Matt Blais

About Matt Blais

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What does the series of your thread mean?

Understanding Thread Standards and Specifications

UNC? UNF? Or UNJ? You’ve likely seen these indicators before on your threaded components or thread gauges. These indicators provide information about what standards the screw threads meet for dimensional size and tolerance, as well as what type of threads they are. A major part of thread checking and quality inspection is ensuring that the threads match the specifications set out by organizations like ASME and SAE. These standards help manufacturers ensure that their fasteners are safe, reliable, and long-lasting in whatever end-use applications they’ll serve.

It is important to note before we jump into the different standards that these are all dimensional requirements, not manufacturing requirements. Any method of manufacturing threads including cutting, tapping, rolling, grinding, etc. can be used to achieve the dimensional requirements laid out in each specification.

A little history on thread standards

The first unified thread codes were developed just after World War II. During the war, America, Canada, and Britain discovered a lack of interchangeability between the parts made in each respective country. Afterwards, they developed inch-based thread standards that are still internationally recognized today, commonly referred to as the Unified (UN) thread series. At the same time, several other organizations adopted the UN thread series for their own unique needs, like ASME for pressure systems and SAE for threaded aerospace components. Over time, the UN standards have been updated and expanded to incorporate different applications, thread classes, and thread sizes. Thanks to these specifications, manufacturers can ensure the compatibility and interchangeability of threaded parts for applications around the world.

The Common Unified Thread Types

UNC

UNC threaded bar and fasteners have coarse threads, which have a wider thread pitch (distance between each row of threading). UNC threads are the lowest strength threads of the major Unified types.

UNF

The UNF series of parts has fine threads, which have a narrower thread pitch than the UNC series. UNF threads are stronger than UNC threads, but take more turns to install.

UNR

UNR is a slightly rounded root radius on the external thread only. It is stronger than UNF, but will still fit a standard UNF nut.

UNJ

The UNJ series was developed specifically for high stress applications. Both the internal and external root radii are modified, and require a special UNJ nut. These types of threads are designed for high fatigue strength and are often required for aerospace applications.

The Most Common Thread Standards and Specifications

ASME B1.1

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a globally recognized organization that has developed many codes, standards, certifications, and educational materials to promote collaboration, safety, and continuous education across the world. The ASME B1.1 specification is a standard aimed at the thread form, series, class, allowance, tolerance, and designation of UN screw threads based on inch modules. The standard covers UN, UNR, and UNJ thread series.

SAE AS8879

The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) was developed alongside the automotive industry, and has since grown to include standards for both ground-based vehicles and Aerospace applications. AS8879 is an aerospace specification aimed at UNJ screw threads with very specific dimensions. This is the standard for all aerospace threads worldwide.

The standard also lays out the basic UNJ profile and design, the standard thread classes and form tolerances, and the methods used to designate UNJ threads.

About Superior Thread Rolling Company

Superior Thread Rolling has been a supplier of thread rolling and CNC machining services for well over seventy years. If you’re in need of a manufacturer of threaded components, check us out! We’d be happy to help you!

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CNC Lathe Machining at Superior Thread Rolling

At Superior Thread Rolling, our company is roughly split into two different departments based on our specialties–thread rolling and CNC machining. Together, these facilities allow us to make a wide range of pins, fasteners, bushings, bolts, and much more for our partners in Aerospace equipment manufacturing. Although we have offered CNC lathe machining for several decades, our shop has evolved significantly over the years thanks to the investment in new technologies and production methods, as well as the adoption of cellular manufacturing processes. This investment has allowed us to provide improved turnaround times, better quality components, and competitive pricing.

Cellular vs. Non-cellular: how we organize our CNC shop

Superior Thread makes use of a process called cellular manufacturing. This subsection of lean manufacturing involves creating manufacturing ‘cells’, each organized around a family of parts–components that share similar characteristics. That includes workstations, equipment, parts bins, tools, and other relevant resources, all of which are physically organized to optimize the flow of production of a single part from one piece of equipment to the next. This improves the efficiency of the production process, minimizing waste and logistical effort.

