Featured Customer Archives - Page 2 of 4 - Harvey Performance Company

TOMI Engineering INC – Featured Customer

June 9, 2020/0 Comments/in Featured Customer, Small Featured/by Guy Petrillo

Featured Image Courtesy of TOMI Engineering

Since its beginning in 1977, brothers Tony and Mike Falbo have made the focal point of TOMI Engineering to deliver quality, competitively-priced parts on time. TOMI Engineering has earned a reputation through the years as being a world-class manufacturer of precision machined components and assemblies for aerospace, defense, commercial and other advanced technology industries. They are fortunate to have the highest level of engineering, quality and programming personnel on staff, and, with over 40 years in the industry, there isn’t a problem TOMI hasn’t experienced.

With all the years of experience, TOMI Engineering has a lot of knowledge to share. We had the pleasure of sitting down with Tony and Mike Falbo to ask them about their experiences, techniques, tooling and a lot more.

green machined part from Tomi Engineering INC — Photo Courtesy of: TOMI Engineering

How was TOMI Engineering INC started?

TOMI Engineering, Inc. began in 1977 when we (Tony and Mike) teamed up and got a loan from our father to purchase our first machine. The machine was used in the garage of our parents’ home, which still resides in Tustin, California. Forty years, 20 current machines, and countless parts later, TOMI Engineering proudly serves the defense, airline, medical and commercial industries. We machine just about any type of product thrown our way. Over the years, we have made wing tips for the F16 fighter jet, enclosures for GPS housings, manifolds that help transport fluids, support frames for Gulfstream, cabin brackets for Airbus, ammunition feeders for tanks, and many, many others.

At TOMI Engineering, we aim to be a one-stop shop for our customers. Once we receive blueprints, we can program, machine, deburr, inspect, process and assemble most parts. We utilize a mixture of 3-and-4-axis machines in order to increase efficiency, which helps us to cut down costs to our customer. In our temperature-controlled assembly room, we can assemble bearings, bushings, rivets, nut plates, gaskets and sealants. We also hope to add additive machining to our repertoire soon.

What machines are you currently using in your shop?

Our 21,250 square foot facility houses 20 CNC machines. Most of our machines are Kitamura, OKK and Okuma. The purchase dates of these machines range from 1987 to December of 2019. With our large machine diversity, we can machine parts smaller than a penny, and as large as 30 x 60 inches. Most of the material that makes its way through our shop is aluminum. Whether it is 6061 or aircraft grade 7000 series, we aim to have most of our parts be aluminum. However, we do see a large amount of 6AL-4V titanium, along with 17-4 and 15-5 steel. We are currently utilizing Mastercam 2020 for most of our programming needs and are staying up to date with software upgrades and progression.

Tomi Engineering CNC mill — Photo Courtesy of: TOMI Engineering

What sets TOMI Engineering apart from the rest of the competition?

We believe our greatest asset is our experience. Here at TOMI, we have been machining parts since 1977. In those 40-plus years, a lot of parts have come and gone through our doors and we have helped our customers solve a large array of problems. Most of our machinists have been with us for over 10 years, while some are approaching 20 years! Our programmers easily boast over 60 years of experience! With so many of our employees working together for so many years, it has really helped everyone to understand what helps us quickly machine our products, while being held accountable to the high standards of AS9100.

Where did your passion for machining start?

We grew up with machines in our garage and it wasn’t until we needed money to pay for college that our dad realized he could show us the basics of operating a milling machine, which allowed us to pay our tuition while working at home in the evenings and weekends. Machining was more of a necessity than a passion at the time. However, after nearly 40 years in the business, it has been amazing to see the strides in technology from a Bridgeport Mill to the multi-axis lights-out machining that is available today.

My favorite part of the job has always been the flexibility it has allowed me. I had the opportunity to watch my kids grow up and be a part of their lives by going to their school plays, coaching them, and being home at night to help them with anything they needed. Most importantly, I’ve had the opportunity to work with my brother, my business partner, who also shares the same ideals about being with family, so we could always cover for each while the other was gone and spending time with their family. The business would not have worked without both of us understanding the importance of each other’s input. The challenge of running a business keeps me going, and working with all of the different personalities was an added bonus.

machined part from Tomi Engineering — Photo Courtesy of: TOMI Engineering

Who is the most famous contact that you have worked on a project with? What is the most interesting product you’ve made?

At TOMI, we do not work with specific individuals, so we can’t really name drop. However, a vast majority of our work is for Airbus, Boeing, or the military. So it’s pretty gratifying to say that we supply parts to some of the biggest companies in the world and that our work helps to defend this country.

The most interesting product we have made here at TOMI is a GPS housing for a defense contractor. This part encompasses everything that we can do at TOMI: precision machining, complex/multi detail assemblies, gasket assembly, and pressure testing fluid transportation components.

Why is high quality tool performance important to you?

High quality tool performance is important to us in many ways. Purchasing high quality tools allow us to constantly achieve premium surface finishes, push our machines to the high speeds and feeds that they are capable of, and enjoy noticeably longer tool life.

Every part, day-in and day-out, is different. Because of our vast array of products, our tools are always changing. But when we are picking out Helical End Mills for Aluminum, we always go with their 3-flute variable helix cutters, and we have always been happy with them.

What sort of tolerances do you work in on a daily basis?

The tolerances we typically work with are ± tenths of an inch, as well as very tight true position cal louts. We can hold and achieve these close tolerance dimensions through our very experienced Mastercam programmers, as well as our superior quality department. Our quality inspectors have over 30 years of experience in the industry and utilize two Zeiss Contura G2 coordinate measuring machines (CMMs). While in their temperature controlled environment, the CMMs are capable of measuring close tolerance dimensions and are used to generate data for inspection reports.

Are you guys using High Efficiency Milling (HEM) techniques to improve cycle times? What advice do you have for others who want to try HEM?

Yes, we are using HEM techniques to improve cycle times while roughing to increase our MRR while increasing tool life. If you have CAM/CAD software that supports HEM, then go for it! Machining Advisor Pro (MAP) is VERY helpful with the suggested speeds and feeds as a starting point. Over time though, and through experience, we have learned that every single machine is a bit different and often needs a different approach with speeds and feeds. Start with a smaller than suggested RDOC and physically go out to your machine and see how it sounds and what is going on. Then, start increasing and find that sweet spot that your particular machine runs well on. Many programmers in the industry will not take the time to go out and watch how their part is sounding and cutting on the machine and going out and doing that is the best way to really find out what you and the machine are capable of achieving.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new machinist ready to take the #PlungeIntoMachining, what would it be?

Ask questions! Don’t be afraid to talk to programmers and fellow coworkers about what is trying to be achieved and WHY the programmer is holding tolerances a certain way. Learn from them and watch what every cutter is doing during your cycles. The more you learn, the more you can contribute to the machining process and move up in your business. Sometimes it takes just one good suggestion about the machining approach that can change the set-up process from aggravating to very easy. Lastly, be open minded to new ideas and approaches. As we said earlier, there are a ton of ways to make good parts in a constantly evolving industry.

Please take the time to check out the TOMI Engineering INC website or follow them on social media!

Titan Ring Design – Featured Customer

May 5, 2020/0 Comments/in Featured Customer, Small Featured/by Guy Petrillo

Featured Image Courtesy of Trevor Hirschi, Titan Ring Design

Officially started in 2015, Titan Ring Design is a high quality machine shop that designs rings, as well as mechanical tie clips, art based designs, and freelance custom designs. While working at a machine shop that produced top notch parts for just about every type of field you can imagine, now owner of Titan Ring Design, Trevor Hirschi, noticed that the machining industry is mostly about cranking out a mass quantity of the highest quality parts as quickly as possible. This often resulted in compromised tolerances and part finishes, something Trevor aimed to change. Quality always comes first in his projects.

Whether you are looking for a band for an upcoming wedding, looking to replace or upgrade your current wedding ring, or just want something unique and beautiful, Trevor’s designs are different than anything else. Trevor was able to take the time and answer some questions for us about his business, machining techniques, tooling, and a lot more.

machined metal ring from Titan Ring Design — Photo Courtesy of: Trevor Hirschi, Titan Ring Design

How was Titan Ring Design started?

Titan Ring Designs is a part time, passion/hobby business of mine that I sort of started at the time I was ring shopping for a wedding ring back in 2013. I didn’t like what was available on the market and was inspired by a former Oakley designer to machine my own. I had been introduced to machining in High School at a technical college and had been working as a machinist since graduating in 2007, so I decided to make my own wedding ring. It sort of snowballed into my business in 2015, after finally deciding to make it official with a business license and some sales. Some further work experience in California for McWhinney Designs brought me greater motivation and encouragement to keep going and helped me get to where I am today. I now offer several different CNC Milled [wedding] rings, as well as a mechanical tie clip, some occasional art based designs, and freelance custom design and mill work. I also teach machining full time at the same tech college I graduated from in my own education and enjoy sharing my knowledge and love for machining with those interested in the career.

machined propeller art from Titan Ring Design — Photo Courtesy of: Trevor Hirschi, Titan Ring Design

What capabilities does your shop have?

