The Isel machine is designed for production routing and drilling on a wide variety of materials including wood, plastic, MDF, solid surfacing materials and nonferrous metals

An inexpensive computerised numerical control (CNC) machine has helped start a new production woodworking business. The company produces complicated architectural ornamentation that was up till then mostly made by skilled craftsmen working with power tools. There is a substantial market niche for producing decorative woodcarvings faster, cheaper and at higher levels of accuracy.
Low-cost CNC machines can accurately duplicate a computer aided design program in much less time than someone working by hand.

Although clearly a skilled job, making complicated pieces such as carved mouldings and friezes is a very slow process by hand.

The first piece is typically assigned to a very experienced and highly paid craftsman, who cuts it out with hand and power tools, then less experienced workers typically duplicate the piece using a tracer.

One problem with this approach is that even the most skilled woodworker has difficulty accurately producing three-dimensional contours.

The result is a piece that requires extensive finishing by hand, to chisel and sand the piece the way a customer wants it finished.
The beauty of a CNC machine is that every detail of the piece can be defined to absolute perfection in the CAD/CAM software and allowing time for the operator to do something else while the machine produces the part.

While the CNC machine isn’t perfect, the accuracy of the machines is far beyond what can be achieved by hand.

However, every piece made will be just as good as the first one such that each piece coming off will need little hand finishing
While programming is a labour-intensive process similar to cutting out the first piece by hand, once it is completed other pieces can be produced without constant attention.

All that is required is a person loading raw wood and unloading finished pieces on the machine and occasionally checking to be sure the tool hasn’t worn out or broken.

The result is that architectural ornamentation can be produced at a much more competitive price on CNC machines.

The Isel machine is designed for production routing and drilling on a wide variety of materials including wood, plastic, MDF, solid surfacing materials and nonferrous metals.

It is very flexible and easy to use, and is adaptable to nearly any woodworking problem.

For example, long pieces of moulding can be stacked side by side while the spindle traverses each piece to cut the pattern.

Another piece introduced is called a corbel, a triangular decorative bracket that fits in the corner between a ceiling and wall.

The machine takes a solid block of wood and whittles it down to an intricate 3D design on three sides.

These multisided pieces are mounted on a rotary table that moves the appropriate face towards the spindle one after another.

The Isel machine’s shaft and bearing system produces very smooth, play-free motion and is an extremely rigid system that produces high-quality cuts.

It uses anti-backlash ball screws that have excellent power transmission due to the rolling ball contact between the nut and screws.

This type of contact ensures low friction, low wear and long life.

The ball screws also make it possible to produce wooden parts to the machine resolution of 0.013mm.

Instead of being ball screw-driven, there are less expensive machines using rack and pinion gearing which have too much play to make accurate cuts in small areas.

Also this type of gearing wears out quickly in the dusty environment of a carpentry shop.

The Isel machine uses servomotors to control the cutting motion, while other machines often use stepper motors, which can give a stair-step cutting effect.

With this set-up the company can produce just about anything that customers requires.

One customer asked for a moulding that looks like a grapevine with the grapes protruding in 3D.

From a picture of what was wanted, the image was scanned and then turned into a 3D model.

The artwork is coloured by the use of brushes and flood fill tools and each colour is assigned to an individual 3D profile.

The different types of profiles that can be generated include plane, round and angular.

The parameters of these profiles are controlled by defining the basic shape, start height, limit height and wall angle, giving almost total control over a wide range of 3D effects.

The programme builds 3D reliefs by assigning a height to each pixel in the 2D image.

Then by providing their own artistic interpretation and designing the moulding in such a way that it can be machined quickly, a sample piece in MDF is given to the customer.

From the feedback the programme is modified so that the finished pieces are exactly what is wanted.

Equipped with flexible stock-handling system and integrated automation, a universal production gear hobbing machine cuts gear and gear-shaft type components up to module 4

The EMAG-Koepfer 300 series Gear Hobbing Machine offers a universal concept with highly flexible stock material handling magazines and integrated automation designed to cater for a wide range of gear and gear-shaft type components up to module 4. The outstanding technical attributes of the 300 series, said EMAG to manufacturingtalk.com at EMO 2007, are underpinned by uncomplicated user interface, quick set-up, consistent reliability and high precision, as well as the flexibility to adapt and cater for the smallest and largest production batch sizes.
Gear hobbing gear- and shaft-type components - the gear profiling specialist Jos Koepfer and Soehne, in Furtwangen, Germany, said manufacturing companies are under enormous time and cost pressures.