Want to learn more about cellular CNC machining? Check out our blog on the topic!

The parts we make on our CNC Lathe machines

Our CNC shop is organized to accommodate several different families of parts. These were developed over the years based on the needs of our customers, and the different parts that we commonly manufactured. These families include:

  • Large Fuse Pins
  • Clevises, Rod ends, Hooks, and Latches (Rectangular Bar)
  • Landing Gear Components
  • Small Bolts
  • Medium-Sized Fasteners
  • Large Bolts
  • Small Bushings
  • Large Bushings

  • We also have a cell that is dedicated to secondary operations that are typically completed after thread rolling, such as machining hollow ends, cross-holes, and keyways. 

    Learn more about our CNC capabilities.

Investing in the latest technology

Superior’s most recent is in a new CNC lathe built for large diameter parts and heavy machining. As demands for Aerospace landing gear components move to harder stainless steel materials, we have also adjusted our capabilities in order to accommodate roughing and machining hardened stainless steel, typically well over 50 HRC. This new machine can accommodate up to 15” diameter parts, and is equipped with a high-pressure coolant system, including coolant chiller to extend tool life when cutting these demanding materials. 

This lathe has been paired together with another large-diameter lathe to enable cellular roughing for landing gear components, improving our efficiency. We also have an overhead crane above these machines to improve the safety of the operators due to the size of the material we’re working with.  

Superior Thread Rolling: dedicated to producing better products at better prices

All of our efforts in organizing our CNC lathe machining cells, improving our process, and investing in better technology, is done to improve the service and products that we deliver to our customers. By improving our shop’s efficiency, we can offer better quality components at competitive prices.

Interested in working with us? Check out our website to request a quote or to learn more about how we can serve you.

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Getting to the Launch Pad On Time

The importance of a Manufacturer that Understands Your Deadlines

One of the most important things that an aerospace manufacturer can do is take proactive steps to ensure that they meet delivery deadlines, especially for spacecraft components. The space exploration and satellite manufacturing sectors have experienced significant growth over the past decade. In this market, meeting the launch date is extremely important, which is why having a parts manufacturer who understands and delivers spacecraft components on time is paramount. 

In a past article, we have discussed the importance of a good tracking system and an organized shop–and this is one of the reasons why such a system is necessary. Aerospace manufacturing is an industry that already requires demanding precision and durability, and for manufacturers in the Space Exploration sector, they have to also meet very strict launch deadlines while accommodating any design changes that might come up.

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The satellite industry especially is flooded with startup companies these days, all of whom have launch dates to meet. With the explosion of growth in the number of companies in the satellite industry, there has been an increased need for manufacturers of the spacecraft components to get those satellites into orbit–and an increased need for manufacturers who understand the importance, not just of making parts for rockets and satellites, but also getting them to the customer on time so that they’ll be ready to launch when the time comes.

Spacecraft component manufacturing is a stringent sector of Aerospace manufacturing not just for quality but also deadlines. Manufacturers in this industry should be flexible and knowledgeable on what they’re making. As the rocket is built, changes almost always need to be made to certain parts, and those changes have to be made quickly. And as production scales up, so do the number of changes needed in a part’s design in order to streamline the manufacturing process at large production volumes while still meeting the same quality and tolerance standards. Having a good tracking system and an organized facility allows aerospace manufacturers to adapt to these unexpected changes and challenges with much more ease. 

Superior Thread’s Experience in Spacecraft Manufacturing

We commonly work with some of the largest space companies in the world, manufacturing spacecraft components to meet their needs. From the moment we receive the quote and sometimes even to the point where we deliver the parts, our partners are constantly making changes to their designs, which may then affect the design on the parts that we’re making for them. Because we are so organized and so meticulous about our job tracking and ERP system, we are able to accommodate those changes quickly. Not only that, but as we go through the quoting process, we lend a lot of feedback on the manufacturability of the components that our partners would like us to make, combining our experience in thread rolling and CNC machining with our knowledge of the industry.