Custom Design in CAD/CAM, 3axis CNC Mill work, Small Scale Lathe Work, Tumbling, Finishing, Assembling, 3D Printing/Rapid Prototyping. I cut 6-4 Titanium primarily, but also work with Stainless Steel for fasteners, Aluminum and some Steel for fixtures, and Polycarbonate for prototyping ideas. I teach machining technology full time, so I have access to SolidWorks, MasterCam, Fusion360, and NC Simul. We currently have a Haas OfficeMill 3axis, Levin High Precision Instrument Maker’s Lathe, Prusa i3 MK2S 3D Printer in the shop.

What sets Titan Ring Design apart from the competition?

There are lots of people making interesting rings today, but most are done on lathes. Anyone can make a round part on a lathe. Very few of them make rings on a mill, and I feel that gives the opportunity to be creative and allows you to think outside the box more. I try to stand out in that field by offering something that makes you think about the value of the design process more by interrupting and challenging the norm. I also like to take on work that is outside of jewelry, but still highly design related. Most other ring makers stick with just rings.

Titan Ring Design machining facility — Photo Courtesy of: Trevor Hirschi, Titan Ring Design

What is your favorite part of the job and what other passions do you have?

Making cool stuff! Most machinists only end up making whatever comes through the shop, which can be cool, but most of the time you have no idea what you’re making, just some part for Customer X, Y, or Z. Being a small, design centered business, I get to come up with ideas for what to make next, and most of the time I start out making something that wasn’t ever intended to be marketed, it was simply something I wanted for myself that I found others were interested in too. I discovered machining in high school and fell in love with it when I started making parts for my dirt bikes and truck. I’ve been hooked ever since but I do have other passions. I’ve always had a big interest in LED lighting and flashlights. I’m perpetually working on different ideas for making one of my own, which will happen eventually. I’m also a bit of a health-nut and enjoy being outdoors and spending time with my family.

Who is the most famous contact that you have worked on a project with?

I made a ring for an NFL player once, but I don’t follow football and his name didn’t stick out to me so I’ve forgotten who he was. I also had the privilege of working for McWhinney Designs and made some truly remarkable products in the openable wedding ring niche market. I gained more skill in design, machining, craftsmanship, and engineering while working for Jeff McWhinney. We’re good friends and often work together to help each other when one of us gets stumped on something.

machined metal art from Titan Ring Design — Photo Courtesy of: Trevor Hirschi, Titan Ring Design

What is the most difficult project you have worked on?

I was commissioned to design from the ground up and machine was a custom set of all-titanium cabinet door handle pulls for a very high end wine cabinet. Each handle was an assembly of 32 pieces, all machined from billet 6-4 Titanium. They required over 400 individual CAM toolpath operations, 35 unique machine setups, and well over 300 hours to complete, including finishing and assembly. More than anything, it was extremely time intensive in programming, set up, and machine time. The design was a fair bit challenging in my mind and initial modeling, but didn’t compete with what it took to actually produce them. I grossly underestimated and underbid the job. But in the end, I really enjoyed making a truly one of a kind, Tour-De-Force product, even if it was completely overkill for its purpose. I enjoy making that kind of stuff, and the lessons you learn from it.

What is your favorite project you have worked on?

It’s really simple and was initially designed just because I wanted it for myself, but I have a mechanical titanium tie clip that I really enjoy making. It’s quite unique in that, as far as I know, to this day, it is the only CNC machined mechanical titanium tie clip you’ll find anywhere in the world. It puts a little bling in your formal attire, for those times you have to go full suit and tie.

machined metal band from Titan Ring Design — Photo Courtesy of: Trevor Hirschi, Titan Ring Design

Why is high quality tool performance important to you?

Because I cut mostly titanium, tools wear out quickly if you don’t have a rigid set up, the right coolant, proper feeds & speeds, and of course, high quality tooling. Harvey Tool makes such a wide variety of micro tooling that works so well in the industry of making small titanium parts, where I like to fit into. I’ve used a fair spread across Harvey’s offering and have always been impressed with performance and the feeds and speeds guides are top notch too. I had an application that required a .0035” internal corner radius which landed me with a .007” end mill. It’s still hard to comprehend tooling in this league. My machine actually recommends only tooling under 1/4” shank size, so I don’t get into Helical’s range too often. But I’ve used Helical 1/2” end mills extensively at other job shops and they are definitely made for eating metal. I was using another tool brand’s key cutters for some undercut hinges and would wear through them much more often than I thought was reasonable. When I finally decided to try Harvey’s key cutters, I was blown away with how much longer they have lasted me. Truly a game changer!

harvey tool end mills with Titan Ring Design machined tie clip — Photo Courtesy of: Trevor Hirschi, Titan Ring Design

If you could give one piece of advice to a new machinist ready to take the #PlungeIntoMachining, what would it be?

Be creative. Machining is such a rewarding career that has limitless possibilities of what you can achieve. Follow your passion and have fun with it! If you end up in a dead end shop doing something you don’t like, go somewhere else. There are so many shops that need help right now and chances are good that you can find a better shop that suits your style.

To those machine shops out in industry, do whatever you can to be supportive of your local trade schools that are teaching the upcoming machinist workforce. They really need your support and in turn will bring you the employees you depend on.

Please take the time to check out Titan Ring Designs website or follow them on Instagram @titanringdesigns

KAD Models – Featured Customer

April 7, 2020/0 Comments/in Featured Customer, High Efficiency Milling/by Guy Petrillo

Featured Image Courtesy of KAD Models

Established in 2012, KAD Models is a small, yet steadily growing prototype machine shop, which originated in the San Francisco Bay Area and has since opened its second location in Vermont. They have been a regional leader in the advanced manufacturing space for many years, and operate in close connection with other machine shops and related businesses like turning facilities, anodizers, welders, and more. KAD Models staff is comprised of diverse occupational backgrounds (e.g. mechanic, industrial engineer, blacksmith, etc.). Further, they have invested into their local community college and technical training programs to support an expanding talent pipeline for advanced manufacturing.

Brian Kippen is the owner & founder of KAD Models & Prototypes, Inc. Before launching KAD with model maker John Dove, Brian worked as the Director of Operations at A&J Product Solutions and a machinist at Performance Structures. Brian is drawn to the challenge of making design concepts into reality, and motivated by the ever-changing landscape of machining. Brian took time to speak with us about KAD Models, his experiences, machining techniques, and so much more.

KAD Models cnc machining a custom part — Photo Courtesy of: KAD Models

Can you give us a little background on how KAD Models was started?

I worked for a few years repairing automobiles, then following high school, I attended college for about three weeks. After some strong encouragement from my mom, I moved out west. I joined the Marines, broke both of my feet, and was honorably discharged. Then, I got my broken foot in the door at a machine shop and knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. After years of working as a machinist, I went into business with one of my previous employers. After a year and a half, the partnership degraded and I made the decision to buy out my partner.

It’s been really gratifying to see the business grow and get to know different types of customers as the shop’s reputation spreads. One of the reasons I wanted to start my own shop is that I really wanted to see the industry evolve in a new way, to better meet people’s needs. It’s been really great to see that decision and the investments I’ve made in building KAD pay off.

We produce approximately $1.5M of parts for 100+ distinct clients each year. Since its founding in 2012, KAD has continued on a steady path of growth, adding staff, equipment, and clients without marketing or advertising. We build a broad range of products such as automotive drive axles, silicone cardiovascular valves, and fully functional consumer product models. Due to the nature of prototyping, no component is outside of the realm of possibility.

What machines are currently in your shop?

We use Haas CNC machines. At our West coast facility, we have six machines, five vertical 4 AXIS machining centers with capacities up to 26” Y AND 50” X and one 5 AXIS universal machining center. At our East coast facility, we currently have two new CNC ONE 3 AXIS and one 5 AXIS universal machining center paired with a Trinity Automation AX5 robotic cell. I decided to get a 5 axis milling machine earlier last year because I felt we should invest before the absolute necessity arose. I’m excited about the creative options it opened up and it’s been fun to put it to good use. We are currently using both Fusion 360 and Surfcam software.

What sets KAD Models apart from the competition?

Our quick turnaround time of 3-5 days with our ability to tackle very complex parts sets KAD apart from a majority of manufacturers.

I also think our willingness to really dig in with the client and get to know what they need and why. We have a really creative team here at KAD and thrive at not only building complex parts, but helping industrial designers and engineers think through manufacturing, design, and usage requirements to build the simplest, most effective product we can. I’ve created prototypes before, just from a conversation with someone – not even a CAD drawing. It’s these types of interesting challenges that made me want to be a machinist in the first place and that keeps me engaged and excited day-to-day.

end mill machining metal — Photo Courtesy of: KAD Models

KAD Models is an innovative company. Can you speak about what innovations KAD makes?

Well, KAD works with some of the most innovative companies out there, across all kinds of industries: medical devices, aerospace, automotive, and consumer electronics. We help people at the forefront of innovation bring their ideas to life, so I’d say innovation is basically our bread and butter. As far as our innovations in process, as I said before, KAD has a really creative team. Since we are well known for prototyping and since prototype manufacturing need not follow all the common work holding rules, we break them on a daily basis.

What is your favorite part of your job?

