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​ COMMITMENT. INNOVATION. QUALITY.
Lifetime Products Dramatically Increases Its Mold Making Capabilities With the
​ Addition of The Mazak FJV-60/120E
Productivity Improvements Are So Outstanding That They Ordered Their 2nd 6 Weeks Later!

In one of the 22 large industrial buildings at the Freeport Center that Lifetime Products occupies, is a small group of engineers and machinists who design and manufacture nearly all of the molds utilized to build Lifetime Product’s entire product portfolio. Kelly Martinez, long-term employee of Lifetime Products and Machine Shop Director, manages the entity. ​ Kelly says that his team builds approximately 50 molds per year, and they use outside mold builders for a small amount of overflow work, but most are built in-house. Products manufactured by Lifetime Products typically require multiple molds. For example, the kayak pictured (a Hydros 8’6” Sit- On-Top kayak) has a cavity and a core; these are the primary molds but the kayak mold will have additional parts to them, such as the inserts, rail, cylinders, and bolts. The sheds they build require 10-12 molds to provide each component for assembly, Kelly shared. Molds were taking about 11 weeks to build, on average, and in their early stages of developments they often require revisions. Charles Monsen, long-term employee and Mold Designer/ CNC programmer, says, “About 70% of our molds require revisions due to feature modifications.” |

Lifetime Product’s mold shop is run like a standalone business, the team says, and it must be competitive with outside mold shops to retain Lifetime Products’ business. Kelly says, “We can design and manufacture our molds for about 15% less than they can be done by outside suppliers, and we can also turn modifications much faster than an outside entity.”
The molds start with solid material that is generally quite large (>10,000 lbs.), so most machine shops do not have machines with the weight capacity nor the travels needed to manufacture these molds. The kayak pictured, for example, will start with a block of material that weighs in excess of 11,000 pounds prior to being machined.
More than a year ago, the company made the decision to upgrade their machine shop productivity and capability. Randy Macari, CNC Programmer, says, “We did a substantial amount of research prior to making our latest purchase. We looked at probably 5 different machine tool builders, and since these large machines are not common, we traveled to meet companies who had the machines we were evaluating.” He continued, “One of our most surprising findings in this research was that you cannot take the specifications provided by the manufacturer alone, and make the assumption, that because some specs are higher, that the overall performance of the machine is better too. In the case of many manufacturers’ spec sheets, we found that some quoted ‘best case’ scenarios, where as other manufactures were more conservative.” The team at Lifetime’s mold shop utilized test runs on samples of
their own products to determine the machine that best fit their requirements.
The team ran more than 50 test cuts between in-house machinery and multiple machine
tool vendors. Most test cuts were performed on smaller machinery because larger bridge-
frame equipment is not normally kept in-stock by machine tool vendors due to their size and
enormity of investment. However, the smaller machines would serve as a representation of
the performance of the larger machines. The best they achieved in-house was 63 minutes.
Mazak was the top performer with 30 minutes of run time and a better surface finish.