Space manufacturing is a demanding industry in both time constraints and quality. At Superior Thread Rolling, we know how important it is that you get the parts you need on time, so that you can meet your deadlines and stay on schedule for your launch. To work with a spacecraft component manufacturer that understands your needs, contact us today to learn more.

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Non-Destructive Testing for Rolled Threads

Examining the use of Liquid Penetrant and Magnetic Particle Inspections in Non-Destructive Testing

Non-destructive testing (NDT) is a common testing method in finding cracks and defects during quality inspection of threaded components. Liquid penetrant testing and magnetic particle inspection are the most commonly used industry-standard NDT processes. While both methods are very useful, they are each better suited to different types of threads and materials. Understanding the types of threads you are working with will help you better understand the results of these two major types of non-destructive testing.

Non-destructive testing for threads

Surface vs. Subsurface defects

Surface defects are any cracks that are open to the surface or major porosity. These are the only defects that can be detected through Liquid Penetrant inspection. 

Subsurface defects are cracks or faults found within the material that are not open to the surface. Magnetic Particle inspections are best for finding subsurface defects.

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Liquid Penetrant Inspection in Non-Destructive Testing

Penetrant examinations are a popular NDT method, being economical and versatile. This type of inspection relies on having a seam or crack open on or to the surface. A thin liquid flows over the component, usually a thin layer of an oil and water mixture combined with fluorescent particles. If there is a crack on the thread’s surface, the particles will flow into it and start to glow.

Liquid penetration is advantageous because it’s a simple, low-cost method that can be applied to any non-porous and clean material whether magnetic or nonmagnetic, as long as the surface is smooth and free of debris.

Magnetic Particle Inspection in Non-Destructive Testing

Magnetic particle inspection is excellent for detecting surface and near-surface flaws in ferromagnetic materials. Primarily, this method is used for detecting cracks in the threads. Mag particle inspection works very similarly to liquid penetrant, however iron particles are added to the oil and water mixture in order to help create a magnetic field across the part. Fluorescent particles can then flow across the field, and react when they find interruptions, revealing the defects in the surface.

Mag particles are excellent and highly accurate, but they only work on metals that can be magnetized, like ferritic steels and irons. Because this method detects surface and subsurface defects, it will find more indications than penetrant inspections.

Cut Threads vs. Rolled Threads

While NDT is useful for inspecting threads, many NDT methods can falsely reject rolled threads. Unlike cut threads, rolled threads have a natural seam that doesn’t have any effect on the part’s performance. Magnetic particle and liquid penetration inspections will enter the crevice and indicate that the seam is there. It’s important for inspectors to understand the differences between cut and rolled threads and recognize this seam–otherwise they may reject a part that’s actually perfectly fine.

Cut-Threads

Looking for a supplier of quality rolled threads?

Superior Thread Rolling has decades of experience in rolling threads that meet many different quality standards, including NDT standards for liquid and fluorescent penetrant inspection and magnetic particle inspection set by Boeing, Bell, Bombardier, and NADCAP. Check out our website to learn more!

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What Is Cellular CNC Machining And Why Is It Superior?

Cellular CNC Machining is not a new concept but it has had a massive impact on the manufacturing industry. Cellular manufacturing is a concept from Lean manufacturing, created to optimize the production of families of parts and improve the efficiency of a machine shop. Superior Thread Rolling employs the cellular method in our CNC machine shop with great success, allowing us to provide our customers with an optimum balance of pricing, quality, and performance.

A quick introduction to cellular manufacturing

Cellular CNC machining or cellular manufacturing (depending on the particular application) is a method for organizing production on the floor. In this method, all of the workstations, equipment, parts bins, tools, and other resources are physically organized in a way that accommodates an optimized flow of production from one piece of equipment to the next. This enables parts to move through each step of production as quickly and efficiently as possible, minimizing waste and logistical effort across the cells

quick-introduction

The goal of cellular machining is to organize everything in a way that optimizes the production of a part family, groups of parts that are similar enough to each other that the changeover between them is minimized. In order to execute cellular manufacturing around families of parts, this strategy requires the alignment of everyone from the CEO and sales all the way down to the production floor. As a result, the manufacturing cells are put together according to the capabilities and capacities necessary for these part families.

