. At whatpoint did you begin working more onyour own?

Jarvik – Well, in 1971, when I joinedDr. Kolff’s group at Utah, the researchwas at a point where the longest animalsurvival with an artificial heart was abouta week. It was questioned whether it wasfeasible at all to have animals – or humans – live any longer than that. Itwas a completely different era then; a lotless was known. Actually, the emphasishad nothing to do with making a practi-cal device for humans. The emphasis was to try to show that the idea wouldwork at all.

There were serious problems, at thattime, with the devices that were beingmade. They didn’t fit adequately anatom-ically, they didn’t pump enough blood fortheir size, they were ineffective as pumps,they caused damage to other organs, andthey had a very bad bio-materials inter-face problem.

My assignment was to design a newartificial heart that would, hopefully,solve some of those major problems.

“It was rather interesting as ayoung man to be given the opportunity to design a completelynew artificial heart”

“Even though I’m a physician, I’vebeen involved in bio-engineering,mechanical engineering,machining and things of thatnature for most of my career.”

“When I was a student, I was rejectedby every medical school I applied to, at first.”

Please see page 32

22 CNC MACHINING

It is possible to build a motor thatrequires less voltage; however, such amotor would also require more current(power is the product of voltage andcurrent) and this would increase thecost of the drive electronics. HaasAutomation uses this configuration inits high-torque 10K VMCs and 5000 rpmlathes. Most manufacturers do not usethis due to its cost.

An alternative is to use a motor thathas two different configurations: one forlow speed, which is a high-voltage, orWye, winding; and one for high speed,which is a low-voltage, or Delta,winding. The easiest way to change amotor winding is to go from thestandard “Wye” winding, which isusually 230 volts at 2,000 rpm, to a“Delta” winding, which would be 230volts at 3,460 rpm. The advantagegained from this Wye/Delta change isalways a factor of 1.73 because of theway the windings of an induction motorare put together. Thus it can onlyincrease the constant power range by

73%. Figure 1 shows how the threewindings of a motor can be rearrangedto form Wye or Delta.

If the constant power range is 2.5times the base speed without windingchange, the motor will have constantpower from 2,000 to 5,000 rpm. Using aWye/Delta change will increase theconstant power speed by a factor of 1.73to 8,650 rpm. This is not a huge amount,but it is usually enough improvement inperformance to make it worth the effort.A typical transmission, however, has ahigh-to-low gear ratio of about 4-to-1,providing much more improvement inspeed range than a winding change.

A way to get even moreperformance is to use Wye/Deltaswitching and a transmission. Thiscombines the increase in constant powerrange from the transmission with theincrease from the winding change toprovide more than either of these bythemselves. Haas Automation does thisin their 10,000 rpm VMCs and theirlarger lathes. The selection of gear is

either done automatically by thecontrol, based on the selected speed, orby an “M” code. Obviously, the bestsystem performance is achieved byusing a transmission along with aWye/Delta switch.

Yet another way to get even moreperformance than a Wye/Delta switchis to remain in the Delta winding. Thisreduces the complexity of the wiring tothe motor but requires a drive with73% more current capacity. This isbetter because the Delta windingreduces the voltage required by a factorof 1.73, allowing the motor to deliverits rated torque to a speed 73% higher.But it also increases the currentrequirement by a factor of 1.73, whichmeans you are not getting all of theperformance possible out of the motorunless the drive can supply anadditional 73% of current. Haas doesthis with their “High-Torque 10K”VMC and their 5,000 rpm lathe.

The method of selecting betweenWye and Delta is also an important

The goal of the spindle motorin any machine tool is to deliverpower to the cutter – a prettystraightforward concept. But tounderstand how this works, it isimportant to define power, andexplain how it relates to torque andmotor speed.

Power is defined as work doneor energy transferred per unit of time.For machine tools it is measured inhorsepower. Torque is defined as aforce that produces rotation; it ismeasured in foot-pounds (ft-lb).Motor speed is defined as . . . well,rotational motor speed, which ismeasured in revolutions per minute(rpm). All three are closely relatedthrough the following equation:power equals torque times speed, orp = ft-lb x rpm.