Ultimately, the Lifetime team selected the Mazak FJV-60/120E, which is a high-precision, high-productivity, double-column vertical machining center with enhanced spindle performance, the latest in CNC technology and rigid machine construction, specifically with regard to “Y” axis support. Its design ensures extremely high-precision machining over extended periods of operation by eliminating
the spindle overhang that is a big concern with traditional C-frame vertical machining centers. Furthermore, its ergonomic design ensures convenient loading/unloading of very large work pieces and overall ease of operation. The table is also 100% supported by the massive base, over the entire travel.
While all expected an improvement on the inhouse cycle time proportionate to the test cuts, there was no sure way to tell exactly what the cycle time on the newly purchased Mazak FJV-60/120Ewould be until another test cut was completed after the machine’s arrival. Everyone expected the larger and final equipment to move slower than the smaller machines, consequentially setting
estimations of the cycle-time on the new machine to be closer to 40 minutes. With Lifetime’s new Mazak, these same test cuts took only 29 minutes and 45 seconds, entirely blowing away everyone’s predictions and setting the new record for the test cut! Not only was FJV-60/120E the top performer, but it was also proven to be designed with power and speed proportionate to the capacity it was meant to handle. Randy says, “Since installing and utilizing the Mazak FJV-60/120E for 6 weeks now, the results are far better than we even expected.
Here are some comparisons:
Our Kayak core took 175 hours to build and 14 hours to polish with our older machine (not a Mazak) and now takes 100 hours to build and 1 hour to polish (75% and 1300% faster) .
Our Shed cores took 243 hours to build and 30 hours to polish with our older machine (not a Mazak) and now takes 117 hours to build and 17 hours to polish (108% and 76% faster).
Our Shed Floor cavity took 101 hours to build and 50 hours to polish with our
older machine (not a Mazak) and now takes 17 hours to build and 30 hours
to polish (494% and 67% faster)”​
Charles says, “You get what you pay for, and the Mazak is just so much faster than the machines we used prior to our purchase.” He adds, “With the Mazak FJV-60/120E, we are seeing better finishes, so there’s significantly less sanding and polishing, and we are
reducing our electricity consumption. Due to the rigidity of the machine, our tool life is much better!” The team says that the Mazak is most impressive for heavy cutting. One example: Randy says, “We previously ran a 1-1/2” Kennametal inserted Mill-1 cutter at
6000RPM at 100IPM feed rate and .100” DOC when we were rouging a mold. Now we run the same cutter on the Mazak FJV at 8000RPM at 236IPM feed rate and .300” DOC.”
Kelly says, “In our new machine tool purchase plan for mold making, we were looking for high speed, extreme rigidity, and an overall reduction in the cost of making our products.” With the purchase of their Mazak FJV-60/120E, the machine has a “Bridge-Frame” design that supports long “Y” travel (this model travels are X=120”, Y=55” & Z=26”). This additional “Y” travel has allowed the crew at Lifetime to cut set up time in-half, on a number of molds, that would have otherwise required multiple set ups. It is also equipped with an 18,000RPM spindle, 1000psi coolant, dual belt chip conveyor with a filtration system, an X-Large coolant tank, and the latest ‘MAZATROL SmoothG’ control, which comes standard on the machine.​
The MAZATROL SmoothG is an advanced CNC super powerful processing of data and incorporates a wide variety of advanced programming functions that make it easy to operate and ensure high-speed, high-accuracy machining performance.
Functions Include:
√ High Gain Feed Forward Control boosts machining speed and
accuracy
√ Variable Acceleration Control calculates and applies optimal
acceleration for a combination of axes
√ Smooth Corner Control makes cutter path adjustments to help
shorten cycle times while holding accuracy
√ Rapid Over Lap increases the speed and smoothness in which
the machine rapids to reduce non-cut time
√ Smooth Machine Configuration optimizes and allows fine tuning
of the machine for different machining styles

The Lifetime team is so pleased with their Mazak FJV-60/120E, that after just 6 weeks of production, they ordered a 2nd machine!
The Lifetime products team had been purchasing Mazak machines from Smith Machinery for many years now (since 1991), so they knew Mazak was a premier machine and they knew they would get great performance with a Mazak. They are also very familiar with the combination of Smith Machinery/Mazak service; Charles says one word describes it, ‘Outstanding’.
Both Mazak FJV machines were purchased with support from David Soares, Sales Engineer for Smith Machinery. David and the Smith Machinery team worked with Lifetime Products throughout the testing and the decision making process. David values the
opportunity he has to work with the Lifetime team. Together with Kelly Martinez and Dennis Norman, they visited Yamazaki Mazak in Japan, and toured the five factories there. They also were able to meet with the Yamazaki family.
Mazak is a privately held family-business that will be celebrating its 100th year in business in 2019! The fact that their name is on every one of their machines means a lot to them, insomuch that they support every Mazak for its life, and ensure that they are built of the upmost quality and leading technology.
Go to Lifetime.com to learn about all of Lifetime Products’ offerings. Their products can be purchased at sporting goods stores, large retail stores, and online.
​
Article courtesy of A2Z Metalworker

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