I love the challenge of taking on seemingly impossible ideas and turning them into tangible things. I’m really satisfied when I can come home after a long day and have held the things I’ve made in my hands. I’m also really proud to be a business owner. It’s incredibly rewarding to see a team you’ve taught and grown to take on and be inspired by the same types of problems as you. It’s been really cool to see what we’ve been able to accomplish for our clients. My personal passion remains automotive. KAD has reverse-engineered many no longer available automobile components and designed parts that upgrade vintage Datsuns.

assortment of prototype parts made by Kad Models — Photo Courtesy of: KAD Models

Why is high-quality tooling important to you?

In prototyping, you often get one chance in order to make deadlines. High quality and high-performance tools allow you to get this done without question. Given 95% of our tooling is either Helical or Harvey, I would say that high-quality tooling helps us out on a daily basis. We also use High Efficiency Milling (HEM) techniques, which Helical is optimized for. We find with long cutters and with deep pockets, HEM is almost a must. Often though, on shallow areas, it’s overkill. As with salt, there can be too much.

cnc machined metal wine rack — Photo Courtesy of: KAD Models

If you could give one piece of advice to a new machinist what would it be?

Fail fast and fail often. Then learn from your mistakes.

I think the biggest thing is getting to know other machinists, learning other methods, and being open to alternative ideas. It’s important to keep your mind open because there’s always more than one way to machine something. One of the things I’ve found most rewarding about running my own shop is getting to set the tone of how we work with other shops and adjacent industries. I’m really passionate about the manufacturing community as a whole and I’m glad blogs like this exist to help draw connections amongst us.

Also, don’t be afraid to challenge the status quo. I love working with new machinists because they bring different ideas to the table. That’s really important for innovation and to keep us all moving forward.

Feel free to check them out at www.kadmodels.com or on Instagram @kadmodels or stop by their west coast shop in California or new east coast location in Vermont.

New Dublin Ship Fittings – Featured Customer

February 25, 2020/1 Comment/in Featured Customer/by Guy Petrillo

Featured Image Courtesy of Lucas Gilbert, New Dublin Ship Fittings

New Dublin Ship Fittings was established in 2017 by Lucas Gilbert, and is located on the scenic south shore of Nova Scotia, Canada. Lucas began his career with a formal education in machining and mechanical engineering. In the early 2000’s, Lucas got into the traditional shipbuilding industry made famous in the region he grew up in, Lunenburg County, Nova Scotia. It is then when Lucas identified the need for quality marine hardware and began making fittings in his free time. After some time, Lucas was able to start New Dublin Ship Fittings and pursue his lifelong dream of opening a machine shop and producing custom yacht hardware.

Lucas was our grand prize winner in the #MadeWithMicro100 Video Contest! He received the $1,000 Amazon gift card, a Micro-Quik™ Quick Change System with some tooling, and a chance to be In the Loupe’s Featured Customer for February. Lucas was able to take some time out of his busy schedule to discuss his shop, how he got started in machining, and the unique products he manufactures.

How did you start New Dublin Ship Fittings?

I went to school for machine shop and then mechanical engineering, only to end up working as a boat builder for 15 years. It was during my time as a boat builder that I started making hardware in my free time for projects we were working on. Eventually, that grew into full-time work. Right now, we manufacture custom silicon bronze and stainless fittings only. Eventually, we will move into a bronze hardware product line.

Photo Courtesy of: New Dublin Ship Fittings

Where did your passion for marine hardware come from?

I’ve always loved metalworking. I grew up playing in my father’s knife shop, so when I got into wooden boats, it was only a matter of time before I started making small bits of hardware. Before hardware, I would play around making woodworking tools such as chisels, hand planes, spokeshaves, etc.

What can be found in your shop?

The shop has a 13”x 30” and 16”x 60” manual lathe, a Bridgeport Milling Machine, Burgmaster Turret Drill Press, Gang Drill, Bandsaw, 30-ton hydraulic press, #2 Hossfeld Bender, GTAW, and GMAW Welding Machines, as well as a full foundry set up with 90 pounds of bronze pour capacity. We generally only work in 655 silicon bronze and 316 stainless steel.

Photo Courtesy of: New Dublin Ship Fittings

What projects have you worked on at New Dublin Ship Fittings that stand out to you?

I’ve been lucky to work on several amazing projects over the years. Two that stand out are a 48’ Motorsailer Ketch built by Tern Boatworks, as well as the 63’ Fusion Schooner Farfarer, built by Covey Island Boatworks. Both boats we built most of the bronze deck hardware for.

Photo Courtesy of: New Dublin Ship Fittings

I’ve made many interesting fittings over the years. I prefer to work with bronze, so I generally have the most fun working on those. I’m generally the most interested when the part is very
challenging to make and custom work parts are often very challenging. I’m asked to build or machine a component that was originally built in a factory and is difficult to reproduce with limited machinery and tooling, but I enjoy figuring out how to make it work.

Why is high-quality tooling important to you?

When I first started I would buy cheaper tooling to “get by” but the longer I did it, the more I realized that cheaper tooling doesn’t pay off. If you want to do quality work in a timely fashion, you need to invest in good tooling.

What Micro 100 Tools are you currently using?

Currently, we just have the Micro 100 brazed on tooling but we have been trying to move more into inserts so we are going to try out Micro’s indexable tooling line. After receiving the Micro-Quik™ Quick Change System, we are looking forward to trying out more of what (Micro 100) has to offer. This new system should help us reduce tool change time, saving us some money in the long run.

Photo Courtesy of: New Dublin Ship Fittings

What makes New Dublin Ship Fittings stand out from the competition?

I think the real value I can offer boat builders and owners over a standard job shop is my experience with building boats. I understand how the fitting will be used and can offer suggestions as to how to improve the design.

If you could give one piece of advice to a new machinist what would it be?

The advice I would give to new machinists is to start slow and learn the machines and techniques before you try to make parts quickly. There is a lot of pressure in shops to make parts as fast as possible, but you’ll never be as fast as you can be if you don’t learn the processes properly first. Also, learn to sharpen drill bits well!

Axis CNC Inc. – Featured Customer

December 16, 2019/0 Comments/in Featured Customer/by Guy Petrillo

Featured Image Courtesy of Axis CNC Inc

Axis CNC Inc was founded in 2012 in Ware, Massachusetts, when Dan and Glenn Larzus, a father and son duo, decided to venture into the manufacturing industry. Axis CNC Inc has provided customers with the highest quality manufacturing, machining, and programming services since they’ve opened. They specialize in manufacturing medical equipment and have a passion for making snowmobile parts.

We sat down with Axis CNC Inc to discuss how they got started and what they have learned over there years in the manufacturing world. Watch our video below to see our full interview.

Vero Watches – Featured Customer

November 18, 2019/0 Comments/in Featured Customer/by Harvey Performance Company

Featured Image Courtesy of Vero Watches

Vero Watches was started in 2015 in Portland, Oregon by Danny Recordon and Chris Boudreaux. While out one night getting drinks, Danny and Chris started discussing a new business venture in the world of manufacturing. They mulled over a few different product ideas and found that they were most passionate about designing and manufacturing high quality, American-made watches.
Since then they haven’t stopped learning and growing as both machinists and businessmen.

We were able to take some time out of Danny’s busy schedule to discuss how they got started, their experiences with High Efficiency Milling Techniques, super tight tolerances, and their unique products.

How did Vero Watches get started?

Vero Watches started out of the desire to manufacture our own products and keep things completely in house. I have always been interested in the manufacturing world and tinkered with, and read about manufacturing methods in my free time. When Chris wanted to talk about his idea for a company that produced a product, I jumped on the opportunity to teach myself everything that I could. We talked about and designed a few products, then one day over a beer he mentioned that he really wanted to make a watch. I said, “Let’s do it, I’ll figure out how”, and we started down the path towards producing our own products. That was the day that Vero Watches was born!

vero automatic watch with teal face and brown band

Photo Courtesy of: Vero Watches

We started with a Hurco VM10i and zero machining experience, but we had a strong passion for learning new processes. Over the first year I spent a lot of time learning. I was reading about and researching cutting tools, work holding methods and experimenting while we began prototyping our first watch. We have since grown to a small production staff of 4, with a full-time watchmaker, a dial maker , and an employee solely focused on case finish. They have been key in bringing our watches from concept to reality. Vero Watches now produces all of our case components in house; our largest part being 40mm x 48mm and our smallest being a 2.5mm diameter tube, 3mm long. Dials are milled from brass sheet, nickel-plated painted and printed in house. We also handle movement finishing and assembly testing and service of our mechanical watches in the same shop.

What materials do you work with the most?

We primarily work in 316L stainless steel, though we are currently producing a watch out of grade 5 titanium. We were looking for better tool life and faster cycle times with those materials, which was my reason for switching to Helical tools for my larger diameter tools.

Photo Courtesy of: Vero Watches

What materials do you enjoy working with? Are there some that you do not enjoy machining?

I really enjoy machining titanium. The feeds and speeds make no sense, running to0 fast and too slow at the same time! But there is a satisfying low hum during roughing Titanium that just can’t be beat. I love that sound.

I really have a hard time running nickel parts. We make the washers for our crowns out of 0.008” nickel sheet and somehow nickel manages to be both gummy and abrasive at the same time. Tool life is terrible (no fault of the tooling!) and the bur gets worse down the sheet due to the excessive tool wear. Nickel just eats end mills up.