It makes it absolutely crucial that their production machine concepts should be adaptable to suit their machining requirements.

The K 300 has been specially designed for the machining of a variety of components and batch sizes.

Its application range includes gear-type as well as shaft-type components.

To ensure that these can be produced in small or larger quantities, and to cover just about every conceivable gear cutting task, the Gear Hobbing Machine 300 has a selection of automation systems.
* Nine CNC axes for optimal gear profiles - the Gear Hobbing Machine 300 features nine active CNC axes that accommodate a fully automated machining process.

The company said that only a polymer granite machine base can produce optimum results, which is why Koepfer uses the Mineralit material for its vibration damping properties, said to be eight times better than those of grey cast iron.

Mineralit forms a static, dynamic and thermo-stable foundation for the machine and guarantees an excellent tool life and a superb surface finish.

Other features of the K 300 type include the following.

* The machine is of a closed-loop framework design that offers maximum stability for tailstock and main spindle, even when great clamping pressure and heavy cutting forces are applied.

* Maintenance-free direct drives in all tool and workpiece axes ensure that the gear cutting quality achieved is the best and that it remains so throughout the life of the machine.

* The milling head has been aligned diagonally to the machine base to guarantee easy chip flow during wet and dry machining.

This design allows the chips to fall unhindered into the chip conveyor below.

Two further important points in the development of the machine were easy access and an ergonomically designed machining area.

The latter offers the possibility to mount NC pilot tools such as wheels or turning tools for deburring, vibration dampers, sensors for automatic component orientation, or special applications such as live deburring tools.

* Compact loader with flexible workpiece magazines - the principle of highly flexible magazines and automation equipment that was applied to other Koepfer gear hobbing machines has also been applied and adapted to the K 300.

Close attention has been paid to the different machine and workpiece requirements.

The main feature of the automation is the fast acting Koepfer loading device with V-profile gripper, suitable for workpieces of up to 5kg.

Also available are a variety of magazines for the raw-parts and finish-machined components of different ranges of workpieces.

The capacity of the magazines - and thus the autonomy of the machine - can be increased very easily, and without taking up additional space, by employing various parallel running workpiece feeders.

This ensures the machine can handle small component batches as easily as large quantities of workpieces.

* The control system of the Gear Hobbing Machine K 300 - the control system of the K 300 is equipped with a touch panel and a user interface that closely resembles Windows.

The specially developed, extensive Koepfer dialogue software ensures that complex programs can be generated with ease.

A high specification, low cost CNC 3-axis machine, beginning at under GBP 7,000, can perform routing and engraving, drilling and milling, dosing and sign making, prototyping and modelling

Unimatic Engineers has launched a high specification, low cost EuroMod CNC machine range with starting prices at under GBP 7,000. The EuroMod is a 3-axis, high performance, servomotor driven, CNC machine suitable for a wide range of operations, such as routing and engraving, drilling and milling, dosing and sign making, prototyping and modelling.
Unimatic said it is equally adept at dispensing, laser and water jet cutting, soldering and welding, measuring and verifying, sawing and cutting.

Managing director of Unimatic, Martin Stevens, told manufacturingtalk: ‘What we are offering is a servo driven machine at a stepper price.

Servo machines are quicker, smoother, quieter, and more accurate than ’steppers”.

He said: ‘We are able to combine price and performance because EuroMod machines are manufactured in volumes such that efficiency gains are achieved on all fronts.

EuroMod represents a sea-change in attitudes to CNC machining: it is no longer an exclusive preserve, but the new benchmark for all machining’.
Automation - EuroMod machines are ready to use CNC systems designed to automate a large number of tasks and applications.

Rigid, low vibration steel and aluminium constructions provide the mechanical basis for the EuroMod units.

The 16 x 5mm ballscrew drives are high precision to match the performance of the servomotors.

‘When developing the EuroMod units, the focus was on providing a small footprint,’ said Stevens, ‘Because space saving is a near-universal requirement by virtually all users’.

Any unit need a floor width of only 1160mm.

The XYZ dimensions are 800mm, 1100mm and 1510mm.

The electronics of the EuroMod and the servo motors are optimally matched to the mechanics, the power electronics and the control.

The user gets high power, quiet running and reserves of performance.

The complete electronics of the EuroMod, including an integral PC, are enclosed in a control box.

