Enhancing Quality, Accuracy, and Efficiency with Our New Swiss Machining Services
KCSP Machine is thrilled to announce the newest addition to our Kansas City machine shop: a cutting-edge Swiss machine!
We purchased the Citizen L32 Swiss from McClain Machine Tool Solutions, a reliable firm in our area. This equipment offers the following value-adds to our machining operation:
Live tooling and secondary spindle capabilities, which complete complex components in a single setup
The ability to machine diameters up to 1.5”
Superior precision
Lights-out machining capabilities
Versatility in the materials it runs
Low-frequency vibration (LFV) technology, offering us the greatest opportunity to run parts unattended on this machine
A bar feeder that can hold metal and plastic stock up to 12 feet long
This investment represents a significant upgrade to our capabilities. Read on to learn our rationale for investing in this machine and to find out how, more than ever before, KCSP Machine is equipped to handle complex parts with precision and accuracy.
Why We Introduced Swiss Machining Services at KCSP Machine
Swiss machinery has been in the pipeline for over a year now as part of our strategic investment plan. Since we first changed our name from Kansas City Screw Products to KCSP Machine, we’ve sought out ways to progress our business… slowly enough to avoid growing pains but swiftly enough to add value to our customers as soon as possible.
This started a few months ago with the integration of digitized processes. Taking on Asana as our choice of project management software made a world of difference in improving visibility and fostering the transfer of tribal knowledge. Other technologies, like Mastercam and SolidWorks, leverage our design capabilities to improve efficiency, precision, and accuracy in all our capabilities.
The next step, purchasing a Swiss machine to modernize our machining capabilities, occurred in mid-July. The main motivations for investing in this technology are as follows:
Reflecting the Present and Future of Our Business
While KCSP Machine started out exclusively with screw machining services in the ‘40s, our business has come a long way since then. Over time, we evolved our offerings to incorporate CNC machining services, which eventually became a large chunk of our output. Thinking about where we want to be now and in the near future, as experts in precision turning, this new Swiss machine was the perfect choice.
Supporting Training and Talent Acquisition
Screw machining is somewhat challenging to teach to newer machinists. The (fortunate and unfortunate) reality is that many of the individuals in our shop that are experts in screw machining are approaching retirement age, which is exciting (and well-deserved!) for them but presents us with a challenge – should we:
Leverage the time and resources to train new talent to perform screw machining services? OR
Purchase modern machinery that’s more capable and attractive to new machinists?
We ultimately settled on choice B. We’ve observed that younger machinists tend to be more interested in shops that prioritize new, cutting-edge technologies. So, while our new Swiss machine is a smart investment in the short term, it also supports our longer-term workforce development goals.
Creating Efficiency
Our screw machining services are still one of our core competencies. However, Swiss machining reduces the need for additional operations that are often necessary after screw machining, such as cross-drilling, tapping, milling and deburring. That said, opting for Swiss machining and minimizing secondary processes reduces production time and labor.
What This Means for Our Customers
As with every other decision we make at KCSP Machine, our strategy for investing in Swiss machining capabilities is rooted in how we can make a difference for our customers. Our new Swiss machine offers us:
Greater capacity to take on parts that we might not have been able to handle in the past: Our screw machining services are top-notch, but Swiss machining allows us to produce very complex parts at exceptionally tight tolerances that most other tools cannot.
Reduced setup times: We already have parts we’ve moved from the screw machines to the Swiss that have resulted in decreased setup times saving in the range from 6 to 8 hours!
Enhanced quality: We instantly noticed a difference in quality the instance we implemented our new Swiss machine.
More accuracy and less risk: Rather than passing parts off to different machines and operators, having the ability to complete parts in a single operation decreases the opportunity for error.
Overall better parts: The fit and finish of parts coming off the Swiss machine are truly remarkable.
Don’t hesitate to request a quote to see how our new Swiss machining services can handle your complex, tight-tolerance components. We look forward to showing you firsthand just how impactful this machine is.