What machines and software do you have in the shop?

We have a 3 axis and a 5 axis mill, both from the Hurco VM10 series. We also have plenty of hand tools for finishing and a small Levin jewelers lathe.

For software, we currently use Autodesk HSMworks for Solidworks. Something about using Autodesk and Solidworks products together puts a smile on my face. I personally can’t stand the instability of cloud-based software, so I have stayed away from other cloud-based platforms and prefer having my HSMworks integrated directly within Solidworks.

Photo Courtesy of: Vero Watches

Why is high-quality tool performance important to you?

High-quality tool performance is important for a few reasons. First being surface finishing, we are making watches, and tooling marks while beautiful are a pain to remove. We often sacrifice speed for finish, though with the right tools we can cut efficiently while leaving beautiful finishes that help speed up post-machining finishing operations.

Secondly, though maybe more importantly (to us) is tolerance. While a beautiful part is great and it allows us to do less hand finishing, a part that is in tolerance is very important to building a functioning and watertight watch. The right cutting tools means the difference between a watch that you can surf in and a watch that would be ruined in light rain. The overall tolerances for our parts rarely exceed +-.001”. With our press-fit features (caseback and front sapphire openings) we shoot for +0.0000” – 0.0004” while using a machine that experiences about 0.002” of thermal growth in Z and repeats to 0.0002′. It’s not always easy but with the right tools and knowledge of the machines we are using we have worked out a process that allows us to achieve these very tight tolerances where needed.

Photo Courtesy of: Vero Watches

Are you applying High Efficiency Milling (HEM) techniques in your shop?

In short YES! It wasn’t until moving to Helical tools for my 5/16 and 1/8 end mills (these are the only end mills over 1 mm I use regularly) that I began trying to dial in my cycle times. HEM techniques coupled with the Helical end mills took cycle times on one of our watch cases from over an hour to just over 30 minutes per operation. That ended up saving us about an hour per part, all while maintaining surface finish and tolerance.

What advice do you have for other who want to try HEM techniques?

Follow Machining Advisor Pro recommendations! I start there as it has consistently been a good starting point of almost any tool I have tried. I have since sped up my roughing tools and slowed down my finisher from the 50% recommendation that the application is set to. I have found that to be the most successful for my particular parts, but everyone’s results could vary. Definitely play around with the different settings in MAP to find what works for you.

Photo Courtesy of: Vero Watches

I would also suggest finding tools with a flute length similar to your finished wall height and use as much of the tool as you can. I’d much rather wear out my whole tool than just the first 1/4in of the flutes. This is the basic premise of what HEM is all about, but so many people still miss that key point.

What specific types of Harvey and Helical Tools do you use?

There isn’t a time that our machines aren’t running Harvey and Helical tools. As speak, we are machining crowns and case backs from grade 5 titanium using 5/16 Helical roughers and finishers (HSF-S-70312 & HEV-C-S-50312-R.020). For Harvey Tool products, we use the Harvey 1mm and 0.02” 4 flute end mills, and the 15° 0.005” tipped off engraver. We simply would not be able to make the products we do without Harvey Tool’s selection, and Helical has given us better cycle times and a great finish.

Photo Courtesy of: Vero Watches

What sets Vero Watch apart from the rest of the competition?

Vero’s ability to be nimble during the manufacturing process sets us apart. Most small watch companies, especially others in the US, rely on foreign partners to produce their vision. With delays, miscommunication and no hands-on control of the process, you lose the ability to make a change on the fly. If we see an issue during production, finishing, or assembly, we can change it on the spot. This allows us to iterate a product quickly and provide customers with high-quality unique watches.

What advice do you have for a new machinist ready to take on the manufacturing world?

Find someone willing to let you learn or just dive in. There is so much support out there to help when you are stuck on something. This industry is amazing and there is so much to learn. The social media community has been a great outlet for information, especially on Instagram. I haven’t found a problem yet that I couldn’t solve with input from great companies like Harvey or input from fellow machinists online.

Photo Courtesy of: Vero Watches

Yates Precision Manufacturing – Featured Customer

September 29, 2019/0 Comments/in Featured Customer/by Harvey Performance Company

Featured Image Courtesy of Jake Yates, Yates Precision Manufacturing

Yates Precision Manufacturing is a small machine shop located in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area that focuses primarily on job shop work in the oil and mining industry. They also recently launched a new product line of high precision safety razors, which is their first product to be developed and manufactured in-house.

Yates Precision is owned by Jake Yates, a mechanical engineer who has spent just over 5 years in the manufacturing industry. We were able to take some time out of Jake’s busy schedule to talk with him about job shop work, entrepreneurship, his new product line, and his advice for new shop owners.

Can you tell us a little more about your backstory and how you got involved in manufacturing?

I have always had background in engineering. I graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) in 2011 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, but my first job was actually as a maintenance foreman at an underground coal mine. After spending 2.5 years underground, I realized that I didn’t want to do that for the rest of my life.

I had two friends who were working for a turbine manufacturer in Ithaca, NY that had an open engineering position, so I took it. That was my first step into manufacturing, as we did grinding, EDM, and a little milling. Programming for both the EDM and CNC mills was mainly done by hand.

After spending three years with that company, and with my wife and I expecting our first son, we decided to move back home to Pennsylvania to be closer to family. I started applying for jobs down that way and ended up getting a call from my current employer, Perryman Company. They were looking for a manufacturing engineer, and I jumped at the opportunity. At Perryman, I got much deeper into the world of milling and turning. We work in medical implants and trials and do some instrumentation, and I get to program 5 axis mills and 6/8 axis mill-turn machines on a daily basis in Autodesk Powermill and Partmaker. This is what really led me to discover that I loved subtractive manufacturing.

How did Yates Precision get started?

It has always been my goal to start my own business. In August of 2018, I decided to take the leap and buy my own machine. I had been keeping an eye out for machine listings for some time, and I found a used 1993 Mori Seiki MV40M for a good price. That machine had actually been previously owned by my employer, Perryman Company, and so I knew that it had been taken care of and was in good shape. It had sat in storage for a couple years after the current owner bought it from Perryman so there was a little a work to do, but overall it is a great mill.

So, I bought the mill last August, and have had it just over a year. It took me a couple of months to get it running, but I am officially at the one year mark with Yates Precision.

Photo Courtesy of: Jake Yates, Yates Precision Manufacturing

What industries and applications does Yates Precision specialize in?

I do a lot of machining work related to oil and mining. In this area, we have a lot of companies working in those industries, and so there is always work to be found.

I have done mining couplings and fittings and a lot of oil and gas parts, but I also get the occasional random RFQ which keeps things interesting. Such is the life of owning a job shop!

What other machines and software do you have in the shop?

Right now my only mill is the Mori Seiki I previously mentioned. It may be older, but that machine was the “Cadillac of Mills” in 1993. It has full 5 axis capabilities and 5 axis table, which was unheard of on most mills in the early 1990s.

I also have a small manual lathe and will be purchasing a CNC lathe sometime in Q1 2020. For software, I use Autodesk Fusion 360 for my job shop work. Sure, it has less powerful functionality than the Powermill software I use at my day job, but it is priced perfectly for small shop owners like myself and still has lots of great features included.

Photo Courtesy of: Jake Yates, Yates Precision Manufacturing

Are you taking advantage of the Harvey Tool and Helical tool libraries we have created for Fusion 360?

Absolutely. I have both tool libraries, and use them quite often, especially with the Harvey Tool product. It is so nice to not have to build my own model of a keyseat cutter, undercutter, or some crazy back chamfer cutter. I could take the DXF from your website and use that, which is a great resource, but that takes a lot more time to turn into a workable model than simply opening Fusion 360 and selecting the pre-built tool from an existing database.

Do you also use our Machining Advisor Pro application? How has that worked for you?

Of course! I have a shortcut in Chrome right now which gets me right to the Machining Advisor Pro application. I have found it to be very easy to just type in a tool number, enter a few basics about my material and setup, and get great running parameters.

Outside of job shop work, you have started your own product line of safety razors. What can you tell us about that product?

Along with running my own shop, I have always wanted to launch my own product line, so I am very excited about these safety razors. I make two of the three components in house, all in 316 stainless steel. I have those two components setup so that I can press the start button and have both pieces done at the end of the job. It is great to have a single piece flow like that.

95% of the tools I am using on those two components are Harvey Tool and Helical. You guys make it easy to locate and buy the tools, and the speeds and feeds from Machining Advisor Pro (MAP) are hands down the best out there. I have tried a few other calculators and I haven’t found any others that give me the same level of information and customization that MAP has.

As for the third component, the handle, I actually outsourced that to a shop in Nebraska. I found Ben, who runs that shop, on Instagram from participating in the #InstaMachinist community. It is awesome to be able to go online and collaborate with other shops across the US to generate parts like this and support small business.

yates precision cnc machined safety razor

Photo Courtesy of: Jake Yates, Yates Precision Manufacturing

How has that social media community helped you as a machinist?

It is really refreshing to have a community like we have on Instagram, where not everyone knows everything. There have been certain forums and websites where I tried to participate, and are made to feel very small with the way that some of the more experienced machinists responded to my “simple” questions.

