Shop grows by investing in single source technology: like all of us, Tim Krieger has 20/20 hindsight, especially when he looks at the growth path of his business from a garage to a high-precision medical and aerospace shop.

Since being founded in 1993, Krieger Craftsmen, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI) has grown to a high-tech tooling facility employing 15 people and serving the medical, aerospace, automotive, and electronics markets. Along the way, Tim grew to understand the benefits of working with a professional equipment company.

"I'm convinced that the financial investment--once I realized this equipment was in our financial range--was something I should have done earlier," admits Krieger, acknowledging that he could have been further along in his business had he invested in high precision machines earlier.

Krieger's investment in technology, and the acquisition of a complete shop of Makino machinery including ram and wire EDM, graphite milling and hard milling, has helped him save time and money in a number of areas.

He has cut tens of thousands of dollars in outsourcing, reduced EDM electrode production time by 50%, and reduced lead-time to customers by over 50% from the company's previous standard.

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Investing In A Partner

As the business grew, demands also grew for additional equipment. And this new equipment had to provide flexibility, speed, and accuracy required by the company's customers. Krieger started off with the purchase of an EDNC65 ram EDM, the first of five Makino machines in his shop.

This ram EDM provided immediate cost savings with an automatic electrode changer, allowing the company to reduce costs through lights-out burning. "This was a major improvement from our previous method of manually changing electrodes," says Krieger. "We began cutting electrodes for the EDNC65 in a vertical machine that was not set up for that kind of work. It had maximum 8,000 rpm spindle, no vacuum, and no thermal spindle control. It was messy and not very accurate," he concedes.

To better support the ram EDM operation, he invested in a Makino graphite machining center. "It has a 30,000 rpm, core-cooled spindle with an automatic tool changer, Blum laser, and Erowa tooling system. We can now produce electrodes for EDMing 50% faster than before."

Krieger notes that the combination of the two machines really opened up a whole new world for the company. "There has been quite a bit of work that we would not have been able to take on without having purchased these machines--not only because of the accuracy, but because of better lead times."

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Additional Capacity

After proving the investment in the Makino technology to its customers, more work was being awarded to Krieger Craftsmen, Inc. With the increased workload came a need for more sinker EDM capability.

The company purchased a new Makino ram EDM (EDNC43S), with the patented HQSF[TM] technology, allowing the machine to produce exceptional surface finishes that do not require polishing. It not only helped fill the equipment need for the increased workload, but it also gave the company additional capability and allowed the shop to pursue work in new markets.

"At the same time, we procured the Makino EDGE2 ram EDM machine," says Krieger. "This gave us three 'burners' with tool changers. It allowed us to gain unattended and compounded machine time by having one person run all three machines, as opposed to having nine employees working three shifts to do the same job. That is a significant cost savings for any shop."

Krieger adds, "The marketplace has changed over the years, and that 'Made In America' pride that used to be central to this industry is not what it used to be. However, this total machinery investment helped us gain some of that back."

Technology Investment

The benefit of this investment in technology continues to pay off for Krieger.

The company now produces new molds for artificial kneecap parts for a medical industry injection-molding customer. At one time, Krieger could not handle the tight tolerances of such a job. Now it can maintain high tolerances and accuracies because of its investment in with modern, technologically advanced machine tools.

"We built four different kneecap molds, with the parts being dimensionally approved at first shot. Since the procurement of our Makino arsenal, my confidence level in taking on high accuracy challenges has grown," says Krieger. "These jobs no longer intimidate us.

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19-Day Turnaround

"We are now able to produce a two-cavity production mold with lifters and hardened inserts with a 19-day turnaround, less than half of the time we previously spent. With the investment in the Makino, we were able to make our electrodes come out so well that we got a letter of gratitude from our customer."

The company also recently took on some military work. In conjunction with a local aerospace sheet metal fabrication supplier, Krieger developed a process utilizing the combination of a unique and innovative electrode design, cutting and burning for a swirler assembly for the jet engine of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

One complex part had undercuts in 20 places. This required simultaneous C- and Z-axis burning that the company simply could not previously produce had it not been for the Makino Edge2.

The company has also had the opportunity to produce some tooling to work on innovative research and development projects, such as electro magnetic interference (EMI) shielding for automotive industry seat motors.

Because of the unique capabilities and open attitude of Krieger Craftsmen, the customer commended the company as a major contributor in building molds for this very unique program. This process involves inserting a very thin wire (0.002") mesh into the molds while controlling the location in all three directions, which the customer notes can only be accomplished with superior mold tolerances.

Ending Outsourcing

"After outsourcing wire EDM work for 10-years, we then took the step to invest in the Makino SP43 wire EDM," says Krieger. "It began to pay for itself quickly, and we gained a lot of jobs that formerly were going overseas. We immediately saved tens of thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket costs."

Previously, the company outsourced its wire work and was dependent on other companies' schedules and time frames, along with higher cost. "We are now easily able to put sub-inserts and vents on the molds ourselves, exactly where we need them," says Krieger.

Some of the automotive part molds that Krieger manufactures for an optical laser refractor device manufacturer require a very shiny and clear plastic part. The job demands the Makino HQSF finish in order for the material to be clear enough for light to pass through it.

"With the HQSF process on the EDNC43S ram machine, we were able to attain an acceptable surface finish for the customer," says Krieger. "This customer had never been satisfied with a conventional EDM surface finish. And, we would have never taken on any job with that kind of precision before we purchased the HQSF process.

"The time to manufacture and burn electrodes is now measured in hours, not days like with other processes. We simply get things done faster. The investment led to the difference between mediocre and excellent work."

Continuing Growth

"I tried for a while to stay competitive on old technology, but it just cannot get the job done. I use the phrase 'putting a bandage on it' to describe using older machinery. I tried that process, and am glad I ended up converting to advanced technology.

"Makino machines can run unattended, with fewer man hours and more productivity," says Krieger. "Our employees do not mind popping in on a weekend or holiday to check on something or to load the tool changers, because they know they will be in and out in a really short period of time.

"They also know they are not walking into an all-night commitment. It allows our people to have a life other than work. That has been very important.

"In hindsight, I could have jumpstarted this operation a lot sooner if I would have invested in Makino," says Krieger. "But that is ultimately what we did, and that changed our service capabilities dramatically. Makino, Inc.

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