Single piece flow

Single-piece-flow

One of the key aspects of cellular CNC machining is a ‘single piece’ flow of parts. Rather than processing a batch of parts in a workstation simultaneously, these Lean machining cells are designed to accommodate parts through each machine one at a time. This enables quick production of a variety of products, or in other words, part families. This helps prevent the queuing up of parts between tool swapping, and promotes a much more efficient process. It also promotes improved quality across part batches, as the operators can find any defects or problems without affecting the entire production batch. This is especially important for applications where tight tolerances are critical, such as in Aerospace equipment. 

Single piece flow is not the best way for every shop. Manufacturing projects come in a wide range of production volumes, from single-part projects and prototyping all the way up to high volume factory production. However, most CNC machine shops live in the middle of that spectrum, making anywhere from a few parts to a few thousand at a time, such as in Aerospace manufacturing. In this middle area of production volume, cellular machining has proven to be the most efficient method, allowing shops to optimize not only their part mixes, but also their shop’s efficiency.

Cellular Machining at Superior Thread Rolling

Superior Thread utilizes cellular CNC machining, combining our Lean manufacturing systems into efficient and economical cells for different families of parts. From large fuse pins to a variety of small bolts and fasteners, we use these cells to supply quality components to our partners in Aerospace manufacturing.

Check out all of our different CNC machining cells here. 

If you’re interested in working with Superior Thread Rolling, check out our website to learn more or to contact us!

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What is Knurling? An Overview of the Knurling Process.

Aerospace manufacturing requires a number of different machining techniques, one of which is knurling. But what is Knurling? Knurling is a specialized type of manufacturing process, typically done to offer a functional finish to metal parts for improved grip and more efficient assembly. It’s especially common in Aerospace applications, where a fastener will be started by hand prior to assembly.

What is Knurling and How it Works

Knurling is a manufacturing technique that involves rolling patterns of straight, angled or crossed lines directly onto the part being processed. This results in a functional surface that is both aesthetically appealing and improves grip for assemblies being done by hand or started by hand.

There are generally two types of equipment used for knurling depending on whether the project requires through-feed or in-feed knurling:

Through-feed is used for knurling a bar over a certain length

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In-feed is used for knurling on a specific location of the part

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In addition to these variations in how the bar is fed through the machine, each die can be used to control how coarse or fine the pitch of the knurled thread will be.

What is Knurling – Knurling Diameters

One of the unique characteristics of knurling is that it increases the diameter of the part once the operation is complete because knurling displaces material rather than removes it. This is important to keep in mind, especially for parts that require highly accurate dimensions.

Determining Coarse and Fine Pitch 

At Superior Thread, our team uses our expertise to determine the standards for what is considered coarse or fine pitch on a knurled part. Often, our customers come to us with drawings that only describe the pitch as coarse or fine, without any other specifications, so we define what we determine as coarse or fine, as shown by the examples below, where pitch #72 is fine, and pitch #24 coarse. From there, we can consult with their teams to determine what specifications suit their project best.

What is Knurling at Superior Thread Rolling

At Superior Thread Rolling, we offer expert knurling, providing reliable parts for customers across various industries, especially for our aerospace customers, understanding the many intricacies involved in their applications. Our customers depend on us for a wide range of quality rolling services, and we can offer them all in one place so that they don’t have to source out different operations to different shops. And, with each part of the project being done in one shop, there’s far less risk of inconsistent quality across parts due to being worked on by different manufacturers. We produce high quality threads and knurled materials on the parts that our customers send us, being sure to meet the latest ISO 9001 and AS9100 industry standards.

For more information about all of our services, check out our website today.