On Instagram especially, I know that I can reach out to any number of people and get advice with difficult or new machining jobs, talk about entrepreneurship and business strategies, and just feel like a part of a community of makers who are bringing back manufacturing and preaching about the benefits of this industry to the younger generations.

I also think that you guys do a great job of getting involved yourselves with technical content and helpful information. In my opinion, you do the best job among cutting tool brands; your presence is definitely felt. As a small shop I obviously don’t have a huge tooling budget, but I can learn from all the information you guys post and take that to my day job to recommend solutions for the machining jobs we get there which come on a much larger scale.

What are some of the toughest things about starting your own business?

Honestly, running a machine shop, doing all of the programming, machining, and making chips is the easy part. That is what I knew the most about, so that part of the transition was easy.

Forming an LLC, building a website, getting my accounting together with QuickBooks; that was the hard part, as I was no expert in those areas. I learned a lot from John Saunders (NYC CNC) through social media, his videos, his website, and his “Business of Machining” podcast. He has been through a lot of the same things I have as a new shop owner, and so it is great to be close with someone like that to lean on for advice. If it weren’t for him, I would probably still be struggling setting up the “business” side of the shop.

Photo Courtesy of: Jake Yates, Yates Precision Manufacturing

For those who are thinking about starting a business and opening a new shop with a website, I would recommend Shopify. They made it easy for me to get off the ground and start listing products. There is a bit of a learning curve, but anyone with a decent technical mind can pick it up easily.

QuickBooks and accounting was a little overwhelming at first, but I found a great resource for my accounting needs on a site called UpWork. John Saunders turned me on to that site, and I was able to outsource my accounting needs to a woman in Florida who does a great job for me.

As a small shop owner, what other resources can you recommend to others who are just getting into the world of subtractive manufacturing?

Online forums and social media have been great for me. I don’t know what I would do without the online machining communities that are available. A lot of that comes from the machining evangelists I mentioned who are so great at spreading the noise about this industry and helping those who are currently in it learn more every day.

Through your own channels at Harvey Performance Company, your support through Instagram has been great. I have gotten to know a couple of your team members through social media, and I know that if I have any questions or complaints I can come right to one of your guys and they will figure it out for me. We recently had an Application Engineer from Harvey Performance come into my day job and he has been great as well.

The blog posts you guys generate have also been very informative. I often refer to them as a major resource, and I love getting the newsletter each month as it always has valuable information. From a business perspective, the Featured Customer posts like this have been great reads. I especially enjoyed the posts on Seth at Liberty Machine and Eddie at Nueva Precision, so it is an honor to be next to them with my own post!

Photo Courtesy of: Jake Yates, Yates Precision Manufacturing

MedTorque – Featured Customer

July 26, 2019/1 Comment/in Featured Customer/by Harvey Performance Company

Featured Image Courtesy of MedTorque

MedTorque is one of the largest and most well-respected manufacturers of orthopedic implants and instrumentation in the United States. MedTorque designs, engineers and manufactures their own line of orthopedic instruments as well as their customers’ highly complex products in the medical industry. By working closely with their customers, the MedTorque team is able to manufacture high-quality, precision parts that medical professionals and their patients demand.

Gus Gutierrez is a 20+ year veteran of the manufacturing industry, and currently works as Operations Manager at MedTorque. Gus has held many positions in the industry, ranging from CNC Programmer to Applications Engineer, Swiss lathe machinist, and Manufacturing Engineer. Gus was able to take some time from his busy schedule to talk with us about topics like the unique inspection processes required by the medical implant industry, his challenge moving dozens of machines from the old shop to the new MedTorque location, the importance of shop culture and finding the right fit during the hiring process, and more.

Can you tell us a little more about your backstory and how you got started in manufacturing?

My career in manufacturing started at the age of 15 when I got my first work permit. I had applied to Sears, but my dad worked at a shop where they made machines for Frito Lay, and he told me I was going to be working for him instead of selling shoes at Sears.

The first time I saw a slab of rusted steel get decked with a fly cutter and finished with a beautiful shine, I was hooked. I started in the shop by cleaning the floors and got on a Bridgeport a few months later squaring off blocks. At that time, I had decided to enroll in a tool and die course to become an apprentice. We had Haas machines at the school, and so I decided that CNC was exciting and that is the world I wanted to work in.

In 1999, I got my first Swiss lathe job, and I did that for almost a year. I requested third shift to take on more hands-on projects and learn CAD/CAM. I also wanted to pursue electrical engineering, so I worked nights at the shop and went to DeVry University during the day to get my electrical engineering degree.

After 4-5 years in the business, I got my first opportunity as a CNC Programmer. I worked my way up to lead programmer and loved the interactions with customers and tooling vendors. Eventually, I transitioned into an engineering role – first at an automotive shop and then as an Application Engineer (AE) with Star CNC, a major manufacturer of Swiss lathe machines. I learned a ton as an AE, as I was able to get my hands on every new tool and technique as it was released.

Photo Courtesy of: MedTorque

Eventually, the travel time involved with being an Application Engineer caught up to me and I wanted to spend more time with my family. I took a job in Wisconsin as a Manufacturing Engineer with a medical device company and did that for several years. I was working on programming Swiss machines, 5 axis mills, conventional lathes, and did fixturing for the laser department.

After that job, I landed at MedTorque, where I also started as a Manufacturing Engineer. They quickly recognized my talents for operations management when we made a move from Chicago to our new location in Elmhurst, IL. I was able to help transport 31 major pieces of equipment between the two plants without losing any interruption to our customers over the course of 7 months. We were moving machines on Fridays, installing them on the weekend, and had them back up and running Monday morning. After that major transition, I was promoted to Operations Manager, and I have now been doing that for a year and a half.

Can you give us some company history on MedTorque?

MedTorque started in 1958 under the company name Inland Midwest. In the early days, Inland Midwest worked as a contract manufacturing facility, making just about anything they could get their hands on. Over the years, we moved into different industries like medical, and got involved in instrumentation.

In 2014, Inland Midwest acquired Medtorque in Kenosha, WI. We had been doing business with them for a while as we purchased their ratchets and handles for our orthopedic and spinal instruments. By acquiring MedTorque, we were now able to keep all of that work in-house.

We also made the decision to transition entirely to the medical industry, and we ended up selling off the industrial division of the company and taking on the well-established MedTorque name to cement ourselves as a leader in medical manufacturing.

Photo Courtesy of: MedTorque

What industries does MedTorque specialize in?

MedTorque specializes in the manufacturing of orthopedic and spinal implants and instruments. Our location in Kenosha handles all of our proprietary stuff, like the unique ratchets and instruments. In Elmhurst we are still a contract manufacturing plant, but we are focused on working with leaders in the spinal surgery industry.

What do you think sets MedTorque apart from the other medical manufacturing companies out there?

Our experienced team and the quality and consistency of our work is what sets us apart from the competition. We currently have many 25-30 year machining veterans in the shop, and we can handle some of the most complex assemblies on the market. I visited many medical facilities during my time with Star CNC, and I am still in awe at the capabilities we have here at MedTorque. Some of our assemblies can include 15 or more components, and they always fit together to create a great part. Our customer scorecard is consistently over 95% positive when it comes to our quality of work.

Photo Courtesy of: MedTorque

What are some of the changes you have made to the shop floor since taking over as Operations Manager?

Going back a few years, the shop had many different types of lathe machines. They were mostly Swiss machines from brands like Star, Tsugami, and Citizen. One of the first things I did was pitch the need to narrow down the brands we rely on, as they all use different controls. By sticking with the same controller, we will have an easier time training new employees. We also do a lot of promoting from within, so this was key to give our transitioning employees a smoother training experience. We ultimately decided to go with Citizen for our Swiss machines, and we also have two conventional Mori Seiki lathes which are our workhorses and rarely break down.

On the mill side, most of our machines were Haas VF2s, and a few of them had a 4^th axis or indexer upgrade. One of the first things I noticed was the lack of 5 axis capabilities in our shop. Obviously, there can be a huge price difference between a standard milling machine and a 5-axis mill, so I had to find a way to justify the upgrade. I ended up taking one of the Haas VF2s and adding a trunnion for some 2+3 axis work. It wasn’t true 5-axis, but it was just enough to show off the capabilities. We ended up taking a couple of parts that required 6 setups and reduced both of them down to a single setup. The time savings there was enough to justify the cost savings we would see with 5 axis setups.

Now, we still have the Haas VF2s, but we have also added 2 DMG Mori DMU 50s with full 5-axis capabilities and a Siemens controller. The Siemens controller costs more, but it gives us more versatility with the machine. I am also looking to add another Haas machine with a trunnion to replace some of the older VF2s. The older machines were great workhorses for us, but in today’s world of manufacturing, we need more spindle speed, more horsepower, and more rigidity, especially as we expand our product line into more implants.

Photo Courtesy of: MedTorque

When you have a small .020” endmill, any vibration in the spindle translate to the parts, so we need the extra rigidity to be able to expand into more of the implant work here. Right now, we are probably 10% implants and 90% instruments, so we are simply going to need to take on more implant work to keep us growing at the same pace. That is high volume work, so we want to take on more of it, but we will need upgraded machines with higher specs to make that happen at the level of quality we want to be at.