Following this equation, amachine that is generating torquebut not turning provides nopower. Similarly, a machine that isturning but generating no torqueprovides no power. But if amachine could provide its ratedhorsepower down to a very lowspeed, the torque would grow tofantastic values. Since anymachine inherently has a torquelimit, the horsepower available atlow rpm is limited. The best wayto provide horsepower down tovery low speeds is with a gearboxthat allows the motor to turn at a

higher speed and then reducesthat speed with a selected gear.

Just about every machine toolbuilt for the last 50 years has usedan “induction” motor to turn thespindle. Although these motors area very old design, they are still agood choice for spindle motorpower because of their simplicity,cost and power for their size.

Induction motors usually aredesigned to run at a fixed speed andvoltage which, for a simple drillpress, exactly matches the frequency(60 Hertz) and voltage (240V)available in a shop. The frequency ofthe voltage applied defines thespeed at which the motor will turn.For the typical motor this is 1,800rpm when 60 Hertz is applied.There is also a simple relationshipbetween voltage and frequency ifthe motor is to deliver its designedtorque. This is typically 230 volts per1,800 rpm. So, to run a motor at 900rpm really only requires 115 volts,and to run it at 3,600 rpm requires460 volts.

The drives used to runinduction motors can generate avariable frequency and voltageoutput, but they cannot raise thevoltage above the line voltagegoing into the drive. The motor cansupply its rated torque up to thespeed where the voltage requiredmatches the line voltage. This is

usually called the motor “basespeed.” Thus, all of the rated torqueof the motor is available below thebase speed. This speed range iscalled the “constant torque” range.

To run a motor above the basespeed, something called “fieldweakening” must be used. This iswhere the rpm and frequencyincrease but the voltage stayslimited at the line voltage. In thiscase, the torque available from themotor goes down as the speed goesabove the base speed. Since rpm isincreasing while the torque isdecreasing, the power, or theproduct of these two, remainsconstant. This “constant power”range is usually between the motorbase speed and about 2.5 timesbase speed. Above that speed,torque drops even faster thanspeed increases and the availablepower decreases.

All of the above conditions aretrue because the motor requires ahigher and higher voltage as speedincreases, and this voltage is abovewhat is available from the system.

Story

Kurt

Zierhut

Just What Is Wye/Delta?

There’s been much mention lately of “Wye/Delta” when

talking about spindle motors and spindle drives for

machining centers. But the definitions of just what

“Wye/Delta” is have been rather murky. Let me clear up the

waters. And in the process, I’ll show how the “Wye/Delta”

function sometimes isn’t needed, and how there are better

ways to improve performance.

MADE BY HAAS IN THE USA

Each piece made by Haas Automation on

state-of-the-art equipment at the Oxnard, CA, facility.

Introducing

Superior quality,20-piece starter kits nowavailable at a very specialintroductory price.Ask your Haas Dealer for details.

1

1 2

6 5

3

Fig. 1

4

4

25

3

6

FALL 1998 25

In a world filled with BMWs,Corvettes and Porsches, it’s nosurprise that an elite group ofmanufacturers prosper simply by

catering to the select cravings ofthis niche group. One suchmanufacturer is HRE PerformanceWheels of Vista, California. HRE

produces three-piece wheels withforged centers that are custom-builtto their clients’ specifications.

FORGED IN ALUMINUM

“We only work in forgedaluminum, and we have a growingnumber of styles machined fromour two standard forgings,” saysPhilip M. Hillhouse, HRE’s head ofmarketing. “They are precision

24 CNC MACHINING

factor. Many systems use theWye/Delta selection like a gear change,where the user must pick a gear beforeeven starting the spindle. A morepowerful technique called switching“on-the-fly” starts out in the low-speedWye winding and changes to the high-speed Delta winding when the spindlespeed reaches a point whereperformance would be improved. Thismethod requires a system carefullytuned to the motor and drivecharacteristics to ensure a quick changeand no loss of power during thewinding change.