Operation is through a control panel with keyboard, 10in display and touchscreen.

The EuroMod units are available with or without protective cover.

The versions with cover are equipped with an automatic door opener.

The EuroMod gantry section is fixed and the workpiece is moved below this rigid section.

This design is particularly suitable for precision machine cutting and for multi-axis machining, said Unimatic.

Functional accessories are also available for the EuroMod units.

Options include a work spindle with frequency converter for high speed operations such as drilling and milling, a tool changer for programmable multi-task operations, cooling/spraying device and fume extraction system, vacuum clamping system, CNC joystick and 17in CNC control panel.

During EMO 2007, Gleason introduced a thread wheel grinder for finishing hardened gears and a CNC gear testing machine for production or quality laboratory use

Gleason Corporation’s Genesis 130TWG Threaded Wheel Grinder is a compact, highly-productive machine for finishing hardened spur and helical gears. It uses dressable grinding worms as tools. Three dressing systems are available, as follows. * Dressing with a diamond-plated dressing wheel for maximum productivity.
Dressing with conventional dressing wheels for high flexibility and productivity.

* Optional contour dressing for maximum profile and flank flexibility.

The machine also offers optional patented grinding process for twist-free gearing and a patented grinding process for low-noise surfaces.
A cam-driven high-speed loading system is designed to reduce loading and non-productive time to a minimum.

The Genesis 130TWG also allows the shortest possible changeover times by using quick-change fixtures and other smart detailed equipment.

* Control system - the Genesis 130TWG has the latest Siemens 840D control and user-friendly technology software including process data calculation for easy operation.

The Genesis 130TWG provides the other benefits familiar from the Genesis series , including simple maintenance and a small space requirement.

This equips the machine for all the requirements of modern production environments, said Gleason.

Capacities of the Genesis 130TWG are as follows.

* Nominal workpiece diameter is 150mm.

Nominal module range is 1 - 3mm.

Maximum shaft length is 350mm.

** Versatile 360T Universal Gear Tester: for 90 deg, angular bevel and cylindrical gears - CNC roll testing of just about any gear set type is now possible with the Gleason 360T Universal Gear Tester (patents pending).

It is available in either fixed 90 deg or full angular configurations.

Its ability to quickly perform advanced quality measurements on bevel, angular bevel, and parallel-axis gears makes it ideal for everything from high-production automotive and jobbing to laboratory environments, said Gleason.

It has the following main features.

* Fully automatic SFT and SBN checking of all gear set types.

* Swinging gear head from 65 to 185 deg.

* Compact and ergonomic machine design.

* Tool-less arbour installation and adjustment.

A compact, highly productive machine for the fine finishing of soft spur and helical gears performs plunge as well as diagonal and parallel shaving processes

Gleason described its Genesis 130SVC Shaving Machine as a compact, highly productive machine for the fine finishing of soft spur and helical gears with an outside diameter as large as 150mm. The Genesis 130SVC also has an integrated chamfering and deburring station. The Genesis 130SVC allows plunge as well as diagonal and parallel shaving processes.
Gear flank corrections are made using the Y, X and Z axes and the novel Gleason Spheric shaving software.

As an option, the 130SVC can be equipped for ‘Power Shaving’, a proprietary Gleason process proven in the successful ZS series of Gleason-Hurth shaving machines.

By driving the tool and workpiece spindles the plunge shaving time can be reduced substantially, said Gleason to manufacturingtalk.com.

The 130SV is equipped with an innovative cam-driven double gripper loader fully integrated into the machine.

The Genesis double-gripper loader reduces the load/unload sequence to a minimum.
NC chamfering and deburring station - the 130SVC has an integrated NC chamfering and deburring station to produce a combined machine in the tradition of the Gleason-Hurth ZSE series.

The workpieces are subject to generate deburring before shaving takes place.

Since the process runs in parallel, the floor-to-floor time of the system as a whole is determined by the shaving process and is not prolonged by chamfering and deburring.

The principle of chamfering and deburring is based on the use of a rotary deburring tool, which generates a chamfer on the tooth face edge and removes the protruding burrs on the face side of the gearing with the secondary deburring tools.

The chamfering unit concept means that no manual settings are necessary for retooling.

Different outside diameters or workpiece widths are taken into account by the NC.

Access for tool changes is optimized to ensure the shortest possible changeover times.

A double-gripper gantry loader is used as standard for transferring workpieces between shaving and deburring stations.