Outside of mills and lathes, we also have two Wire EDM machines and two laser marking machines for internal laser marking. We also have the old standards: a knurling machine, an old lathe, a Bridgeport mill, and a Cincinnati #2 centerless grinder which is from the early 1950s but still holds tolerance. At this point those are mostly auxiliary equipment that we use to help maintain fixtures and handle reworks.

I can imagine that being in the medical field, especially with surgical equipment and spinal implants, that precision and accuracy are key.

You are correct. Quality in medical is extremely important, but especially with implants and instruments. We are putting our parts into people’s bodies, and people here take that very seriously.

We have had conversations with our customers on their thoughts about quality, and the feedback we got was that it isn’t about the machine making the parts as much as the inspection equipment and team. We invested heavily into inspection equipment as a result, and currently use a high range tolerance check with a CMM and an air gauge. We also have a new “tube inspect” machine to check both external and internal diameters. It can take 1,000 hits within one inch of space, and we are the only ones to my knowledge with that machine in the U.S.

Photo Courtesy of: MedTorque

What processes do you have in place to ensure you are putting out a top quality product each time?

Our processes are not simple dimensional checks, but we check each part to determine exactly where adjustments are needed. We do in process inspections every shift, twice a shift; once at the beginning and once at the end. That way, we know that we had a good part at the beginning of the shift and we are still putting out a good part at the end of the shift, so we know in between that we have good parts.

We also inspect parts every time they move, both visually and dimensionally. We have invested large amounts of money into different unique trays to keep parts safe and secure so nothing is bumping into other parts during moves. The other unique process we have is for our finish inspection. Each time a setup is finished, we have the machinist submit the first piece for visual approval before moving along to the full dimensional inspection and then a full run.

Working with implants, we need an absolutely clean surface to work with, so surface finish is key. We typically hover around 20-25 RA for our finishes. This visual approval process allows us to move on for more parts with the confidence that we have a good starting point while we wait for deeper level inspection upon completion.

You do have a lot of lathe machines in the shop. What have your experiences been with the Micro 100 turning tools?

We do have quite a few lathe machines, and we have had good luck with our Micro 100 tools. We actually just talked to your Application Engineers about the Micro 100 tools the other day, and how we made many modifications to the tools from their standard starting points. We are working with the AEs to help them optimize more tools for Swiss machines and looking into how we can help to get some of the modifications we are making into more standard products that others can take advantage of.

Photo Courtesy of: MedTorque

Who have you been working with from Harvey Performance Company?

Your Application Engineers have been a great resource for us. Don and Pawel have been giving us great feedback on tooling and really helping us in more of a partnership role than just a business to business sales role. These guys have been great with justifying new techniques with our leadership team, helping us stay competitive and taking different approaches to manufacturing.

Don also does lunch and learn presentations with us to teach our guys how to improve the processes. These talks have completely changed things here at MedTorque. Now we have guys looking at how to improve all the time. We are leveraging Don’s experience to improve our processes, and that has been huge for improving our efficiency. We have had plenty of other companies come in, but the guys here always ask for Don and get excited when they hear that he is coming by the shop.

Has your team been using some of our resources like our CAM Tool Libraries?

Absolutely. We work in both ESPRIT and Mastercam, so we have taken advantage of both libraries. Our power users tend to work in Mastercam, but we also provide other platforms depending on people’s backgrounds.

On 5-axis machining, especially, the tool libraries have been useful for us in our precise programming. It’s a real time saver and great for accuracy.

Photo Courtesy of: MedTorque

What other resources have you taken advantage of from our websites?

The Helical website has excellent information for speeds and feeds and tech resources. When I have a new programmer or machinist, I will walk him over to the Helical website and walk through the resources on there. We also have been using Machining Advisor Pro (MAP) quite a bit. We find it to be super user friendly and easy to use. We use MAP to make changes to our programs and improve our processes. This keeps our guys sharp and up to date on the latest skills and gives them the power to run their machines with confidence that the numbers are going to work every time.

The Harvey Tool website is also great because it has all the in between sizes for tooling. Everyone has a .125” end mill, but when you need a .062” or .117” end mill or some odd number in between, you guys typically have it. That is super helpful for our guys, and they can easily check the Harvey Tool website for a tool before they place it into the program.

Have you taken advantage of our custom tool programs for particularly difficult operations?

Working with Don and Pawel on custom tooling has resulted in more efficient jobs for us a few times. One that comes to mind is tooling we needed for an implant line of around 150 parts each week. This part used to be 17 minutes, and we got it down to 13 minutes with our own improvements, but ultimately we wanted to get it down to 11 minutes. After talking with the Harvey team, we decided to go the custom tool route to solve some problems. The team from Harvey Tool suggested a custom tool to replace the current tool, a boring bar. That boring bar was going in 15/20 times deep and we wanted to eliminate that as there was a lot of tool deflection and lost time.

Two or three weeks later, Don stopped by with the custom tool. The bore size was good, but the radius wasn’t there. He went back to the drawing board and 2-3 weeks after that initial test we had a new tool, tried it out, and it worked perfectly. We ended up ordering a handful a year ago and they have saved us that two minutes we wanted to shave off the cycle time to get it down under 11 minutes as we intended. After year one, we saw about a $58,000 cost savings just by getting that custom tool, stopping scrapped materials and tooling, reducing tool changes, and minimizing lots of machine downtime.

Photo Courtesy of: MedTorque

Are you currently hiring? What do you look for in potential employees?

We are now expanding to three shifts and we have had open positions for two years. So yes, we are always hiring!

Two things I really look for in candidates are work ethic, and information retention of our training. Even focusing on just those two basic things, we have guys who come in for interviews and when we finish a tour they don’t seem like they are retaining what we are telling them about the shop. That gives me a sense of their level of retention, and their true interest in the industry and profession.

We want guys who want to come to work and enjoy the work that they are doing. You can have a good employee who clocks in and out, but you also need a good cultural fit. We don’t need superstars who can’t mesh well with others – we need a super team who works together and keeps the employees engaged and enjoying what they do.

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Alex Madsen – Featured Customer

June 21, 2019/0 Comments/in Featured Customer/by Harvey Performance Company

Featured Image Courtesy of Alex Madsen

Typically in our Featured Customer posts, we focus on a business as a whole and talk to someone on the manufacturing team about their day-to-day operations. When we started talking with Alex Madsen, we knew that this post was going to be a bit different.

Alex Madsen has been in manufacturing for more than 11 years, and is currently a full-time employee/part owner at M5 Micro in Minnesota. Other than that, Alex is also a part owner of Wold Fabrication, and owns his own job shop, Madsen Machine and Design. Alex has seen a little bit of everything in his career His daily work could have him machining diesel engine accessories with large diameter tooling on a Haas VF3 in the morning, and making tiny medical device parts with a 50k spindle and a .004” end mill in the afternoon. His unique experiences and insight in the world of micro-machining in particular have gained him many followers online, where his videos often amaze even the most experienced machinists.

We were happy to talk with Alex about his unique work situation, his advice for others on how to approach using miniature tooling, and much more.

Can you tell us a little more about your backstory and how you got to where you are today?

I got my start in manufacturing back in high school. The school I was attending had a pretty decent machine shop and a great instructor named Gary Hein. Gary was great on picking up on what people were good at and pushing them to explore that in his classes. He was the first one to introduce me to both machining and welding, which immediately sparked my interest in manufacturing. I had originally planned on getting into diesel engine repair, but Gary changed my mind and got me into manufacturing.

I got my first job working for a friend from church who had a small machine shop with a Bridgeport, equipped with a Prototrak. He was making RC car parts and selling them on eBay. I started working there a couple of nights a week. He really showed me a lot in that shop.

Eventually, I graduated from high school and ended up at Ridgewater College in Hutchinson, Minnesota. Ridgewater is a community and technical college that had a two year program in machining. Around the same time I started college, I found a new job at Baklund R&D, now called M5 Micro. Baklund was a small scale production shop primarily focused on medical device parts. I ended up learning so much on the job that I decided it wasn’t worth going back to finish school, and so I joined the workforce and went full-time. I am still there to this day, and they have allowed me to expand and grow within the company, which is great.

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

So how did the other two businesses, Wold Fabrication and Madsen Machine, get their start?

I had always had the drive to start my own business, and so that seemed like a natural next step for me. I ended up getting a few machines with my friend, Tom Wold, and we started making aftermarket parts for diesel pickup trucks. We started to get into more customization and fabrication, and that business turned into Wold Fabrication. I really grew my knowledge on the job with that business, as well. As challenging parts or custom ideas come in, you have to figure out how to work around them to keep the customer happy.

Eventually, we started to get a lot more requests outside of the aftermarket diesel parts area, but Wold Fab really wanted to stay within that niche. I created another business, Madsen Machine, to handle those requests that were outside the scope of Wold Fab, and that is where we are today!

An example of some of the parts Wold Fabrication creates. Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

You are in the unique position of working for three different manufacturing businesses. How would you describe each of them?

M5 Micro is 100% in the medical field. We have the machining portion of the business where we make medical fixtures, parts for medical devices, and specialized tooling. Specifically in micro-machining, we do a lot of small mold cavities, and implantable parts. The other half of the business is micro molding. We have our own desktop platform micro molding machine that is made specifically for molding very small parts in a variety of materials.