Winding change “on-the-fly” isimportant mostly for lathes, whichconstantly make spindle rpm changesand change the rpm while in a cut. Thewide “constant power” range providedby the winding change is neededduring a constant-surface-speedlathe cut which makes a largediameter change from beginningto end. Haas Automation useswinding change “on-the-fly” inits VMCs and lathes.

Most of the manufacturersusing winding change today alsouse vector drives, another areathat needs some explanation.Vector drives are the latesttechnology available to runinduction motors, and candramatically improve systemperformance. Vector drivesprovide optimal motorperformance over the widestspeed range, and have threemajor advantages over older“variable frequency” drives. These are: 1) rated torque of the motor is

available down to zero speed, 2) speed control is very accurate,3) there is no possibility of

“stalling” the motor and notknowing it happened.

Vector drives achieve theabove performance by preciselycontrolling the current runningthrough each of the three“phases” of the motor wiring.

This current generates a magnetic fieldwhich has a vector direction andmagnitude that are modulated preciselyto generate the required torque in themotor. Since the vector is controlledaccording to the rotation of the motor, adevice like an encoder is required todetermine the rotation. The encoder letsthe drive “know” exactly what speedthe motor is running, and thus canprovide very precise speed controldown to zero speed. This same functionalso allows the vector drive to avoid theproblem of a stalled motor by alwaysdetecting and responding to the exactmotor speed. Haas Automation usesvector drives in almost all of theirmachines. In addition, because thevector drive is closely matched to themotor, the Haas drive can provide

10 minutes of 150% motor load and 3 minutes of 200%.

Story and

PhotosPrestonGratiot

Forging a New WheelCatering to the Cream of the Custom Car Crop

High-tech design, artistic quality and elegant exclusivity:

a virtual triad of features that demand respect and get

big bucks. Sure, you can get by with cheap imitations

that get the job done, but in the rarefied world where cost is

no object, there truly is nothing like the best.

▲▲ ▲

Without winding change, Wye winding

▲ ▲

power torque

Fig. 2

Fig. 3

Fig. 4

Fig. 5

Fig. 6

Fig. 7

To

rqu

e

Without winding change, Delta winding

With winding change

2,000 3,4000 6,000 10,000Speed (rpm)

Without transmission With transmission

2,000 3,4000 6,000 10,000Speed (rpm)

2,000 3,4000 6,000 10,000Speed (rpm)

2,000 3,4000 6,000 10,000Speed (rpm)

2,000 3,4000 6,000 10,000Speed (rpm)

2,000 3,4000 6,000 10,000Speed (rpm)

Without transmission With transmission

Without transmission With transmission

To

rqu

e

To

rqu

e

To

rqu

e

To

rqu

e

To

rqu

e

Figures 2 through 7 illustrate howtransmissions and Wye/Delta switchingimprove motor performance. Figure 2shows a normal motor in Wye windingand figure 5 shows that same motorwith a transmission. Figure 3 shows amotor in Delta winding and figure 6shows that same motor with atransmission. Figure 4 shows a motorwith winding change and figure 7shows that same motor with atransmission. It is obvious that the useof winding change in machine tools isadvantageous, BUT it is also obviousthat a transmission provides far moreadvantage. The winding change canextend the high-speed performance ofa machine, but it cannot possibly makeup for the 4-to-1 torque improvementyou get with a transmission.

Wheel photo courtesy HRE

26 CNC MACHINING FALL 1998 27

POWER TO PERFORM

“As far as horsepower isconcerned, the Haas pushes the drills,”says Daniel Hinkel, production. “Ourlug-hole drill is a step drill. It goes from0.625" up to almost an inch and aquarter, and the Haas pushes itthrough pretty good. We had amachine from Korea that didn’tperform to our expectations. It woulddrill about halfway through and thenstall the spindle.

“The ample horsepower andtorque of the Haas has actuallydecreased our cycle times, because wecan hog out a lot more aluminum, andthere’s more speed and feed,” hecontinues. “We’ve got a lot of hoggingto do to clean out the windows in thewheel center patterns, so the Haas hasreally helped us out.

