PDQ Process

Engineering

We have six full-time mechanical design engineers working solely on fixture design. PDQ has an eleven seat SolidWorks subscription (shared with our sister company PDQ Tooling [link]), including several SolidWorks Premium seats for FEA and other higher level engineering calculations. PDQ has the engineering capacity to complete all designs in-house and will not outsource your design to third party engineering firms. (However, PDQ doesn’t have an issue building to a customer supplied design if it has been previously built and proven out). Once the fixture is built, complete design models and detail drawings are available to the customer in native SolidWorks format or an exchange format of their choosing.

Upon receipt of order, your project will enter the queue in our engineering department. Once the designers reach your project in the queue, you may be contacted for more information. If your RFQ was thorough enough, you may be contacted once the preliminary design is completed. The preliminary design will show all locators, clamps, retention devices, and tool clearances (assuming tool drawings are supplied). Customers will need to carefully review and recommend changes before the design is completed. A video conference or Go-To-Meeting between the customer and designer is recommended. Once the design is approved it will be finished up and released for build.

Machining

PDQ is continually investing in new equipment and utilizing the latest machining technology to improve quality and efficiency. CNC mill operators use SolidCAM to create programs directly from the SolidWorks model geometry to reduce errors. PDQ invested in specialized equipment for our product in mind and isn’t dependent on other shops for gundrilling or large plate grinding.

VMCs

2x DMG MORI – CMX 1100 V
1x DMG MORI – DMU 50
5x Doosan – DNM 400 II
2x Doosan – DNM 500

HMCs

3x Haas – EC 1600 YZT
1x DMG MORI – DMU 100 P

Lathes

Doosan – PUMA 2600 Y
Doosan – PUMA 2100 Y with LNS Bar Feeder

Finish Grinders

Okamoto – ACC32-80EX
Okamoto – ACC12-24DX
Okamoto – PRG6DX
3x Okamoto – Linear612B

Gundrills

TechniDrill – 100-1.25-48-3A
Eldoroado Gundrill Head on custom Jig Mill (48” drill depth)

Other Machines

2x Lagun – Millmatic II Knee Mill
2x Acer – e-mill
Devlieg – 54K-60 Jig Mill
Devlieg – 43K-72 Jig Mill
Blanchard – 26HAD-48 Grinder
Blanchard – 22K-42 Grinder
Maxiem – 1515 Water Jet

Assembly and Inspection

After machining, fixture components are black oxided for corrosion resistance and laser etched for identification. Finished details then make their way to the assembly department. Our skilled assembly technicians carefully assemble each component, while at the same time checking for fitment and possible quality issues. The assembly department features large monitors to display the 3D design model, so technicians can easily determine fixture function.

Once assembly gets a fixture gets far enough along to be inspected, it is moved to a temperate controlled CMM lab where the locating points are checked on our large capacity Zeiss Accura II 2000/3000/1500. PDQ designs feature grind shim adjustment of rest pad height and round pin/diamond pin location. Our CMM operator uses the grind shims to dial in the locating features. CMM programs are saved by fixture number, so that repeat fixtures are inspected exactly the same way. The final green sheet CMM reports are made available to the customer.

Following inspection the fixture is moved back to assembly for a pressure decay test and clamp test using a sample casting supplied by the customer. Ideally, the customer visits PDQ’s facility for the clamp test and final approval. If that isn’t possible, PDQ Quality and Engineering will approve the fixture for shipment, and then it is crated and shipped.