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One of the main focuses of Garner Industries is plastic injection mold building. Supporting the electronics, telecommunications, medical and automotive industries, we specialize in small and medium-sized complex part molds. Hot runner tools, molds requiring side action or complex parting lines and unscrewing molds comprise the majority of molds built. Our tool room runs a two-shift operation which means shorter lead times and the capacity to supply multiple mold packages. A key to the success at Garner Industries is the use of ProENGINEER for mold design. It allows us to work with customers up front during part design to facilitate molding, which in turn helps control part cost. Also, at times a part can be simplified, reducing the mold cost and reducing the tool maintenance required. After the part design is finalized, it can be quickly inserted into the mold design with the program compensating for plastic shrinkage during molding. Through Mastercam CAM software, we are able to transfer the solid model geometry directly to the CNC mills where the cavity or EDM electrode are cut right from the model, eliminating time-consuming programming which can lead to errors.
The tool room is equipped with the current technology needed to compete in today's global marketplace. Two new CNC mills with high-speed spindles were added for cutting graphite or finish machining hardened steel cavities. Five 4-axis CNC EDM machines with tool changers allow unattended burning of complex cavities. Three 5-axis wire EDM machines make quick work of complex electrodes or mold details, while turning out extremely accurate mold bases that eliminate hand fitting of cavity and core blocks.
Since 1972, when Garner Industries was the first shop in the area to purchase a new NC lathe, we have been in the business of providing the highest quality production machined parts at competitive prices. The production machining department specializes in small to medium run high-tolerance parts, with the majority of parts produced going out of state to support the aerospace industry. The addition of two 3-axis live-tooling lathes helps Garner Industries fill a specific niche that is common to many types of machined parts. These special machine tools allow us to produce parts that require ID and OD turning, along with conventional milling on the face or sides of a part, plus drilling and tapping the face or sides of the part in one operation. By eliminating multiple setups, we can reduce part cost while preventing dimensional errors that can be introduced when moving a part from one machine to another. Because Garner Industries has always been involved in short to medium run parts, the equipment purchased over the years has been geared to support that direction. Now, we are being called upon to supply higher production volumes. The addition of a new CNC lathe with automatic magazine bar feeder will allow us to compete on longer run jobs by eliminating the operator from the machine. The bar feeder can hold enough material to run a shift or more without operator intervention. Also, a new CNC saw allows us to eliminate another operator, and blanks can now be cut to within .005". This not only saves material, but also machining time previously required to remove the extra stock from wider toleranced blanks.
Finally, the addition of a new Makino horizontal machining center in 2002 offered us increased throughput by allowing us to machine multiple sides of a part in one setup. This increased productivity, while reducing scrap due to multiple setups. Because of the successes that were achieved with the new horizontal, another identical mill was added at the end of 2003. Both machines are equipped with pallet changers and tombstones for quick and accurate fixturing of parts. This has allowed us to reduce run quantities to better support our customers' requests for smaller lot sizes to keep inventory levels to a minimum.
As Garner Industries continued to expand, we looked for other ways to improve efficiencies. In 1981, we were introduced to Electrical Discharge Machining. Those first wire EDM machines were slow, but still much faster than sectioning and grinding mold and die inserts for stepped or square details. Once again, we were the first in the area to add the new technology. Over the years, there have been vast improvements in EDM technology and we have stayed current with the newest designs. We now offer three 5-axis machines that will allow us to cut workpieces up to 10" x 16" and up to 15" thick. Because we have been involved in wire EDM for almost twenty years and are in the mold building business, it is no surprise that some of our best customers are other mold building shops. They know that we understand how the parts we are cutting are going to be used and what needs to be done to ensure that they will work as intended. And they feel comfortable working with us because they know that our strong business ethics will keep us from soliciting their customers. With the improvement in cutting speeds, wire EDM has found its way into low and high volume production machining as well. Because of the excellent surface finishes, tolerances and the ability to cut hardened material, we have found many applications for wire EDM where broaching is not cost effective due to low part volume. Also, the ability to cut all sides of a part makes irregular shapes that would require multiple fixtures a simple one-operation part. Wire EDM has also found its way into prototyping, due to the ability to quickly program and set up parts and to make changes after evaluation. Because of the ability to stack thin parts to cut them, wire EDM has also been a cost-effective alternative to stamping for short and medium run parts. We have competitively cut parts in the 5,000 to 10,000 piece range, with the added benefit of square edges and a maximum tolerance of +/-.002" with the ability to cut to +/-.0002". Also, lead times can be reduced to days instead of weeks waiting for a stamping die to be built.
Often wire EDM is competitive for high volume production. We have several ongoing projects that are in excess of 100,000 pieces per year. Many production methods were researched and quoted and it was found that wire EDM yielded the best part at the best cost. So if you have a difficult part to produce, you may want to consider the possibility of wire EDM.
Our molding department has enjoyed rapid growth since our acquisition of Nebraska Mold in 1992. While we produce many different products for a large number of customers, the main focus is on products for the electrical, communications and electronics industries. Currently we offer 13 molding presses with capacities from 35 to 275 tons, with our specialty in small to medium precision parts. Part dimensional tolerances of +/-.001" are routinely held. Like other segments of our business, our molding department is always looking for ways to improve processes that can reduce costs to our customers. The most recent is the addition of several all-electric machines. By eliminating the hydraulic system of a standard molding machine with an on-demand electric system, direct operating costs are reduced. Add to that the incredible .0005" repeatability, we see even better shot to shot accuracy, which translates into better parts for our customers, at a lower cost. We have also added a new vertical clamp machine designed specifically for insert molding. By using a rotating platen with two molds, cycle times are greatly reduced. While the operator is unloading parts and loading new inserts, the machine is molding in the other mold. This also reduces the residence time for molten plastic in the barrel to prevent material degradation. Our molding department operates 24 hours a day, six days a week. This improves efficiency, lowers costs and minimizes downtime resulting from start up and shut down procedures. It also keeps schedules flexible in the event you have a rush order or need to increase the size of an order. On time delivery is a priority at Garner Industries. We offer JIT programs and company delivery service. We will work with you on delivery schedules and will provide daily deliveries if necessary. Additionally, we offer secondary operations such as assembly, packaging and hot stamping.
Garner Industries' business is built on a foundation of quality. Most of our customers have acute quality standards and require Statistical Process Control and related documentation. Our own exacting standards include providing SPC for all of our customers as a value-added benefit. All procedures are standardized and documented. The investment in quality can be seen in our new RAM optical CMM for non-contact measuring of plastic parts. Fully automatic, it can measure an entire shot of parts without operator intervention. This allows us to do more frequent inspections, and still keep the Quality Assurance auditors on the floor where they can be most effective.
Garner Industries offers complete in-house assembly of plastic and metal products. We have recently been selected to provide several products that take advantage of both our injection molding and machining capabilities. This allows our customers to have one vendor for both molding and machining, while also handling the assembly. This has historically translated in a total cost savings of 15-20%, eases demands on our customers' purchasing departments, lowers inventory and eliminates scheduling problems when trying to balance component inventories when products are assembled in-house.
Projects have been as simple as four metal components, six molded components and five vendor-sourced components in a valve assembly to 30 molded components and 35 machined components with over 400 vendor-sourced components for a fully-assembled remote control helicopter. This product is assembled, 100% tested, packaged and shipped direct to individual customers directly from our location. Our sophisticated inventory management software lets us track components so our customers don't have to, which eliminates backorders.
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