As a result, connection to a variety of customers’ automation concepts is possible.

The Genesis 130SV is equipped with the latest Siemens CNC system and Gleason provides Spheric Shaving technology software with process data calculation to help make set-up and operation control easy and intuitive.

Capacities of the Genesis 130SV are as follows.

* Minimum/maximum outside diameter - 10-140 (150) mm.

* Minimum/maximum module (plunge shaving) - 1.0-3.0mm.

* Minimum/maximum module (diagonal/parallel shaving - 1.0-4.0 (5.0) mm.

* Maximum tooth width, plunge shaving - 40mm.

* Maximum shaft length - 350mm.

The firm, operating since 1992, specializes in production CNC turning. It started out in Art Fink’s garage with a single piece of equipment.

Today, Fink’s firm has five employees in a 6,000-sq.-ft. facility with five pieces of CNC equipment. Each piece has a sub-spindle and live tooling.

Above (1-r): ACF’s Doug Kappelmann, McClain Machine Tool’s Gene Jacobs & ACF’s Art Fink.

The new seven-axis Citizen Swiss turning center, purchased through McClain Machine Tool Solutions in St. Louis, features: a 10,000 rpm spindle; 18 tools (seven live); 700 series Mitsubishi Windows controls; bar capacity up to 20mm (3/4″); and a CAVL20 magazine barfeeder.

Fink noted that ACF Machine purchased the new Swiss turning center for the speed, efficiency and quality it offered, and to keep up with the company’s growth. He especially likes the unmanned capabilities that it provides and that it is all Servo controlled (no pneumatics or hydraulics).

The company, which is ISO compliant, produces small to large production runs from all standard metals and most plastics in many shapes and configurations. They can also work with customers on parts design and development.

ACF serves a wide range of commercial and industrial customers throughout the mid-America region.

When asked about what accounts for ACF Machine’s success and growth Fink stated, “Good customer relationships along with our industry knowledge and expertise.” Fink and Shop Manager Doug Kappelmann combine for almost 45 years of manufacturing experience.

In 2005 the firm, which offers custom CNC milling/turning and vacuum heat-treating has completed a 6,000-sq.-ft expansion, received three quality certifications, added three new CNC lathes and celebrated its 4511 anniversary.Starting in 1960 with a crew of three in a 2,000-sq.-ft. facility, Asbury Machine started out producing roller bearings.Today, the company’s crew of 25 works two shifts in a 20,000-sq.-ft. facility producing parts for such industries as: petroleum, construction, mining, electronics and food processing.

The most recent equipment additions include three Hardinge Talent CNC lathes (two model 1078 and one 852) purchased through Kansas-Oklahoma Machine Tools’ (KOMT) Tulsa office. The two-axis lathes feature 12 tooling stations. One is equipped with a barfeeder and parts-catcher.

“We appreciate the value the Hardinge lathes offer,” stated Asbury Machine’s Plant Manager Paul Brown. “We like the standard features, (such as high-pressure coolant and fanuc controls) and working with a U.S. machine tool builder. We also know that the KOMT crew will take care of us.”

The company has 15 pieces of CNC equipment, including 11 lathes (nine 2-axis and two 4-axis) two horizontal machining centers and two vertical machining centers.

Asbury Machine works with all standard metals and plastics. Their lathes can handle parts up to 14″ in diameter and 23″ in length, while their machining area can handle work up to 20″ in cube size. The company can handle small runs as well as large runs.

In the spring, the company received certification to three different quality standards. These are: American Petroleum Institute (API) QI; ISO 9001:2000 and ISO/TS 29001. Additional equipment for its QA lab is planned for the future.

The firm also produces its own line of tricone rotary drill bits for the mining, petroleum and construction industries under the Throop Rock Bit name.

As he considered the company’s history of growth and expansion, Asbury Machine President Garry Hayes attributed the success to, “Quality and ontime delivery combined with our experienced crew (average tenure is 10-15 years) and continually upgrading our equipment.”

In multispindle machining, the longest operation at a given position dictates the time required to make a complex part. Generally, the position dedicated to working on a part’s back end takes the longest time, because just one spindle performs different operations.

To overcome this problem, Tornos Technologies US Corp. (Brookfield, CT) has developed the MultiDECO 20/Sd, an eight-spindle machine with two independent, three-axis backworking stations. In essence, according to the company, it’s a ten-position machine.