“And frankly, one of the reasonswe’re staying with Haas is that onceyou’ve trained your workers on one,they can operate any Haas. We’ve gottwo Haas VMCs now, and we’llprobably be adding a third soon. If aworker knows how to work onemachine, he’ll know how to work allthree. And if you have a job go downon one, it can easily be moved toanother machine.”

SUB PROGRAMS

The Haas control has definitelyhelped HRE when it comes to using sub-programs. “With our old mills,”continues Daniel, “there were a lot moresteps involved as far as setup programswere concerned. Now I can just throw asub-program in and flip a wheel over anddo the hub bore. On the ‘545’ style, we tapthe back side, which used to requireloading a separate program. Now we justuse a sub-program and machine twocenters per setup – one front, one back –combining them both on one program.

“We’ve also started working a lot ofthe lug patterns at the same time we cutthe windows. Since we put all of ourassembly holes and lug patterns on thesame program, it saves time byeliminating a lot of extra setup.”

WORKING THE FLEXIBILITY FACTOR

“The Haas control gave us moreflexibility when trying out new styles,”says Doug Chudomelka, productionmanager. “It’s a lot more user-friendlythan our old Japanese machine fordoing setup changes and programalterations, plus it’s real easy to learn. Alot of guys who come in haven’t run aHaas before, but they catch right on tothe simplicity of the Haas control.

“One of the features we recentlyhave started using more is theengraving function. A lot of countries inEurope now require serial numbers aspart of their anti-theft programs. Weused to do this by hand, but it is mucheasier, quicker and more professional

looking to use the sub-program to dothis step on the Haas.”

SHORT RUN RADICALS

“Because we can easily reprogramour setups, we can service a growingnew customer segment that is highlyspecialized, yet very noticeable: the‘custom tuner’ market. These are whatwe refer to as our ‘Private Label’customers,” explains Philip, “the

milled on Haas machining centers,allowing us not only to have a verystrong wheel, but a very lightweightwheel as well.

“One of the nice qualities of a three-piece wheel is that any one of our stylescan be assembled to fit basically anunlimited number of cars,” says Philip.“And we’re not just talking bolt patternshere. Proper fitment includes offsets,rim widths, and adaptability that willkeep the tire from shredding itself onthe fender well or suspension partswhile the car is being driven.”

SOFTWARE SOLUTIONS TO STYLE

“We found that we could machinewheels that were stronger and morestylish by using forgings over castings,”Philip continues. “With designs cut onCNCs using software-controlledprograms, these forged, individualizeddesigns command higher prices, yetdeliver wheels that not only look good,but are also of the highest technical

quality. They’re race-quality wheelswith market-driven designs.

“For instance, if you look at one ofour styles, like the ‘540,’ we have fourprograms that deal specifically withsize, ranging from the 17-inch throughthe 20-inch diameter. Then we have sub-programs that put in the different boltpatterns,” explains Philip. “It all comesout of the same forging, so it’s only aquestion of which program you loadinto the mill.”

The raw forging itself weighs 57pounds right out of the box. However,when HRE is done with the CNCmachining, one of the heavier centers,such as the ‘545’ five-spoke, ends upweighing in at only ten pounds, leavingabout 47 pounds of swarf heading backto the recycler.

WHY DID YOU BUY HAAS?

One of the major reasons HREselected Haas machines was to solveproduction problems. Unlike the mass-

market manufacturers that run wheelsin five-figure numbers, HRE providesits customers with limited-run,personalized wheels. Designs may berestricted to as few as ten sets for thoseselect few willing to pay the price forpersonal perfection.

“There were many differentmachines we could have gone with, butHaas has a good reputation, andfrankly, the Haas gives us the flexibilityto run various designs through it,” saysPhilip. “The fact that Haas machinesare locally manufactured was anadditional benefit.”

Cutting the slots and openings – known in the business as windows – in a forgedalloy wheel center is a time consumingprocess that demands precision repeatability. HRE has expanded its lineof wheels by capitalizing on the Haascontrol’s ability to easily alter or modifyan existing program to provide a visuallydifferent part based on the same originalwheel design.

Machining wheel centers two-up on theHaas VF-3s, HRE is able to have a singleoperator run multiple machines for maximum efficiency. Here, a centerpiecefor an HRE 540 wheel, the flagship of theHRE line, is removed from the multiple,HRE-designed jig.

