J/E Bearing and Machine
Ontario manufacturer adds multitasking capability
February 1, 2010
There is nothing like the atmosphere and buzz at a family-run shop when a new piece of equipment arrives.
The setting this time is J/E Bearing and Machine, Tillsonburg, Ont., a business in the heart of Ontario’s manufacturing corridor that is part machine shop and part distributor specializing in bearings and power transmission supplies.
“For many years the two sides of our business grew together and sales were roughly 50/50,” explained President Joe Volkaert. “Then, as the company made the leap to CNC machining, the machine shop started to create the majority of sales.”
In business since 1983, the company has changed much: Now totaling 25,000 sq. ft., the building has been expanded twice to accommodate growth, particularly in the machine shop, and CNC machine tools are now the norm.
While dealing mainly in the automotive and aerospace sectors, a defense supply chain opportunity arose in 2000, and J/E Bearing began to supply the U.S. military with ball joints for the Humvee platform.
Creating and patenting this ball joint, the company now supplies these aftermarket ball joints that are designed to handle much more weight than the stock parts installed at the assembly plant. In 2007 the company received its first full U.S. military contract for these parts.
Moving to CNC
As the company grew, so did its need for new equipment. From 2006 to 2008 Volkaert purchased three Doosan vertical machining centers (VMCs) and two Doosan lathes.
In addition, the company also has wire EDM machining capability as well as boring and saw cutting on its shop floor.
“It’s been more than 15 years since we added our first CNC machine and now, with this latest addition, we have the ability to not only turn parts, but also mill them on one machine,” explained Volkaert.
The addition he is talking about is a Doosan Puma TT2500SY multitasking machine from machine tool distributor Ferro Technique.
The company needed machine capacity, and with floor space already getting tight in the shop, it was decided that a machine that could both turn and mill would solve this problem while also providing other benefits.
“We had the opportunity in late 2009 to become a Tier 1 supplier for a bus manufacturer,” said Volkaert. “We now produce a fan pulley assembly, and while lot sizes are very small, the complex work needed to be done on a more complex piece of machinery.”
The multitasking machine was delivered in November 2009 and started producing parts the next month.
“We had planned on six weeks for preparation, setup, and training before we had to start delivering parts, but we had to handle it all in two weeks when the customer had an emergency need,” said Volkaert. “That’s what we think sets us apart from the competition - that ability to react quickly. We do run two shifts, but it’s not unknown for us to come in to the shop in the middle of the night if the customer needs something quickly.”
The company is also hoping that it will be able to produce parts for its ball joint on this new machine as well.
“We currently make our ball joints by turning them on a lathe and then moving them to the mill to do the profiling work,” said Volkaert. “Now this work can be done on one machine with one setup. Also, our mills were operating pretty close to capacity, and this lets us free up some time there as well.”
Benefits of Multitasking
Another reason that Volkaert and his company moved to a multitasking-style machine was to reduce the direct costs associated with multiple machines, such as fewer fixtures, tools, and labor.
Part accuracy also can be improved because there is no tolerance buildup from multiple setups being performed. Lowering indirect costs, such as floor space, utility bills, and maintenance were also factored into the decision.
“I also love the milling capability and the double spindles,” said Volkaert. “We do pulleys on this machine two at a time. We can have our night staff put two in the machine and then walk away for a couple of hours to work on something else.”
With this new machining capability, the company is now looking to venture into other sectors that require more complex, tight-tolerance work.
“We now have the ability to do short-run, high-variety, high-quality work,” he added. “Some of our business literally left overnight during this economic downturn. We have been able to replace those customers pretty quickly, and this machine will only help with that.”
Like with any new equipment, training becomes important to realize the full benefits of the machine. In this case, in which turning and milling operations are performed within the same work envelope and more complex work is being done, training is even more important.
“We have a good group of employees that enjoy the fast-paced environment that we operate in,” said Volkaert. “Now we are working on getting them properly trained and cross-trained on this machine.”
In a situation that is duplicated in many shops across the country, J/E Bearing knows the difficulty of finding quality, skilled CNC staff. The company’s staff needs to have more than just basic operator skills because of the number of changeovers that can now be done.
“We can have three different jobs on a machine in one day,” said Volkaert. “This means that our workers have to be highly skilled, flexible, and knowledgeable.”
For more information, visit www.je-bearing.com and www.ferrotechnique.com.
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