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When to Use Different Thread Gages: The Thread Ring Gage

Thread Ring gages are important tools for measuring threaded parts and ensuring that they meet tolerances. There are many different types of thread gages, each of which has a specific application and part of the thread that it measures. In this article, our focus will be on the thread ring Gage, which measures Male (outside diameter) threads – the specialty of Superior Thread Rolling. 

Pitch Diameter

Before diving into the details of Thread Ring Gages, let’s briefly review the definition of Pitch Diameter, which is the essential basis for matching up male and female threads to properly fit with each other. The Pitch Diameter is defined as the diameter of an imaginary cylinder which intersects the thread such that the width of the groove between threads is equal to the width of the thread ridge along that cylinder.  

Functional Diameter

That imaginary cylinder diameter we call Pitch Diameter plus the real-world cumulative effects of imperfect threads like Lead Error, Flank Angle Error, Out-of Straightness, Taper, and Out-of-Roundness combine to form the Functional Diameter.  Each of these imperfections in the thread add to the functional diameter.  The size of the Functional Diameter of a male thread will determine whether the part will properly mate and function with the female thread.  

A Thread Ring Gage is manufactured to exactly represent the “worst case” conforming nut or mating piece female thread.  A Ring Gage, when properly set, will act as a functional check to ensure the male thread will fit all conforming nuts or female mating pieces.

Selecting the right Gage

Before learning how a thread ring Gage works, ensuring you have the right Gage is the first thing that you should do. 

First and foremost, make sure that the Gage size is aligned to the thread size. It’s important to match up the nominal size, thread form, pitch (threads per inch), and fitment class.

For example, the thread gages shown above are for a 22mm thread with 1.0mm pitch, and fitment class 6g. Ensure that information matches exactly with your blueprint requirement or you could cause a false negative.

Thread Ring Gages

Thread ring Gages are meant to measure the functional diameter of an external thread. It has two parts, a GO Gage and a NO GO Gage, which are both necessary for checking the thread. The GO ring Gage is meant to screw onto the part, while the NO GO Gage should not go onto the part for more than 1-2 turns at the start of the thread. 

The GO and NO GO Pitch Diameters should be listed directly on the gages being used.  It is common convention for many calibration technicians to use Red wax when locking the NO GO calibration, and Green wax when locking the GO Gage calibration.  Additionally, many gage manufacturers will machine a groove through the knurling around the outside of the NO GO gage so it can be easily distinguished.

GO Ring Gages

The GO thread ring gage, if properly sized, can be screwed on by hand with only “2 finger pressure” using your thumb and only one finger and will screw all the way to the end – if the thread is conforming. If the GO Gage does not screw on the entire length of the part, then the Functional Diameter of the thread is too large and it will not function properly.

You will need to investigate further by measuring individual thread elements to determine why the GO Gage will not go.  Pitch Diameter, Lead Error, Flank Angle Error, Out-of Straightness, Taper, and Out-of-Roundness all contribute to Functional Diameter.  Once the underlying measurement causing the problem is determined, investigate for the Root Cause of that problem and take Corrective Action.  “GO Gage will not Go” is not a complete investigation.

NO GO Ring Gages

The NO GO ring Gage ensures that the external thread size is not too small. If the thread is sized correctly, then the NO GO Gage will, when screwed on by hand without use of excessive force, only screw on one or two turns. If the NO GO Gage screws on any more than two turns, then the thread is too small and other instruments will be needed to determine the cause. 

In order for the functional diameter of the thread to be sized correctly then, the GO Gage should screw on the part all the way to its end, while the NO GO Gage screws onto the threads 1-2 turns Max.

Looking for a supplier of thread rolling services?

Superior Thread Rolling is your source for quality thread rolling and CNC machining services across industries. For more information, check out our website.

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Lean Manufacturing – What it is And How it Benefits Customers

DMAIC and Lean Manufacturing

DMAIC is a structured approach to lean manufacturing – finding and fixing issues within a production line, system, or work center, with the aim of continually improving the process. A designated project team analyzes any issues in the process, and then prioritizes them based on their impact on the efficiency of the operation. Once a solution has been found and tested, the project team not only circles back to ensure that the problem is under control, but then starts on the next issue on the list.

