SHOP SOLUTIONS Continued from P43
Operator skill is an important part of the process. Since Lincoln does not apply a copper substrate under the chrome, the polished steel or stainless steel must be as flawless as possible before plating. Rempel said that the machine’s programmed capabilities are enhanced with skilled eye-hand coordination by the operator to achieve superior results. For example, if the operator sees a flaw in the part, he can make multiple passes with the abrasive belt or wheel instead of indexing the part for the next pass. Rempel said that while productivity improvement with the
new process hasn’t been measured exactly, production time has been reduced by at least 40%. There are other benefits as well. He said, “Now we can run the same part through both operations with one setup, which reduces the possibility of handling damage, and having fewer handling operations also helps prevent repetitive motion injuries for the operator.” In addition, the company has been able to reduce or elimi- nate overtime because of the improved productivity, which further reduces costs.
Lincoln Industries is a family-owned business, founded
more than 60 years ago, with two plants and approximately 600 employees in Lincoln, NE. The company provides a comprehensive range of manufacturing and engineering services to a blue chip list of companies, many of which are in the transportation industry for products that require high-performance metal finishing. G&P Machinery is a manufacturer of purpose-built grinders, sanders, and polishing equipment. For more information from G&P Machinery Corp., go to
www.gandpmachineryin.com, or phone 317-898-0750. Continued from P36
Automation Smooths Shop’s Entry into CNC Production
S
teve Meyer, co-owner of Toolcraft LLC, located in Ft. Wayne, IN, admits he had to be “dragged kicking and
screaming” by his sales manager, John Taylor, into the realm of robotic automation for his long-established tool and die company. However, after going through the process with Gosiger Automation (Dayton, OH), Meyer said, “it has been a lot more fun than I thought it would be, and it was definitely the right move for our company.”
January 2016 |
AdvancedManufacturing.org 99
Toolcraft began life in the mid-1960s and Steve started working for the company in 1974. “In those days I mainly worked on rebuilding pre-NC machine tools. We’d tear them down and completely refurbish them. We would also make modifications for the customer and build new gages and fixtures. Eventually, the fixtures and gages became the bigger part of Toolcraft’s business,” Meyer said. In 2009, Steve and his brother, Bruce, purchased the company from the founder’s family. “We were very fortunate that the employee with the least amount of service had been there 21 years,” said Steve. As close and loyal as Toolcraft’s employees are, however, they were more than a bit ap- prehensive when Steve and John started moving in a new direction. According to Steve: “We had always been a onesy- twosy tool and die shop, then we began repairing tooling for Tuthill pumps.” Tuthill was founded in 1892 and started its pump divi- sion in 1927. Today, Tuthill Transfer Systems (TTS; Fort Wayne, IN) makes the Fill-Rite and Sotera brands of pumps
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116