Wold Fabrication focuses entirely on high performance diesel pickup truck accessories. We build turbos, engine components, brackets, and much more. We do machine a fair amount of parts, but we also have a full fabrication shop with a CNC plasma table and multiple welding stations.

Madsen Machine (my own business) gets the chance to dance in both worlds. I pick up whatever I can for work. One day I could be making a part for a medical device company, while the next I am cutting wheel centers for a car, or designing a set of tracks for a pickup. Basically, Madsen Machine is your typical job shop, but with the unique ability to tackle micro-machining projects, as well as design, milling, turning, fabricating, and automation services. I am able to use my diversity in the manufacturing field and creatively approach new and challenging projects.

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

What sort of machines and software do you have in the shops?

On a day-to-day basis, I have quite a few options. The most popular machines at M5 Micro are probably the two Mitsubishi Wire EDMs. For CNC machines, we have a new Fanuc Robodrill with a 55k RPM spindle and a custom 175k RPM air spindle. That machine is super accurate and fast enough for high speed applications.

We also have a Microlution 363 with a 50k RPM spindle. That machine can only take tools with a 1/8” shank, and it has no ball screws – only linear motors. That means that there is no backlash and you can really control how that tool is in the cut, which is super important for micromachining applications. That machine can also hold a positional accuracy of ±0.00004”, so it really is perfect for precise machining. In fact, the majority of micromachining videos on Instagram come from the Microlution Machine.

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

As far as Madsen Machine and Wold Fab goes, we share a machine shop. We have a KIA KT15 lathe, Haas VF3 mill, South Bend Chipmaster, a couple of knee mills, Kent surface grinder, manual lathe, and a 4X8 plasma table.

For software, I use Fusion 360 for CAM and CAD. I still use SolidWorks from time to time for some CAD, but I have really grown to like Fusion 360’s CAD environment.

What made you decide to choose Harvey Tool and Helical Solutions for your tooling needs?

For tooling, when I was low man, you sort of used what was in the shop. When I started, we were using 8 different companies to source tooling. We had 3 different brands for steel, 3 more for aluminum, 2 for drills; it was confusing. Now, we are 100% Helical or Harvey Tool for everything at all 3 companies.

The reasoning for this is simple: It is not just the tooling – the tooling is fantastic – but in my opinion, the Machining Advisor Pro (MAP) is what sets you apart from the competition. It is really nice to have that software available, and since I am in a job shop atmosphere, I need to get parts done quickly and efficiently. The parameters from MAP are fantastic, and allow me to really push the tools while still maintaining great tool life and consistent quality. Your 6 Flute End Mills for Stainless Steel have been particularly great using MAP parameters.

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

Having speeds and feeds charts on your website for all of the different Harvey Tool products is huge, too. You need a good base to work from with miniature tooling, and you guys provide that to me for any tool I want to try.

Have you been using the Harvey Tool and Helical Solutions tool libraries for Fusion 360?

I do have the tool libraries and I do use them for both Harvey Tool and Helical. Where I find it the most useful is for chamfer tools and cutters with more unique geometries. I know that what my CAM spits out is going to be accurate because I am using the data right from you guys.

When it comes to micromachining, I always want to use the biggest tools for the reach I want, so knowing the taper angle dimension is critical. Using the tool libraries, I get that dimension pre-populated so I know where a tool would collide without needing to throw the tool on the comparator first. Eliminating that small step saves so much time and energy.

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

What is your favorite material to work with, and which has been the most challenging for you?

My favorite material to cut is Uddeholm RoyAlloy. It is a proprietary pre-hardened stainless steel that sits right around 35 Rc. We use it for a lot of our medical device work. We like it so much that if the customer called for using hardened 420 stainless, we often talk them into changing it to the RoyAlloy steel. With that material, it doesn’t matter if you have a half inch or .010” end mill, it cuts very well and makes great chips.

The most challenging material for me is hardened 440-C stainless steel, which we get a lot of working in the medical field. I do have some trouble with Titanium, as well, but I don’t often get a lot of that. 440-C stainless is extremely difficult to cut in its hardened state, so staying accurate and getting good finishes is always a challenge!

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

You have a lot of experience using very small diameter (<.020”) end mills, drills, and threadmills from Harvey Tool. What tips do you have for other machinists who may be using miniature cutting tools?

It is certainly challenging to use little tools, but the key is to not get discouraged. You should plan on lots of trial and error; breaking tools is just a part of the game. You may buy 10 end mills and break 6, but once you dial one in it will last the rest of the job.

You should also make sure to put extra time and effort into understanding your machine when working on micromachining jobs. You need to know where there is any backlash or issues with the machine because with a tiny tool, even an extra .0003” cut can mean the end of your tool. When a difference of one tenth can make or break your job, you need to take your time and be extra careful with your machine, tool inspection, and programming before you hit “run.” Setup is everything.

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

In terms of actually running the tools, a lot of RPM goes a long way. You absolutely need to have the right spindle and machine, or the smaller tools just won’t run the way you want them to. For us, we typically start with the Harvey Tool speeds and feeds as a base point, and then I adjust from there, often relying on sound since the tools are so small. The toolpaths in Fusion 360 have also worked very well for us when programming micromachining jobs, so I would recommend checking them out and playing around with that software if you are new to the micro world.

Can you talk a little bit about the unique tool holder setup we see in a lot of your Instagram videos?

Most of those Instagram videos you see are shot on the Microlution machine. The Microlution actually doesn’t use a tool holder at all, so that white collar you see in my videos is actually just how the tool changer grabs the tool. Many people have asked me if that is a custom tool holder, but it is actually a unique part of the Microlution. The machine simply grabs the tool from the tool changer with that device, and then the shank goes right into the spindle.

That being said, I do design my own workholding vices for that machine. As you can imagine, there isn’t much available on the market for micromachining, so those are all a custom job.

Custom workholding for the Microlution machine. Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

What are some of your favorite machining accessories you use in the shop?

What is interesting is that a lot of our tooling accessories are customs, much like the workholding. We actually designed and built all of our own tooling accessories to help aid with the specific applications we are doing, so we don’t buy much of what you would see in a typical shop.

Obviously for my work, a good microscope is absolutely necessary for miniature tooling and part inspections. For my main workholding on the larger machines, I use a Kurt 6 inch vise. I have also had my eyes on Orange vises, but haven’t pulled the trigger yet.

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

One of the items we use the most is a granite surface plate for inspection, and Herman Schmidt height stands with indicators down to 50 millionths of an inch.

Can you remember a key moment when a Harvey Performance Company product helped you “Machine the Impossible”?

As a job shop, a lot of stuff is quick turn, as you can imagine. Being able to get a tool overnight and have it show up the next day is incredibly useful for a shop like mine, and the tool selection in the Harvey Tool catalog is unmatched.

When I get a job in and have to figure out how to approach it, I program around what kind of tools I can get. A lot of time is spent with up front planning. Having Harvey Tool’s massive product offering makes programming easier. I know that most of the time, even on very odd lengths or reaches, that you guys will have what I need.

Just thinking about using a Harvey Tool .010” end mill with a 12x reach is crazy, but I know that it will work, and I know I can rely on your tools to make that “impossible” feature a reality. Other jobs that come to mind include milling a 2-56 thread in hardened steel, and using a .004” ball end mill for profiling; these types of tools just aren’t available as standards in other catalogs. It makes my life easier for sure!

Photo Courtesy of: Alex Madsen

In terms of Helical Solutions end mills, they are my real workhorse. Just recently, I needed to program a roughing job on a 38 pound block of Aluminum. I ended up using the Adaptive Clearing toolpaths from Fusion 360 and the running parameters from MAP.

I was using a Helical 3 flute ½” tool with a 2” length of cut and a 40 degree helix. By the end of the job, I had removed 28 pounds of material in just 22 minutes. I was also able to use the same tool for finishing and roughing, and I didn’t have to trouble shoot or anything. I plugged in the numbers from MAP, let it run, and it worked great.

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RIT Baja SAE – Featured Customer

April 22, 2019/0 Comments/in Featured Customer/by Harvey Performance Company

Featured Image Courtesy of RIT Baja SAE

Baja SAE is a collegiate racing program which challenges engineering students to design and build an off-road vehicle that will survive the severe punishment of rough terrain. As in real work situations, these future engineers work together as a team to discover and resolve technical challenges in design, test, and manufacturing, as well as business issues. Each team’s goal is to design and build a prototype of an all-weather, rugged, single-seat, off-road race car while also being able to market it to investors in the business portion of the competition.

When Harvey Performance Company was approached by the Rochester Institute for Technology (RIT) Baja SAE Team, we knew there was a great opportunity to get involved in something truly special. RIT Baja had just completed a championship season, winning the 2018 Baja SAE Championship over hundreds of other teams from across the nation as well as dozens from all over the world. Tooling costs can be a major burden on the collegiate SAE teams, so Harvey Performance decided to sponsor RIT Baja, providing them with a wide variety of tooling and technical support from the Harvey Tool and Helical Solutions brands to help with their manufacturing process.

Throughout this season, the Harvey Performance team has been in close contact with Bennett Wong, Manufacturing Manager for RIT Baja. Bennett took some time out of his busy schedule to talk with us about this partnership, the differences between Baja and other SAE programs, some unique parts that they have added to their vehicle with the help of Harvey Tool and Helical tooling, and his background in manufacturing.