Define

This is the process of determining the actual problem and assigning team members, budget, time and other resources to finding a solution for the problem.

Measure

The team assigned to finding a solution then has to get metrics for the problem, whether that’s examining measurements already in place, or establishing them anew. This allows them to gain a better understanding of the problem, establish a baseline, and then continuously measure it during the cycle, and afterwards to test the solution they implement. This can involve both simple measurements as well as complex and in-depth statistical analyses.

Analyze

In this part of the cycle, the team analyzes the metrics they compiled to determine why the problem is happening. A good approach is to include shop floor employees who are actually involved in the process being analyzed, relying on their valuable insight and experience to help find the cause of the problem. Another way that this data is often analyzed is through a Pareto Chart, which examines the number of incidents happening and how often each one occurs. This way, the team can determine the most common incident, which allows them to better focus on the root cause of the problem.

 

Improvement

Once the metrics have been identified and analyzed, the team determines what they think is the root cause of the problem and implements a solution. This could be any number of things, from new training for employees, better computer software, a redesigned workspace, cleaning, and more. Then, the team compares the metrics after the solution has been implemented to the original baseline to see if there has been a beneficial effect on the process.

Control

Just implementing a solution isn’t enough–after that’s done, the team assigned to the problem continues to monitor the process to ensure that the improvement is actually working. They continue to take measurements and document the process for days, weeks, or even months, and then compare the results to the initial metrics. If the metrics don’t improve then the team circles back the Improvement phase to try again. The DMAIC can be used repeatedly on the same process to continuously drive improvements.

The 5 S’s of Lean Manufacturing

These five terms are vital to lean manufacturing and refer to the organization of tools on the shop floor, and provide a method for maintaining a clean and uncluttered work area for employees that reduces wasted time and movement. This in turn leads to improved lead times and product quality for customers.

Sort

When launching 5S in the work center, make sure there is nothing unnecessary there, such as unrelated tools or other items. Any items or tools not used weekly should be removed.

   

Set and Order

After everything is sorted, the remaining items are given a spot or label to ensure that the workspace remains ordered and organized.

Shine

This refers to keeping the workspace clean, performing daily tasks and ensuring that everything is back to its spot at the end of the day.

Standardized

The management of the shop floor should set the standard for how much time is spent cleaning, when it should be considered finished, and what tooling is common for the workspace–which includes procuring tools from the same manufacturer(s) and keeping spares nearby if something were to break.

Sustain

This refers to ensuring that cleanliness and organization of the workspace are maintained. This often comes in the forms of audits by management or the supervisors, in order to keep everyone accountable for maintaining their workspace each day.

Safety

While commonly there are only five ‘S’s’, American companies, and Superior Thread Rolling among them, add on Safety as another foundation. This includes being in compliance with workplace safety regulations, such as those set by OSHA.

Gemba Walk in Lean Manufacturing

A Gemba Walk is a lean manufacturing process in the workplace where a walkthrough is done by supervisors or management to observe employees, ask about their tasks, identify productivity gains, and maintain communication with the shop floor. It also allows management to get insight from employees on potential improvements that could be made to their workcenter’s efficiency and organization.

How Lean Manufacturing Benefits Customers

Manufacturers that implement these and other major practices in lean manufacturing have more opportunities to offer benefits to their customers, such as:

  • Reduced lead times
  • Improved product quality
  • Reduced costs
  • Elimination of waste, including time, movement, and materials
  • Improved on-time delivery

By continually improving processes and workflow, lean manufacturing offers more efficient and productive services to customers, reducing their costs and providing them with higher quality products.

Looking for a supplier of thread rolling and CNC machining services?