28 CNC MACHINING

custom outfitters who purchase stockvehicles, then modify them to meet theneeds of customers who can afford suchspecial touches. Modifications caninclude simple bodywork, or involvemajor redesigns of the suspension andengine for enhanced performance. In asense, these are custom-fitted, re-badged, brand new cars.”

One of the easiest ways to make acar look substantially different fromstock is to bolt on custom wheels. Andsince HRE can provide a design that’sunique to a particular ‘custom tuner,’that tuner can have a singular designthat is not available elsewhere on themarket. Since it’s just an exercise inmodifying the part program for HRE,it’s relatively inexpensive to providethese outfitters with a short-run customwheel of their own dedicated design.

“These are usually based on prettybasic designs,” says Philip, “But sincethey are available in a three-pieceformat, it gives us the ultimateversatility to provide a perfect fit for anyfender well, modified or stock. Andbecause of the added strength foundwith the forging process, we can bemore creative in our designs, whilemaintaining the structural foundationnecessary in a wheel of this type.”

QUANTIFIABLE BENEFITS

“Cutting our window patterns [thesee-through areas between the wheelspokes] is probably our longest cycle,”says Daniel. “Our shortest run time is ona flat-style five-spoke wheel, which has a15-minute cycle time to hog out thewindows. When you get into the morecomplex designs with a mesh of criss-crossing spokes, such as the flagship‘540,’ you are looking at 45 minutes perwheel to cut all of those openings.

“But as far as having enoughhorsepower and torque to give us cleancuts at a good feed, the Haas VMCs havebeen great,” says Daniel. “We haven’thad any problems at all, especially for ashard as we cut them. I run a spindle loadof probably 80-90% almost all day long,and they’ve held up fine,” he continues.

“I’ve never had a problem with itstalling out or anything like that.”

FUTURE PLANS?

While HRE does build limitedquantities of wheels, they refuse to belimited to one vehicle market. “We’re

going to expand our work into theupscale SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle)market,” says Philip. “The samecustomer who is buying our wheels fortheir expensive car is also going to buywheels for his expensive SUV.”

But the ability to cut incrediblelooking designs out of forgings issomewhat time consuming. “It isstrictly for a high-end market,” saysPhilip. “But the look you get is unique,and it gives you a niche in the marketthat no one else has filled. You mightsay we’re creating wheels now thatpeople don’t even know they need.Since we’re custom, we basically react tothe needs of the customer – the specificneeds and diameters of the vehicle thecustomer is driving – and then we goout in the shop and build it.”

HRE Performance Wheels2453 Cades Way, Building AVista, CA 92083760-598-1960

Polished to a mirror-like sheen, this HRE wheel appears to be chrome-plated, a testamentto the wheelmaker’s art, and a clean-cutting CNC.

Need Some FreshIdeas To Help TurnBigger Profits?Get your hands onthe new Haas Rotarycatalog, it’s like anoperator’s manualfor achieving higherproductivity and bigger profits.

Contact your Haas distributor or call 800-331-6746.

“But as far as having enough

horsepower and torque to

give us clean cuts at a good

feed, the Haas VMCs have

been great.”

FALL 1998 31

Heavyweight Boring Mill with Built-In 4th Axis

IN THIS CORNER . . . WEIGHING IN AT 42,000 POUNDS . . . AND SPORTING A 126" X 40" WORK TABLE, A 50-TAPER

SPINDLE AND BUILT-IN 4TH AXIS . . . THE SUPER HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDER FROM HAAS AUTOMATION . . .

THE NEW HS-3R HORIZONTAL BORING MILL! LET’S GET READY TOOOOOOOO RRRRRRUMBLE!!!The new HS-3R is a 50-taper monster offering travels of 150" x 50" x 60" (xyz) – something other T-shaped HMCs can’t match.

The 30-horsepower, 50-taper spindle provides 450 ft-lb of low-speed cutting torque through an oil-cooled, two-speed gearbox. Anda vector spindle drive yields peak performance and precise speed controlunder heavy cutting loads. To provide the rigidity and holding powerneeded for 50-taper cuts, large ballscrews and high-thrust brushlessmotors are used on all axes.

