Modern Machine Shop

JAN 2018

Modern Machine Shop is focused on all aspects of metalworking technology - Providing the new product technologies; process solutions; supplier listings; business management; networking; and event information that companies need to be competitive.

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BETTER PRODUCTION MMS JANUARY 2018 100 mmsonline.com Shops Using Technology Shop Hits Home Run with Toolpath Simulation Software Competing as a small job shop means running as efficiently as possible, but the investments Wolcott Design Services of Newberg, Oregon, made to improve its production process also made it vulnerable. Adding a high- end horizontal machining center meant risking expensive repairs if a tool were to crash, and further investments in software seemed like a gamble. However, after using toolpath simulation software from CGTech (Irvine, California), Wolcott found ways to streamline its production and safe- guard its new investments. Bob Wolcott, a former pitcher for the "refuse-to-lose" 1995 Seattle Mariners, founded Wolcott Design Services in 2005 with a single vertical machining center, performing prototype research and development for the high-tech industry. Making complex parts necessitated the addition of a trunnion-style, five-axis table for the VMC. He carefully grew his high-mix, low-volume business with the addition of a second VMC with five-axis capabilities. But as the business grew, he realized the limitations of his equipment. "We just weren't running as efficiently as we needed to be," he says. "Jumping from job to job with such short production FACILITY Wolcott Design Services Newberg, Oregon PROBLEM Needed to improve efficiency during high-mix, low-volume runs SOLUTION Vericut tool simulation software by CGTech, HMCs RESULTS Improved efficiency, spindle utilization and revenue Vericut keeps a detailed tool library to assist the Wolcott team in presetting and other preparations. EDITED BY ELI PLASKETT | ASSISTANT EDITOR

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