Superior Thread Rolling is a leading aerospace manufacturer with over seventy years of experience. We have implemented many principles of Lean manufacturing, including those listed above with great success. Our adherence to these lean manufacturing principles has contributed to our operation’s success over the past seventy years. Contact us to learn more about what we can do for you.

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On-Time Delivery With Aerospace Parts Manufacturing

The Challenges in Aerospace Parts Manufacturing and how Superior Thread Rolling is Overcoming Them

In today’s challenging times, supply chain delays have become commonplace, including in the Aerospace parts manufacturing sector. The difficulties have been expounded by recovery from COVID and the raw material shortages. These supply chain issues have caused many Aerospace manufacturers to experience delivery delays to their customers. 

The recovery from the pandemic has revealed a lot about the importance of good scheduling and organization when it comes to the manufacturing process. Accurate cycle times at each step of the manufacturing process contribute to the overall efficiency of the company, and a well-organized schedule can improve the company’s ability to reliably manufacture and deliver products to their customers. 

How COVID Affected Aerospace Parts Manufacturing

When the pandemic first hit, the Aerospace parts manufacturing market crashed entirely. No one wanted to travel, let alone in an airplane, and as a result, the manufacturing of aircraft slowed to a halt. That in turn led to less material purchases for airplane parts and related applications. There was complete uncertainty too over whether or not business travel and similar functions would return. Complicating this concern was the necessity of using video calling platforms. 

This led to mass order cancellations and as a result, mass layoffs at companies, especially the mills that produce the necessary materials for the industry. And this was already a slow-moving sector of the industry, because processing raw materials into a workable product takes a lot of time. 

There were other unexpected changes that arose. Two industries related to Aerospace that didn’t shut down, Defense and Space, experienced little to no impact from the pandemic. They had much less competition now for the resources that had traditionally been dominated by the much bigger Aerospace industry. Once the Commercial Aerospace industry started ramping up, material suppliers experienced increased demands beyond what they were currently capable of handling. 

All of this had led to a shortage of raw materials. Mills haven’t been able to keep up with the needs of all these industries, especially as there’s only a handful of mills that can process some of the necessary raw materials. As a result, many manufacturers can’t find the materials they need and have to wait for them to become available or find an alternative, leading to increased lead times and later delivery dates. 

How Those in Aerospace Parts Manufacturing Can Combat These Challenges

Over the past several years, Superior Thread Rolling has been taking steps to improve our efficiency and our delivery times. Throughout this progress, we have improved our system in order to provide more transparent communication with our customers. These steps have helped us greatly as an aerospace parts manufacturer, especially when the pandemic hit. 

Setting up expectations

The most important thing in Aerospace parts manufacturing we’ve made sure to do for our aerospace customers is set up reasonable expectations. We let them know ahead of time whether or not the material they want is available, when it will be available, and offer alternatives such as a different size or grade of the material that is more readily available. Our team does this during the quotation, making sure that we never promise anything that can’t be followed through, and maintain transparency throughout the rest of the process as materials are ordered. 

Good Scheduling

High-quality aerospace parts manufacturing companies use MRP software, or Material Requirements Planning, as well as other valuable scheduling software, to give us a much better idea of our capacity and material availability. We utilize a Master Scheduling program which allows us to quickly analyze our customers’ needs and our open capacity, which in turn allows us to better respond to our customers’ expedited requests. This helps us know what we can and can’t promise at the quoting stage of our manufacturing process. Essentially, MRP is one tool that has allowed us to mitigate supply chain challenges and provide accurate estimates for each job.

The MRP system allows us to analyze the different operations that the job will go through and create a full schedule for it, from start to finish. This schedule then helps us to prioritize, expedite, and organize jobs within each step of the process, and gives us an accurate, real-time view of our entire shop’s capacity. We take steps to ensure we have accurate cycle times throughout our shop, which also helps us to be more organized in our job scheduling. The MRP system also has the added bonus of allowing us to view priority schedules or job lists for each section of our shop, so that our team members are always aware of what they should be working on, how long that process should take to complete, and then what project comes next. 