Big jobs and heavy cutting are what the HS-3R is all about, so itsmassive table is designed to hold large parts and fixtures with ease. Thebuilt-in 4th-axis rotary table (37" diameter) allows machining of all foursides of a part in a single setup for greater accuracy, and features a 50”

swing radius. The 28-pocket, side-mounted,shuttle-style tool changer moves out of thework envelope for unobstructed

machining, while offering ample toolselection for most applications.

The new Haas HS-3R extended-travel horizontal: a large-table,heavy-duty 50-taper champion.

Bridging the GapMany industries today, especially aerospace, are looking to five-axis machining as

a means to speed manufacturing and increase accuracy. The ability to machine complexshapes, undercuts and difficult angles in a single setup reduces tooling costs and labortime, resulting in a better cost per part.

But what do you do when the parts are BIG? It’s not verypractical – or even possible, for that matter – to rotate and tiltparts that are 10-feet long by 5-feet wide during machining.The answer is to rotate the spindle around the part. Theprototype Haas VB-1 vertical bridge mill with five-axis spindlehead bridges the gap between large parts and complex machining.

The VB-1 is a profiling bridge mill with travels of200" x 66" x 40" and full five-axis capabilities. The 126"x 60" table allows machining off the ends of the table, ora large subplate can be mounted for larger workpieces.Travels for the 5-axis head are ±120° on the B axis and±180° on the C axis. The 30-hp spindle employs an integrated-motordesign and features a vector spindle drive. The spindle is water cooled forthermal stability and provides speeds to 15,000 rpm for high-speed milling. Uniqueballscrew supports along the X axis prevent whip, allowing faster rapids; and linearscales can be fitted to further enhance accuracy. Designed primarily for the aerospaceindustry, the five-axis VB-1 vertical bridge mill is designed to meet – and exceed – the demands of shops profiling large, intricate parts.

30 CNC MACHINING

> PRODUCT RELEASE> CONTINUED FROM. . .

alien heart: continued from page 17

Machined from titanium, which is biologicallyinert, it is capable of pumping up to 8 liters ofblood per minute at a pressure of more than100 millimeters of mercury. The pump’simpeller rides on a pair of blood-emersedbearings less than a millimeter in diameter,spinning up to 14,000 revolutions per minute.A hydrodynamic film of blood on the bearingsacts as a lubricant and prevents wear.

Jarvik has eliminated much of theproblem of infection by implanting the pumpdirectly into the left ventricle, where it iscompletely immersed in blood. He has dealtwith the issue of clotting by keeping bloodflowing continuously through the pump, andpolishing the pump’s surfaces to a mirror-like finishso the blood does not collect and coagulate.

The Jarvik 2000 consists of a three-arched,inflow bearing support called the cage, a contour-bladed impeller, a set of outflow stator blades, andan outflow elbow containing another bearingsupport. The outflow end of the pump is connectedto the aorta via a flexible polyester graft.

Blood flows into the axial-flow pump throughthe three-arched inflow cage. The impeller, whichhouses the permanent magnet for the motor,pressurizes the blood and drives it through thepump. Stator blades at the outflow end of the pumpconvert the rotational flow from the impeller intoaxial flow. The outflow elbow directs the bloodtoward the aorta.

Dr. Jarvik emphasizes that, although the pumpgenerally has a constant motor speed, the Jarvik2000 is not a pulseless system. “It’s really importantfor people to understand that the Jarvik 2000 doeshave a pressure pulse and a flow pulse,” he said,“and that pulse is generated by the beating of thenatural heart. When the natural heart pumps, itincreases the flow through the pump, and decreasesthe differential pressure across the pump. When theheart relaxes, the pressure on the inflow side of thepump goes to almost zero, while the pressure on theoutflow side of the pump stays at the higher arteriallevel. So it’s actually while the heart is relaxed thatthe pump has the most differential pressure acrossit, and its flow goes down. When the heart beats, thedifferential pressure across the pump is less, and thepump’s flow goes up. In other words, at a constantspeed, the amount of flow the pump produces is afunction of the differential pressure.”

