Spinning - Part Alternatives Mechanical Art Evolves Into Electronic Art with Competitive Edge for Part Making

As product designers aggressively try to find better and more cost efficient ways to produce products, one manufacturer stands out with its processes as a choice that gets better over time.

Metal spinning is an age-old art, but even high technology manufacturers have rediscovered that Acme Metal Spinning has the solution to many of their design problems. With an unusual ability to spin a broad range of materials in very large diameters to 140 inches, Acme stands out for its exceptional capabilities. Even in its most basic form, there is no other process like metal spinning as conservative with material, simple to tool up, yet produces precision and repeatable quality. It's fast to produce and is completely flexible in its application to many products in many industries. Acme, as you will see, takes these metal spinning processes even farther.

To those who know that Acme Metal Spinning dates back to 1908 may also think this is when the process first began. Not true.

5,000 years ago the Messopotamians discovered that spinning was an ideal method for making pottery and eating utensils. The Egyptians applied the technique to precious metal to produce containers like chalices and cups. But it wasn't until the early 1860's that the process really began to be accepted for manufacturing parts. Just prior to World War I, the process began to compliment metal stamping and lathe turning as a less costly and faster alternative.

Acme Metal Spinning originally began at North Star Speciality Company, a general sheet metal shop with a metal spinning department. In 1919, the metal spinning operation became a separate specialized business and through many changes and expansions continues on into the '90's.

Today's parts produced at Acme bear little resemblance of centuries ago. For example, Acme's parts are cryogenic tanks, decorative light fixtures, filtration systems, chemical and food processing containers.

Acme's accumulated experience over 85 years has been enhanced with the latest computerized spinning processes and equipment with the result that its operations are highly cost-effective with unusually fast part turn around.

Acme's manufacturing approaches not only make them highly competitive with metal stamping, but spinning is often the process choice over deep drawing, hydroforming and die casting.

By definition, metal spinning is a method of forming flat metal discs or pre-formed metal workpieces on a metal spinning lathe into conical, hemispherical and cylindrical shapes.

According to Bruce Johnston, Acme Vice President, metal spinning is inherently a low volume production process. As quantity requirements increase, stamping becomes a more cost-effective choice, particularly if the stamping tool requirements are nominal. However, as the part diameter increases and tool costs for stamping increase, metal spinning usually is the more economical choice.

Metal spinning also competes favorably with a variety of plastic fabrication processes, especially where the cost of metal is often less than expensive petroleum-based material.

Quantities, tooling costs and time-to-market are all important factors in choosing one process over another, according to Johnston. Often to launch a product, Johnston reports, Acme will spin part prototypes or test market quantities while permanent tools are being made. That's an economical way to launch a product, check its acceptance, modify it if needed and then begin making permanent production tooling.