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By definition, says Josh Johnson, vice-president, Continental Machine, Rockford, Illinois, his prototype and short-run production shop must constantly run lean. There can be no tolerating excessive programming, set-up or machining time of any kind, otherwise the shop loses and, in this economy, Johnson notes, that is simply unacceptable.

Continental Machine is a seven-person, 13,000 square-foot facility that houses a variety of CNC milling, turning, wire EDM, hole popping and grinding machines, as well as various sheetmetal and plastic injection molding machinery. Therefore, the shop is well positioned to produce a wide variety of metal and plastic prototypes used by its diverse customer base, which spans markets such as window hardware, bicycle components, automotive parts, chemical processing, medical devices and foodservice equipment. Materials processed here are just as wide-ranging, including aluminum, CRS, tool steels such as A2 and D2, zinc, brass, copper, bronze, titanium and a variety of engineered plastics such as glass-filled Delrin.

Recently, this job shop purchased a Fryer Easy Turn-21 CNC Combination Lathe, controlled by a Siemens SINUMERIK 840D sl numerical control. The two operators responsible for this machine upgrade at Continental had limited experience with CNC and none whatsoever with the Siemens protocol, as this was the first of its kind at the shop.

The Easy Turn-21 was particularly appealing to Josh Johnson, who comments, “The set-up is extremely easy. Teaching the tools, altering the lengths and diameters is kept very simple. After the initial learning curve, which took only a few days, the operators picked up on the conversational programming, right away. Also, one of the best features on the machine was that you could still turn the parts by using the electronic handwheel and just one function, such as hogging off material automatically or putting on a tapered thread.” He noted this feature was not only more comfortable for the operators, but it also allowed them to quickly and efficiently prove out part programs. Johnson commented that this would not have been possible on previous machines, owing to the flexibility of the control onboard the Fryer. The result has been a minimum 20% improvement in the overall cycle time on most part programs run at Continental. For this primarily prototype job shop, that fact translates into a substantial increase in the work product possible here.

Echoing this sentiment, Sue Ostrander, sales manager, Fryer Machine Systems, explained the process that led her company to select the SINUMERIK 840D sl numerical control for all its milling and turning machines, a move that was recently formalized by the company and announced to the trade.

“Since its inception 26 years ago, family-owned Fryer Machine Systems has based its operation on three core principles: build a quality product, price it fairly and provide quality service. This philosophy has allowed Fryer’s business to grow even in challenging times,” she said.

Fryer manufactures a diverse line of over 50 models of high-quality CNC machine tools in its 50,000 square-foot facility in Patterson, New York. Over the years, Fryer has become well-respected for its quality and innovation, throughout the job shop and production machining market segments.