Thus, as the heart pulses, so does the Jarvik2000, maintaining the constant ebb and flow ofblood necessary for life. Will the human body acceptsuch a device without question, seeing the value ofcontinued existence? Or will it reject it out of handas alien and dangerous? With human trialsscheduled to begin this year, hopefully the answer is just around the corner.

Above: Cutting the contour-bladed impeller. Below left: Athree-arched inflow bearing support, a machined impellerand an outflow elbow and bearing support.

FALL 1998 33

OCTOBER 1998 signifies the15th anniversary of the

introduction of the first programmable 5C collet indexer. It wasWESTEC 1983 when Gene Haasdecided to offer his new idea for sale tothe general public. The idea of buildingsuch a product actually began nearlythree years earlier in the summer of1980. Gene then owned a machining jobshop called Pro-Turn Engineering inSun Valley, California. It was basicallyjust him and a couple of machine operators named Tony Cortez and Abel Bugarian – both are still Haas employees – who primarily ran produc-tion parts for the aerospace industry.Gene specialized in machining partsthat many other shops turned awaybecause of their complexity.

One day Gene noticed Abel runninga job that required indexing a part witha manual 5C-collet head. Using thedividing head seemed such a nuisance,because Abel had to let go of the quillhandle and use both hands to index thepart to the next position. Gene thoughtto himself, “There has to be a betterway,” and so began the development ofan automatic indexing head.

The first design incorporated a stepper motor as the drivingmechanism, and a manual 5C collet head modified toaccommodate a worm and gearhousing. The mechanical side ofthe design wasn’t terribly hard,but deciding how to drive themotor and control the motionwas another thing. At first, Geneentertained the idea of usingsomeone else’s control system, buthigh costs were a major disadvantage.He decided to call his old school buddyKurt Zierhut – yes, he too still works

at Haas – who worked as a computerengineer at Librascope. Between thetwo of them they came up with the firstversion of what is still called “the blackbox.” It took nearly three years of engineering in their spare time,including evenings, weekends andvacation time, to bring the first unit to market.

Gene had many friends andacquaintances at other machine shops,so he built a few indexers for them touse. In return he asked only for theirfeedback. Everyone loved them! Theythought they were a great way toincrease productivity on a manualmachine. They had no idea this wasonly the beginning.

The first year, Haas sold about 20units per month. Customers loved theconcept, and now were asking forsomething a little bigger. The next stepcame in 1985 with the development ofan 8-inch rotary table. Gene took an oldmanual rotary table, pulled off thehandle crank, retrofitted a steppermotor and control, and the secondproduct was born. By now sales hadgrown to about 40 units per month.

Increasing sales eventually taxedthe abilities of the company supplying

the manual indexers. So in 1986, Genedeveloped and began manufacturingheads and tables of his own design. By1988, after only five short years, salesreached more than 100 units per month,and the product line grew to include the5C indexer; 7-, 9- and 11-inch rotarytables; multi-spindle units and a tiltingtwo-axis table.

Suggestions and feedback fromcustomers not only led to new rotaryproducts, but to the development of avertical machining center. In 1988 Haasintroduced the VF-1, a 20"x16" verticalmachining center priced less than$50,000 – an unheard of price for anAmerican-made machine tool.

In 1993, the rotary line underwent aredesign that is still in production today,although improvements are continuallymade all the time. Today, Haasmanufactures more than 24 differentmodels of rotary tables and indexers,

and ships more than 300 units permonth throughout the world.

Not bad for abusiness that

started as asearch for abetter way.

32 CNC MACHINING

It was rather interesting as a young manto be given the opportunity to design acompletely new artificial heart. I was presented with a problem and given theopportunity to solve it.

CNC – How old were you at that time?Jarvik – I was very young, about 25.

Within the first 6 or 8 months we brokethe world record for survival with one ofmy first designs. I continued to work onthat, and invented some of the things thatbecame incorporated into the Jarvik 7.The key element that made the Jarvik 7heart work was what was called a multi-layer diaphragm.

