How Sawyer Composite cut finishing time with five-axis milling machining

Since 1992, Sawyer Composite has specialized in producing advanced composite laminates and assemblies for aerospace. Based in Fort Worth, Texas, the company is ISO 9001- and AS9100-certified, providing customers with turnkey design, engineering, manufacture and qualification of advanced composite tooling and structures.

In 2024, the FZU22 portal milling machine was launched by Zimmermann onto the U.S. market, and Sawyer was among the first customers.

Germany-based Zimmermann supplies portal milling machines, characterized by huge workspaces, substantial machining dynamics and cutting performance. The company has its North American headquarters in Wixom, Michigan, where it operates a full tech center, offering engineering assistance, commissioning, parts and retrofit services, as well as multiple machines for demonstration purposes.

The company was founded in 1933 by Friedrich Zimmermann and employs more than 200 individuals worldwide. Its machines are used globally in the automotive, aerospace, moldmaking, transportation, off-highway and mechanical engineering sectors.

“Our older machines increasingly struggled with accuracy, throughput and downtimes,” explains J.R. Tubb, CNC programmer at Sawyer. “The FZU22 provided immediate improvement.  It runs reliably and delivers impressive precision, and its rigid monoblock design allows for significantly faster machining. As a result, our throughput has increased, and the amount of required rework has dropped considerably.”

The enclosed workspace has been on of the FZU22’s main advantages. “When milling composite materials, the carbon dust stays within the machine and doesn’t reach sensitive components,” says Tubb. “We’re also very pleased with the minimum-quantity lubrication system. It has reduced our lubricant consumption, leading to lower costs, less waste and a much cleaner working environment. On top of that, the Siemens Sinumerik One CNC control system can be operated quickly and intuitively, just perfect for our five-axis machining at Sawyer.”

Zimmermann also offers Sinumerik One CNC control as an opion on its FZP37 gantry milling machine.

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In the CNC manufacturing space, Siemens has demonstrated integration of its Sinumerik One machine tool controller, leveraging its standard machine tool interface, and released Run MyRobot, an option suite in Sinumerik One designed for robotic control.

“We have a program for a component that runs on every machine,” explains Tubb. “When we machined this part on the FZU22, we finished almost 30 minutes faster and with much better surface quality. The finishing work now takes only half as long—an outstanding result and perfect interaction between operator and machine. As another example, we had a series of aluminum plates to machine. Thanks to Zimmermann and its service team’s advice, we now achieve the required tolerance on the first run, without necessary adjustments or rework. That saves a tremendous amount of time and resources. Choosing the FZU22 was absolutely the right decision for our company.”

The FZU22 is a perfect example of productivity without compromise, notes Cornelius Kiesel, president of North America for Zimmermann, who cites its compact, precise state-of-the-art control technology. “By implementing the FZU22, our customers can make their manufacturing more flexible, accelerate processes and improve quality at the same time,” says Kiesel. “The strong performance in the U.S. market reinforces our promise of going beyond precision. The example of Sawyer shows that, despite the current circumstances, there is significant potential in the North American market and customers are willing to invest when quality and service meet expectations.”