Without a system like this, other aerospace part manufacturers could be at risk of overpromising and late deliveries, which can negatively affect their relationships with customers. We believe that it’s better to be transparent upfront about what we can and can’t accomplish within the customer’s initial timeline. 

Transparency

At Superior Thread Rolling, you don’t have to call us and ask what’s going on with your project–we have systems in place to tell you. Recently, we’ve added a system for automatic job status updates for all of our current customers on the thread rolling side of our company. This system sends automatic updates letting customers know where the job is at in the process, how many operations need to be completed, and other important information. This way, we can easily provide customers with information that traditionally they would have to call in order to get. This is not only less time consuming for them–it also frees our customer service team to be able to better assist other incoming calls. 

We have been heading in this direction on the CNC manufacturing side of the company as well. Much of the software has been implemented, and is currently being beta tested by volunteers. 

Final Thoughts

Good scheduling is the backbone of customer service and communication. A good scheduling system should be flexible, easy to change, and provide an overview of what’s happening in the shop. However, there are many other steps beyond just a good schedule in order to better understand our shop’s efficiency and capacity, and find ways to improve. The goal is to mitigate supply chain challenges as much as possible, and be transparent to customers about capabilities. 

In need of aerospace parts manufacturing? Superior Thread Rolling is an industry leader specializing in critical and flight safety components for the Aerospace, Defense, and other industries. Contact us to learn more!

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Supporting Sustainability as an Aerospace Parts Manufacturer

Sustainability is a hot topic across several industries, but none more so than the Aerospace market and the need for an aerospace parts manufacturer committed to sustainability is paramount. There have been several recent efforts to a more sustainable and environmentally supportive manufacturing processes and products across many sectors of Aerospace research & development. Today, we’re highlighting some of the newer developments in sustainable aerospace manufacturing and how Superior Thread Rolling is supporting this push for sustainability as an aerospace parts manufacturer.

Research and Residential Space Stations


As space travel has continued to advance and evolve, there has been a push towards building space stations that are specifically designed for research and residential purposes. Vast’s Haven is probably the most prominent such station, but many other companies and organizations have been working towards public space travel and further exploration, with the goals of building off-planet colonies in the near future. 

Electric Engines for Aircraft

There has been a big push over the past couple decades for incorporating electric engines onto various types of aircraft, which has resulted in cleaner, more efficient operation, as well as cheaper operating costs overall. However, electric motors traditionally transfer less power than combustion engines, which is the biggest barrier for adding them to commercial airplanes that regularly carry large groups of passengers from place to place.

Reusable Rockets – Partnering With an Aerospace Parts Manufacturer

A few companies have led the charge towards reusable rockets in another effort to promote sustainability in the aerospace industry, and they are partnering with an aerospace parts manufacturer that values the same commitment to sustainability. There have been many such rockets developed or are currently being developed today, and one has even been launched over two hundred times to date.

The use of reusable launch systems has many benefits in terms of sustainability, the main one being a reduction in the amount of waste generated due to the reduction of ‘one-time use’ parts.

These reusable rockets are reducing launch costs, which has opened up opportunities in space to more companies. This in turn has led to increased data transmission and internet accessibility in remote places, while expanding research opportunities which can lead to future innovation.

Superior Thread Rolling Supports Sustainability as an Aerospace Manufacturer

The Superior Thread Rolling company has been an aerospace parts manufacturer since our inception over 70 years ago. Back then, we were instrumental in developing thread rolling for critical applications in the Aerospace Industry. Today, we continue to support our aerospace partners in this market while they push for further innovation and sustainability in their fields.

Superior Thread has been supporting sustainability in the Aerospace industry through our partnerships with many companies in this sector who are pushing for advancements like the ones above. This includes manufacturing the aerospace parts that they need and supporting their sustainability projects by supplying quality parts for use in electric aircraft, reusable rockets, and much more.

Superior Thread Rolling is a proud to be an aerospace parts manufacturer dedicated to sustainability in the aerospace industry. To learn more about us, contact us today!

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