To get started, how did you first get involved in manufacturing?

I originally got my start in manufacturing as a member of a BattleBots team. At the time, I was just a freshman, and I was basically left on my own to manufacture parts for the robot as one of the younger team members. I was really learning all my manufacturing skills on the fly, only having been a student for a single semester at the point.

I ended up working in the same shop at RIT as the Baja team, so I started to ask some of the Baja team members to help me out with my Battlebots projects. Over the next few weeks working on the robot, I got to know the Baja team and got much closer with them. They were able to teach me the basics of machining, and I was able to learn fast. One thing I became very good at was operating the lathes, and the Baja team immediately took notice. The next year I left my Battlebots team, and decided to join the Baja team. Because I was so comfortable on the lathe, I became the lathe operator for the Baja team, and now I serve as the manufacturing manager, overseeing all the machined parts of the car.

What sort of manufacturing experience have you gained since starting your education at RIT?

I have been on three Co-Ops during my time at RIT. My first one was with Moog Aircraft Group out in Buffalo, where I worked as a Systems Engineer. In that position, I was able to get on the line with the operators, which was valuable experience. I also worked as a Process Engineer at Wyman Gordon, which is a large metal forging company.

This past summer I worked at UTC Aerospace as a Mechanical Engineer working with 3D printing, tooling, and fixturing. I was able to get a lot of great experience, and design many new parts for the operators. I feel that with my experience, I am able to design better parts for manufacturing. I understand the macro side of manufacturing, having been an operator myself, and know how frustrating it can be to manufacture a part that was designed without taking the machine capabilities into account.

Photo Courtesy of: RIT Baja SAE

What does the RIT machine shop have for equipment and software?

Right now in the shop, we have six manual 3 axis Hardinge mills and six manual 2 axis Sharp lathes, as well as one CNC mill and one CNC lathe from Hardinge. We also have a complete welding area with two TIG welding tables, and lots of other metalworking equipment. We really have a full-on metal shop here at RIT.

For software, we are using Solidworks CAD to model the car, Ansys to run simulations on our parts, and the Mastercam add-in to Solidworks for our CAM.

What can you tell us about Baja SAE and how it differs from the other SAE competitions?

I think that the major difference between Baja and other SAE competitions is how tough your car has to be to compete. In Baja competitions, we have extremely dynamic and unpredictable tracks. There could be 2 foot jumps, rocks, sand, mud, and water; you never know what you will encounter in an off-road race. Formula SAE is different because you can easily measure and design to forces that you know. You can plan for tire wear, and you can reasonably expect the same experience on the flat racing track every time. We thrive by dealing with the unpredictability of the Baja track. You need to build a solid design and you need to know it well enough so that you can trust it on any track that the competition throws at you.

Photo Courtesy of: RIT Baja SAE

Baja also has a strenuous endurance race that typically features upwards of 100 cars on the track at the same time. Basically, your team has 4 hours to churn out as many laps as you can. If our car gets damaged or needs adjustments, we have a full pit crew that can handle those issues. Our pit crew is unique in the fact that they practice all year for these circumstances and are a huge asset to our team. For example, last year during the endurance race our car was hit and slightly damaged, but our pit team was able to have the car towed, repaired, inspected, and back on the track in just 10 minutes, which is extremely fast compared to other teams.

While building your new vehicle for the 2019 season, what are some of the common materials you have been machining?

For the 2019 build, we have been working with a lot of 7075 and 6061 Aluminum. We manufacture our own gears in house, so we also do a lot of steel and some hard milling, which is a key area where the Helical end mills have helped us get better performance.

Photo Courtesy of: RIT Baja SAE

What would you say is the most critical success factor when it comes to RIT’s performance in Baja events?

Our experience is a huge success factor. RIT has been participating in Baja SAE since the 1990s, so our team and advisors know the ins and outs of this competition. We have an experienced group of students who can make the on the fly decisions that come with the unpredictability of the competition. Our drivers practice all year, our pit crews practice simulated failures on old cars, and we are always prepared for whatever the track throws at us.

How did you first hear about Harvey Performance Company, and what made you decide to reach out seeking a sponsorship?

We had been following the Harvey Performance Company brands on Instagram for some time, and we knew that they were big supporters of High Efficiency Milling, which is something we do a lot of in our shop. We were seeing all the great parts that other people were making with the Harvey and Helical tools, and we knew it would be a good fit for us.

Photo Courtesy of: RIT Baja SAE

What are some of the complex parts/applications where Harvey Tool or Helical Solutions tools have helped you achieve your goals?

We are the first team to bring Magnetorheological (MR) dampening shocks to the competition, and we used the Harvey Tool miniature end mills to prototype and manufacture our designed parts for the MR Shocks.

MR shocks use oil to suspend steel particles in a solution to be used in a suspension system to change the damping of the system. The MR shocks allow us to be a lot more efficient with our limited power by dynamically changing the suspension to the different terrain. Being more efficient with our power means we can be faster on the track and score more points at the competition.

Our new design is an improvement from current industry solutions. Our designers of this unique product actually won the RIT TigerTank Competition (structured like the popular TV show “Shark Tank”) and will have the chance to become a company and sell these MR shocks as a product. We are proud to say the founders of the product are designers on the team and will be moving along with their business as soon as races are over.

As for the car itself, everything except the tires and the engine are all designed and manufactured in house. This enables us to have high quality parts in the shortest amount of time. We have a new aluminum engine mounting system that Helical tools just ripped through, as well as a new steel upright that needed the HSV-4 with Helical’s Aplus coating. Without this sponsorship, we simply would not have been able to make our car.

Photo Courtesy of: RIT Baja SAE

Have you received any technical support from the Harvey Tool or Helical tech teams during this season’s build?

When we were using the Harvey Tool miniature end mills, we had to ask about speeds and feeds since we had never run tools that small before. We got in touch with the Harvey Tool tech team and they helped us dial things in. Having that extra assistance gave us confidence when we went to run the tools for the first time, and everything worked out great.

Compared to other tools you have used in the past, how have the Harvey Tool and Helical products performed?

Just generally speaking we are a collegiate team, so we don’t have the luxury of buying nice tools. We typically end up getting a lot of free stuff from suppliers, but do not get to choose the tools like we do with Harvey and Helical. With the donated tools we have to be very careful with our speeds and feeds, because what works for one part might not work for another. It can be really difficult to dial anything in and run it confidently.

Using your tools has been hugely beneficial. We know the performance we are going to get from the tools is consistent, and we can always rely on getting immaculate finishes. The tools’ performance also cut down our cycle times on a lot of parts, which is instrumental to our ability to crank out more parts. While using the Harvey Tool and Helical product, we can confidently walk away from the machine and come back to a quality finished part every time.

Photo Courtesy of: RIT Baja SAE

What are your future plans after graduation? Do you think you will stay in Manufacturing?

I want to go into Aerospace Engineering for sure, ideally as a design engineer or as a manager. I enjoy making parts, but I want to get more into the design side of aerospace parts. I would love a job where I am able to design complex parts that have the manufacturing process in mind, which I have become to understand better through my work with RIT Baja.

I also enjoy my position on the team as the manufacturing manager. I get to work with designers from every sub system, coordinating schedules, and helping them create parts that fit the design criteria that are also easy to manufacture. It is really rewarding to see the car get put together during car run weekend knowing that you were a part of the team that was able to bring the design that was in the designer’s head into fruition.

Where can our readers find more information about your work and the RIT Baja team?

For more information on RIT Baja, you can visit our website, or find us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

For more information about myself and my work experience, readers can find me on LinkedIn. I am always happy to connect with like-minded individuals in the manufacturing industry, and as graduation looms closer next year, I will be looking for full-time employment as well!

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What sets TOMI Engineering apart from the rest of the competition?

Where did your passion for machining start?

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Do you also use our Machining Advisor Pro application? How has that worked for you?

Outside of job shop work, you have started your own product line of safety razors. What can you tell us about that product?

How has that social media community helped you as a machinist?

What are some of the toughest things about starting your own business?

As a small shop owner, what other resources can you recommend to others who are just getting into the world of subtractive manufacturing?

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I can imagine that being in the medical field, especially with surgical equipment and spinal implants, that precision and accuracy are key.

What processes do you have in place to ensure you are putting out a top quality product each time?

You do have a lot of lathe machines in the shop. What have your experiences been with the Micro 100 turning tools?

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Can you tell us a little more about your backstory and how you got to where you are today?

So how did the other two businesses, Wold Fabrication and Madsen Machine, get their start?

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What made you decide to choose Harvey Tool and Helical Solutions for your tooling needs?

Have you been using the Harvey Tool and Helical Solutions tool libraries for Fusion 360?

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You have a lot of experience using very small diameter (<.020”) end mills, drills, and threadmills from Harvey Tool. What tips do you have for other machinists who may be using miniature cutting tools?

Can you talk a little bit about the unique tool holder setup we see in a lot of your Instagram videos?

What are some of your favorite machining accessories you use in the shop?

Can you remember a key moment when a Harvey Performance Company product helped you “Machine the Impossible”?

To get started, how did you first get involved in manufacturing?

What sort of manufacturing experience have you gained since starting your education at RIT?