Beginning as a one-man, 400 sq. ft. operation in 1974, Precision Products developed out of Founder and CEO John L. Glover’s vision of providing a higher level of service to manufacturing customers in the industrial Midwest. From these meager beginnings, Precision Products has grown and prospered into a multi-million-dollar operation, serving international clients in the Fortune 500 category, with manufacturing facilities in Greenwood, Indiana. Despite the tremendous growth, one thing has remained constant – an uncompromising commitment to providing the highest levels of service possible.
58% cycle time reduction utilizing the palletization and unmanned production? Yes, with Matsuura.
According to Bruce Palmer, Owner of Precision Products, the recently installed Matsuura MX-330 PC10 machine has enabled a 58% overall reduction in cycle time.
“It’s palletized and that’s where the huge gains are in your reduction of your cycle time,” Palmer explained. “We’re very excited since it’s only been two months since we installed the MX-330 PC10, and now I’m asking: how quickly can I get a MAM?”
Palmer says Precision Products has taken many steps out of the process, saving time, and providing responding quicker to the needs of their customers using their new Matsuura.
“The main thing we’re trying to do is obviously reduce labor and reduce touches to the part,” Palmer said. “So, we’ve remanufactured how we go about making that part by replacing edm with milling, because it can be done through the palletization.”
Precision Products’ Philosophy is to help their customers gain a competitive advantage. In today’s economy, that means combining innovative ideas and technology into next generation solutions – solutions that reduce cost, increase efficiency, and which result in significant labor savings. It also means maintaining the strictest standards of quality and delivery – at competitive cost.
The precision and repeatability of the Matsuura MX-330 PC10 has been integral in helping provide this value to customers.
“With the precision of the Matsuura and its repeatability, we just turn the part, mill it, harden it, and grind it to a finished part, completely eliminating the edm process,” Palmer added. “We’ve eliminated polish 100% due to the precision and the surface finish that does not require polish-which is phenomenal and a major leap forward in our process.”
Palmer explains that there is nothing more repeatable than a machine tool.
“When a human is polishing a part typically you make a part more inaccurate, so if we can eliminate touches to the part, that eliminates that risk,” Palmer explained. “When the part goes in the machine, it’s going to come out right and it really takes a lot of the sleepless nights out of running the business in my opinion.”
With 45 years of service to their customers, Palmer explains that there are no shortcuts on the long, and often challenging, path to success. Seasoned veterans in the manufacturing sector understand that a company’s longevity, is directly linked to how well it provides service to its customers and how much value it can add to those services. Precision Products remains focused on their customer’s goals and objectives.
“Most of our customers we have had for over 35 years, and I want my customers to know if they have a problem, I’ll do everything I can to help them,” Palmer continued. “With a tool like the Matsuura, that just helps me do that job more easily, more effectively, and more profitably overall, which is key.”
In addition to the MX-330 PC10, Precision Products also has an LX-160 PC42 in their facility.
“When my customers tour and they see the MX-330 PC10, many have never seen one before, but for the ones who know what it is, it’s an instant checkbox in their brain,” Palmer said. “It’s like our customers say, ‘they know what’s going on,’ so it’s a great tool for me to show them what kind of equipment I have to build their confidence in Precision Products.”
Local Matsuura Distributor, Yamazen, Inc., has been of great service and support to Palmer and the team at Precision Products.
“We’ve had a relationship for 25 years with Yamazen, so we trust them from the get-go,” Palmer said. “They represent Matsuura, so as soon as they walk in the door and they say I represent Matsuura, I said let’s see it.”
Palmer explained that he tells the employees that he will try and make their lives easier- not by working harder, but instead by working smarter.
“To work smarter, you got to have a better machine tool and better processes, and that’s how we all get paid more money at the end of the day,” Palmer added. “The salesperson will sell the first one and, in our case, Yamazen, then the machine and the support will sell the second one and the third one and the fourth one.
At Precision Products, reacting to customer needs in a timely fashion is imperative. The Matsuura’s massive toolchanger is crucial.
“When a customer calls with an emergency, we can react, and we don’t have to setup again, just move to a different pallet which takes only 15-20 seconds,” Palmer explains. “Your tools are already loaded because you have a massive toolchanger and your program’s already in there so we can go from part a to part b in minutes, reacting much faster and more effectively.”
Precision Products has been pleased with the Matsuura’s productivity.
“This one machine can eat the work of three or four standard machines because your spindle only stops running when you’re doing a tool change or a pallet change, other than that it’s cutting metal,” Palmer elaborated. “The parts are going to run faster and more accurately, but the palletization is your bonus.”
Part accuracy has also been important to Precision Products.
“Accuracy of that 10th part or that 20th part is the same because the precision is repeatable all the time on this Matsuura,” Palmer said. “Matsuura already figured out everything you don’t know yet. And they say ‘here’s everything you need to be successful because we’ve done this for a long time.’
Finding new features on the Matsuura has stunned the team at Precision Products.
“This part we ran on the Matsuura with a 40% reduction in cycle time, then we realized there’s a dynamic control in the Matsuura which allows you to set accuracy and lets you tune the cut by changing your parameters for accuracy, speed, and finish,” Palmer explained. “So, once we activated that feature, we reduced that cycle time by another 20% by just using that Matsuura feature and we were flabbergasted.”
One of the biggest stresses any company can have is if the spindles are not turning.
“It goes back to the service and the support,” Palmer continued. “They know if my machine’s not running, I’m not as happy as I could be, so they they’re key on that.”
Matsuura’s Service has been dependable and reliable for Precision Products. Matsuura recognizes that being successful means being available for customers 24/7. With Matsuura’s diverse locations and capabilities, the company combines the massive resources of an international company with the personalized service of a local business.
“Matsuura’s support is key, for example, they will dry run programs for us on the exact same machine and you know that’s as good as it gets,” Palmer said. “They say ‘run that you’ll like it’ in a matter of hours, not days or weeks, in hours.”
Learn more about Precision Products at: https://www.prec-prod.com/contact_us.htm.
Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc., located in St. Paul, MN is the U.S. subsidiary of Matsuura Machinery Corporation in Japan. Since 1935, Matsuura has been the forerunner in designing innovative technology and manufacturing solutions to a variety of industries around the globe. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. delivers unmatched excellence in 5-axis, vertical, horizontal, linear motor, multi-tasking CNC machine tools and machines with a powder bed metal AM platform with machining capability. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. provides the service, applications and technical field support that have always been the Matsuura standard for business.
For more information about Matsuura, please contact: [email protected]. To find your local Matsuura Distributor, please visit: https://www.matsuurausa.com/distributors/.
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