In operation, positions one through six are used to work on the front of the part. Every two indexes, two parts are cut off in positions seven and eight. Those parts are then taken by the two independent pickoff spindles, and presented to as many as five tools per part for backworking. In theory, then, if the longest front-work operation is 10 sec, and the backworking position requires 20 sec, cycle time would still be 10 sec.

Further enhancing productivity and quality are the eight independent motorized spindles. Adjustable spindle speeds range from O to 8000 rpm. The RPM is optimized for each position. The goal with the machine is for parts to come off complete, with no secondary operations required other than inspection and washing, ready for packaging and shipping.

Tornos says that as many as 40 parts/min can be produced on the machine, and it maintains part tolerances of 0.0002″ (0.005 mm). Accommodating part diams to 20 mm, the machine can be equipped with a palletizer, or parts may be placed on a conveyor belt. A dedicated bar feeder holds up to 80 bars, and standard tool attachments permit rotary milling, polygon and thread milling, broaching, and cross-drilling operations. Circle 201

The Integrated Hydraulics division of Parker Hannifin Corporation (Chanhassen, Minnesota) is a manufacturer of hydraulic cartridge products and integrated systems used in fluid power applications. The hydraulic manifold blocks for these products require precision machining, which is done on two horizontal machining centers (HMCs) equipped with a series of CarvLock cluster towers from Kurt Manufacturing Company (Minneapolis, Minnesota).

To maximize productivity for its diverse product mix, Parker Hydraulics uses a well-planned high density Kurt workholding system that accommodates many different size manifold blocks in relatively small production runs. Manufactured out of 11L17 and 12L14 steel, ductile iron and aluminum, these manifold blocks are finish machined in several sizes with various configurations of SAE ports, valve cavities and threaded holes, most with precision features. The manifold blocks range in size from 1-inch to 15-inch widths, and lot sizes average around 100.
Stepped jaw design
Stepped jaw design on the Kurt Cluster tower handles up to 15 different size parts by rotating the jaws. The Quick Change feature allows repositioning a set of three jaws on one side of the tower in less than a minute.

“Our workholding setup allows us to maximize the output potential of our Palletech system while it provides us with the flexibility needed to handle the many different size manifold blocks for our product mix,” reports Rick Vogel, manufacturing supervisor for Parker Hydraulics. “We have ten towers in the system, with each tower holding eight parts for machining. There are two clamping stations per tower face, and each station is equipped with stepped clamping jaws. The center stationary jaw is also stepped to match up and provide the correct clamping dimensions for up to 15 different size manifold blocks. By rotating the jaws in each station, we cover the full range of needed sizes from smallest to largest without having to change jaws.”

The biggest advantage to the setup, according to Mr. Vogel, is that it allows for machining on three sides of the part without having to unclamp, reposition and reclamp the part. Steps on the two non-clamping sides of the jaws provide the needed clearance to do the required machining on three sides of the part without having to change the jaws. The stepped jaw design reduces spindle travel so that the system is in the cut at all times, delivering maximum productivity.

Getting the most out of a system like the HMC-equipped Palletech system is described by Mr. Vogel as amazing to see in action. Parker Hydraulics uses both to mill, drill, tap and bore. Both HMCs have a top speed of 12,000 rpm with a chip-to-chip tool change time of 3 seconds.

Parker Hydraulics requires close tolerances for its hydraulic blocks, which means the clamping system has to be extremely rigid. The cluster towers are precision machined from 80,000 psi ductile iron which is said to give the clamping modules the extra rigidity needed to achieve workpiece immobility while dampening cutter induced vibration.

With four different jaw systems available for these cluster towers, Mr. Vogel and his team opted for the machinable aluminum design for five of the towers and machinable ductile iron for the second set of five towers. This combination is said to provide the best clamping force for different size manifold blocks with the largest sizes held in ductile iron jaws and the smaller ones held in aluminum jaws. By using Kurt’s off-the-shelf jaws, Mr. Vogel and his team saved time over designing their own. The quick-change feature allows removing and repositioning a set of three jaws in about a minute, which is done while the towers are in the setup queue. These movable and stationary jaws repeat to 0.001-inch accuracy, so there are no alignment problems when changing the jaw setup. Another feature Mr. Vogel and his operators like is that the center clamping area of the CarvLock towers are covered at all times, so chips and debris are kept out of the clamping mechanism.
hydraulic cartridge products
Parker Hannifin manufactures hydraulic cartridge products and integrated systems.