Basically, the kinds of bio-materialsthat existed caused serious blood clots,and they didn’t last long enough withoutbreaking. So I invented the multi-layerdiaphragm system. Rapidly we wentfrom hearts that would last no more thana couple weeks, to a design that hasproven to last more than 10 years of con-tinuous pumping.

CNC – What are your goals for theJarvik 2000?

Jarvik – At first we will use it just onthe left side. Later we’ll probably providea model where two pumps are used, onein the left, one in the right, which willmake it a total heart.

CNC – Is the eventual goal to totallyreplace the heart, or just replace the

heart’s pumping mechanism and still usethe heart as a container for the twomechanical pumps?

Jarvik – Well, let’s just talk about theleft side only, for now. There are actuallythree kinds of new applications for heartassist devices. There’s the bridge totransplant, there’s the permanent use,and there’s a new use called bridge torecovery. With certain kinds of heart dis-ease, if you put in an artificial pump thatsupports the natural heart, but doesn’tdamage it, after a period of time the nat-ural heart recovers sufficiently to takeout the assist device.

One of our objectives in the earlywork is to delineate the appropriatepatients where we can actually give themlong-term support – long enough for thenatural heart to recover – and then avoidthe need to find a donor heart for thosepeople.

CNC – Did you design the pump itself?Jarvik – Yes.CNC – You have a degree in bio-

mechanics, but how did that translateinto the machining and designingaspects?

Jarvik – I got involved in machiningpretty heavily when I started out in Utah.Even though I’m a physician, I’ve beeninvolved in bio-engineering, mechanicalengineering, machining and things ofthat nature for most of my career. I gainedmy experience the same way most engi-

neers do – through working hands-on, notthrough a particular degree, necessarily.

CNC – When did development starton the Jarvik 2000?

Jarvik – About 1988 or 1989. Beforethat, when we developed other miniatureaxial flow pumps, we used to design thehydraulic blade shape on paper, lay itout, build the three-dimensional scalemodel, then reduce it with a three-dimen-sional pantograph to get the titaniumblades. That’s the way things were doneuntil good computer programs camealong. What really enabled us to moveinto the CNC machining of the bladeswas the combination of a good 4-axismachine and the special programs thatCNC Software wrote for us.

CNC – At what point did you decideto go with the machining center?

Jarvik – When we got NIH fundingfor the project we went to the Haasmachining centers. We got the machine atTransicoil first, and we had that for quiteawhile before we got the machine here inNew York.

CNC – Do you still do much of themachining itself?

Jarvik – Only a little. I used to do alot of the machining, programming andrunning the machine, and I did most ofthe programming for the contoured partsthat are made at Transicoil. But right now,we have people that are more expert atthat than I.

> CONTINUED FROM. . . > THE BACK PAGEby Bob Burrows

There has to be a better way

not mistaken, the end-to-end dimension of the VF-1,where you’ve got just the cast iron and can’t go anysmaller, is 58 inches. We only had an inch on eitherside to spare on the elevator.

“We took the machine apart in our warehouse, thenit was brought over by the rigger, who moved it up inthe elevator and onto the floor, along with thedisassembled parts. Then we did the reassembly andchecked out the machine,” McGill explained. “We sweptthe table in the fashion prescribed by Haas, andperformed the necessary check-out procedures to make

sure it would be running like when it left the factory.”Jarvik Heart took delivery of their VF-1 in April of

1997. Since then it has been hard at work machiningparts for the Jarvik 2000 artificial heart.

For Tom McGill and Allendale Machinery, theirassociation with Dr. Jarvik and such a critical industryhas been fascinating. Tom McGill explains, “Anybodycan make an automotive part. Anybody can make a partfor an aircraft, or make a part for the electronicsindustry. But here you have a Haas machine making apart that is vital for life, and that’s impressive.”

Continued from page 20

Continued from page 20

Ten years ago we led theindustry with cutting-edge design innovations.

Haas Automation, Inc. • 800-331-6746 • Proudly made in the USA.

Today we’re leading the industry into the next millennium.

Today we’re leading the industry into the next millennium.