Fabco-Air was founded by Alfred W. Schmidt in Cleveland, Ohio in 1958 and has grown extensively since then. For over 50 years they have provided the industry with high-quality parts at competitive prices and have established themselves as a name you can trust with their in-house engineering, production, and assembly. Best known for their Pancake® cylinder, the product line has grown extensively. Fabco-Air's facility includes more than 61,000 sq. ft, including in-house engineering, production, and assembly. They have a dedicated workforce of 75 people with an average length of employment of more than 17 years.
Between Bill Schmidt (President), Scot LaMar (Vice President), and George Edwards (Chief Engineer), Fabco has a combined work experience of 128 years driving innovation.
About 45% of their business is special products designed to customer specifications, and the engineering staff is ready to assist customers in custom designs and any technical aspect of their business. They also have full CAD support, available in 2D or 3D, downloadable from their website. Their extensive and diverse product line and outstanding customer service have allowed them to become a major provider to the most demanding industries: medical, packaging, semiconductor, automotive, robotics, custom motor vehicles, etc.
Fabco Air Parts, and the World of Racing!
Scot LaMar, VP of Fabco, lives in Florida and follows the NHRA circuit. Scot owns Top Dragster, super Comp Dragster, SS/EA 1969 Camaro, and a D/SA '95 Camaro LT-1. He does restoration work on cars and Fabrication on Hi-Performance race cars; and Fabco supplies Pneumatic components to Teams as small as sportsmen, to safety components for Top Fuel Funny Car, Top Fuel Dragster, Pro Mod, Alcohol Funny Car, Dragster, and other Categories.
Scot LaMar is not only a 40-year machining veteran and Vice President of Fabco-Air. He is also a racing enthusiast. Well, not just an enthusiast, Scot owns and races four cars. “I’ve been racing since 1963. My dad was tech director for NASCAR drag racing in 1965 and 1966. Drag racing has been a part of me since then.”
“As a supplier of pneumatic components to numerous racing product manufacturers, we needed a machining solution that would improve the throughput of hundreds of parts run in production and still handle the odd-ball parts needed for the small lot runs.”
–Scot LaMar, VP of Fabco-Air
80+ Tools with Eurotech EGS Holders.
After years of research, Fabco-Air found the solution to their problem at Eurotech; their story was featured in TMD (Today's Medical Developments) in an article titled, the Answer to a Manufacturer's Big Problem.
Their current process also spread over so many different machines that total output could be compromised if any of the key machines were down, so they needed a machine that offered more consistent production. Added to these needs, they wanted to be able to change a program fast — a faster, less expensive new product introduction, with a simple change-over, was added to the list.
Fabco’s decision was based not only on the technology that Eurotech provided but also on the engineering support team. Shortly after, a second machine was purchased – Eurotech’s B835 SLY. Bill Schmidt, President of Fabco-Air, quickly learned how to utilize the full potential of the machine:
“We recently invested in the Eurotech B750 Stallion. The application we needed the Stallion for was an air cylinder bordering nearly 6 inches in diameter. This was our eighth Eurotech so the learning curve was minimal, and we were up and running the part in no time. Previously the same part took six different operations totaling over 35 minutes in machining and handling. Now the same part is done in one operation in just under 13 minutes complete! We saw huge cycle time
savings (over 60%!!) and a massive reduction
in operations,”
- Chris Kazimie, Fabco-Airs - Process Improvement Manager
Fabco-Air now owns six Eurotech Elite machines: three of the single turret, six-axis series; and two of the universal chuck & bar turn/mill centers that boast a 35 hp integral spindle with 4.02″ bar capacity, double wound motor, 26″ turning length, and dual spindle – the B658SLY. As a world-class performance leader of pneumatic products, Fabco-Air had a reputation to uphold and an international clientele that demanded they stay up with the cutting edge of technology. When asked if Eurotech solved their complex problem, Bill Schmidt said, “Eurotech allowed us to continue with our diverse and rapidly growing product line, while offering on-time delivery and excellent quality control. We achieved a reduction of thru-put time, a shorter handling time, and a huge reduction of set-up time.”
“Eurotech has gone above and beyond the call of duty. We are extremely pleased with the Eurotech product and team.” – Bill Schmidt, President of Fabco-Air
Advanced Pneumatic Products
Fabco was featured on “World’s Greatest!” for its advanced automation and technology.
“World’s Greatest!” is a popular TV show that tours the world and shows behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with some of the most amazing and unique companies, products, people, and travel destinations the world has to offer.
Fabco-Air is a top performer in the pneumatics industry and offers a complete line of pneumatic components including cylinders, rotary actuators, slides, grippers, and valves. A long-time Eurotech customer, Fabco-air has always been committed to offering the highest quality products with advanced technology.
In preparation for the show, a film crew was sent to their 61,000 square foot facility, to get the story behind their success. Viewers discovered why Fabco-Air was selected as one of the best in automation, and therefore featured on the show. In a recent interview with Chris Kazimier, Fabco-Airs Process Improvement Manager, we learned more about their newest investment and application.
The air cylinder (Above), is approx. 6” diam. 6061 Aluminum, was machined in one operation, with the Eurotech Stallion. It machined the part 62% faster and eliminated 5 operations in the process. All 16 stations of the Stallion's turret were utilized with Eurotech’s large Y-axis stroke and unique tooling— “we can have up to 94 tools on the turret!”
"We have over NINETY cutting tools on a single turret and run numerous parts with one program by simply calling up a macro for over 200 different parts. We only use 10 stations for the large variety of parts and leave two stations open for oddball parts.” “Eurotech has gone above and beyond the call of duty. We are extremely pleased with the Eurotech product and team.”
– Bill Schmidt, President of Fabco-Air
Optimized Part Production.
For example, the part pictured on top included a large hole through a double-rod air cylinder. Fabco-Air customized a standard cylinder to fit into small parts assembly machinery. The through hole allowed mechanical drives and pressure/vacuum lines to pass to the point of use. Another part (middle), which is a specialty builder requires a unique dual-bore cylinder. Fabco provided integral nests machined into the cylinder body to enable precise alignment of customer tooling while meeting extremely tight space limitations. The last part pictured on the bottom is a special external bushing that solved guidance issues and met cylinder length restrictions. A modified 5” bore cylinder, designed with a special tool plate, used long composite bushings for continuous guide shaft engagement. The bushings were supported at both ends by the end caps. Length restrictions precluded the use of overhanging guide shafts.
“Parts went from 7 operations to one operation. Set-up time was greatly reduced and often eliminated altogether. With Eurotech’s B545 SLY, we not only reduced our operations, but we inspected a part one time instead of a partial part 7 times. We have over EIGHTY cutting tools on a single turret and run numerous parts with one program by simply calling up a macro for over 400 different parts. In fact, we only use 10 stations for the large variety of parts and leave two stations open for oddball parts.” – Bill Schmidt, President of Fabco-Air
For more information on Fabco-Air: www.fabco-air.com, Location: Gainesville FL.
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