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Customer Spotlight: Crystal Group Inc.

Crystal Group, Inc. is a leading provider of high-performance, rugged compute solutions for defense, government, and industrial markets. Founded in 1987, this small, employee-owned business specializes in designing, customizing, building, and testing rugged servers, embedded computers, networking devices, displays, and data storage for high reliability in harsh environments. Their integrated solutions meet or exceed IEEE, IEC, and military standards, including MIL-STD-810, 167-1, 461, and MIL-S-901, to bring seamless, real-time artificial intelligence, autonomy, and cybersecurity to demanding edge applications. 

What is your company mission or brand promise?

Our mission is to provide high-quality products and services, quickly and flexibly, with unparalleled customer support. 

What are some projects you've worked on that you are the most proud of?

We have full compute solutions on high-profile military programs, like the B2 Bomber, THAAD, JPALS, CANES, and SEWIP. We’ve also had a lot of recent success with autonomous applications, like autonomous semi-trucks. 

What makes your company stand out?

We give our customers the exact solution to meet their needs, and we can do this fast. We also take care of them long past the sale if an upgrade or a part needs replacing. We put the customer first and make sure they stay mission-ready. 

How did you come to learn about FlexArm?

A web search brought us to FlexArm while looking for reputable tapping arms. 

 

Tapping Arm Aluminum
Flexarm Rugged Compute Solutions
What ultimately made you decide to purchase a FlexArm?

We chose to go with FlexArm because of the ability to work on plastic and aluminum parts, reviews of quality, ease of use, customer support, and added value to our CNC department. With our use and cost savings, we estimate the FlexArm to pay for itself in less than a year and a half. 

 

How has the FlexArm improved your operations?

FlexArm is used regularly to quickly fix first-run parts that may have shallow threads, undersized counter-sinks, and undersized holes. It has also immensely shortened our turn-around time for re-working parts for customer-requested changes in these areas. This saves several hours of reworking by hand. In one case of modifying a purchased part. We reduced our rework time by almost 90% compared to doing it by hand. 

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Related Topics

Standard Features

  • Hand Pendant
  • 22″ Touch Screen Monitor
  • Omron FlexCNC Controller
  • Mobile Control Panel
  • Through Spindle Coolant 
  • Auto Tool Changer 
  • Flood Coolant
HP
Max RPM
FT/LBS
Series

18

4000

92

C-20-02 / C-10-02

18

6000

61

C-20-02 / C-10-02

33

12000

61

CM-20-02

Auto Stand-Off – This is currently defined to be surface stand-off and not to be confused with vector stand-off in 5-axis mode. The current auto stand-off is based on a changing surface and will adjust vertically based on the angle of the “A” Axis, so there is five (5) axis taken into account during the calculations, but this is not the same as the tool vector stand-off. There is the ability to do the vector stand-off change while the machine is running manually with buttons on the screen.

Z-Reader Probe – The Z-Reader is a device for mapping the location of the surface. It can be controlled manually & programmatically. The option is NOT active while cutting & is retracted out of harm’s way. It can be triggered to verify the surface at every pierce before the cutting process starts, or it could be used to drive surface mapping of the whole part before cutting starts. It begins with initialization or zeroing of the device to the surface at the beginning of a program and then accumulates or tracks the difference from that zeroing effort.

Automatic Edge Finder – The edge finder is or can be utilized manually (Jogging Method & Screen Buttons), programmatically (M & G codes), or fully automatic routine (dedicated program). This option sets offsets & program rotation to match the orientation & location on the cutting table.

AC Unit Installed on Electrical Cabinet – The unit is mounted on the cabinet’s High Power (480v) side. It is close to the location where the drives are mounted. This option keeps the cabinet temperature stable and allows heat dissipation faster. The servo drives for all axes are the most significant contributors to heat inside the electrical cabinet.

5-Axis Renishaw Calibration – The calibration unit is a Renishaw model APCA45 with a modified spherical stylus. The device has a retractable cover and air purge to clear debris & dust during the activation process. It mounts to a swing arm controlled by a pneumatic rotary, so it is out of the way during regular operation and swings into the calibration position for calibration only. 

HP
Max RPM
FT/LBS
Series

18

4000

92

G-20-06 / G-10-06

18

6000

61

G-20-06 / -10-06

40

4000

217

GM-20-06 / G-20-06 / G-10-06

40

6000

145

G-20-06 / G-20-06 / G-10-06