Where lot size requirements for the manifold blocks exceed 200 and are machined from 11L17 and 12L14 steel and ductile iron, Mr. Vogel and his team use another high density cluster tower on the HMC. With 12 clamping stations (three per side with potential for four on smaller manifold blocks), this tower setup employs a clamping module called the WedgeLock. The WedgeLock has a serrated bottom which interlocks with serrations on the tower surface.

The advantage of this design is that it is self-aligning. The serrations on these mating surfaces are precisely machined to provide 0.062-inch indexing between surfaces. When these opposing serrations come together, they interlock forming a rigid, level and highly repeatable interface. Matching serrations automatically align the surfaces, making subsequent reclampings highly repeatable. Various size parts can be clamped quickly and accurately, similar to a custom fixture, but with the versatility of a modular system. High density is also the key in this workholding setup because three parts are clamped closely together on each tower face, reducing spindle travel to a minimum. Accuracy to ± 0.001 inch is held on these parts for milling, drilling and tapping at speeds to 1,700 rpm.

“This workholding setup is a nice complement to the tower setup on our Palletech system because it gives us versatility in machining various size manifold blocks in hard materials and in larger quantities” reports Mr. Vogel. “We also get the output we need in a single machining center.”

Anticipating future customer needs and subsequently taking risks with capital expenditures can be very challenging for a company and requires great confidence, particularly during volatile economic times. Evden Enterprises (Ukiah, California),decided that purchasing a new coordinate measuring machine (CMM) was the logical next step in expanding their capabilities. They knew from past experience that staying ahead of the competition and generating new business meant having the right technology and equipment in place.

Since it was founded in 1980, Evden Enterprises has grown from four employees to 24. The company manufactures custom components, primarily for Fortune 500 companies in the mineral, mining and oil drilling industries. Using detailed customer specifications, the company transforms a variety of materials—including stainless steel, aluminum, brass and plastic—into precision parts used in applications as diverse as drilling equipment sampling systems and ophthalmology instruments.

Evden already owned an Eclipse CMM with a ST touch-trigger probe from Carl Zeiss IMT Corporation (Maple Grove, Minnesota) purchased in 1988.

“In the past years, increasingly tighter tolerance requirements and more complex parts have become standard. We needed to measure parts with extremely small hole sizes and realized that in order to satisfy our customers’ needs, we had to move to the next level,“says Stephen McGrath, vice president of manufacturing. In 2002, Mr. McGrath decided to replace the Eclipse with a Zeiss Contura active scanning CMM using a Vastxt probe head. “I’ve already had a good experience with the accuracy and reliability of our Zeiss CMM, so I didn’t even bother looking at other manufacturers,”he says. “The scanning capability of the Contura and the programming flexibility of the Calypso software allow us to inspect multi-faceted parts. With the Vastxt, we can now perform the required roundness checks and inspect features smaller than 2 mm in diameter. We are also able to measure the complete part. Before, we were only able to measure the key features, and the rest would have to be checked in a cumbersome manual process.”
Vastxt probe
The Vastxt probe scans thousands of data points on a material sampling test housing providing Evden with complete part information.

Evden performs in-process inspections and uses the Contura to check each individual operation. “There is no final inspection before the part goes out the door,” says Mr. McGrath. “We rely on all the different operations and steps to be accurate right on the spot.” Mr. McGrath wanted to meet targeted true-position tolerances down to 0.05 mm (0.002 inch). “With the scanning Vastxt probe head collecting thousands of data points in just a few minutes, we are able to achieve accurate and reliable results on extremely intricate parts, such as drilling equipment components used for excavating and evaluating core samples,” he says. “I can’t stress enough how important it is being able to analyze your parts and better the processes, essentially because you have a lot more data to work with.”

The Calypso CAD-based software included with the Contura CMM is said to allow operators to perform complex measurements in a very short time and to reduce programming time by 50 percent. After participating in a training class, Mr. McGrath trained some of his lead employees who, in turn, trained other operators—saving travel cost and valuable time away from work.

While other manufacturers experienced a decrease in production in recent years, Evden was able to maintain its output and has remained profitable even in a tough economy. “Customers are interested in how you’re keeping up with technology and if you are improving your processes,” Mr. McGrath says. “We have several larger ISO-certified companies that review us on an annual basis and that’s important to them. Purchasing the Contura opened the door to more orders. This shows that continuous improvement of processes and capabilities can lead to new business and increase profitability.”