Reducing Costs to MAKE MORE Money and Parts

Endeavor Machined Products (EMP) has been manufacturing complex aerospace parts for the last 10 years. Based in South Bend, Indiana, EMP has continued to grow from a small shop with two people to a team of 16 with full AS9100D and ISO 9001:2015 certification. EMP made the switch from a Japanese machine tool to Doosan Machine Tools’ DNM 4500S, high-speed vertical machining center; and have reduced their costs, maintained quality and productivity, and gained the support of Ellison and Doosan.

More Machine for Machining

EMP President, Jim Duszynski built his success around taking on complex work that other organizations were not willing to take. Machining complex, precision parts require fast turnarounds, minimal scrap, and cost-effectiveness to ensure profitability. Initially, EMP only used Japanese machining centers, but after looking at comparable Doosan machining centers, they noticed a 15% cost reduction with more standard equipment. Hesitant to make the switch, EMP performed a test run on an Inconel part with the Doosan DNM 4500S vertical machining center to see how it compared to their current machines.

 

"Not only did the Doosan perform just as well, it came with more value-added bells and whistles that help with job setups and overall productivity."

 

The DNM included a 40-tool magazine, oil skimmer, and came standard with Renishaw OMI2 optical receiver and GUI software for the machine to accept a spindle probe and tool setter. To meet high-speed machining and high-quality finish requirements, the DNM 4500S features a 15,000 rpm spindle, 1,653 ipm rapid feed rates, and a Smooth Surface Package for the controls with AICC II 200 block lookahead, jerk control, and nano smoothing.

Reliability and Support

The final deciding factor for EMP was the reliability and support from Ellison and Doosan. EMP had previously implemented an older Doosan machine that brought them reliable and dependable machining.

 

"We bought a Doosan V550 vertical turning center seven years ago,” he said. “It’s the only machine in the building that has never needed a service call outside of routine maintenance. If the rest of Doosan’s machines would treat me that well as well as that lathe, I was willing to take the leap of faith on the mill."

 

Taking a chance again on Doosan, EMP acquired two DNM 4500S machining centers and had them ready to take on 250 parts per week, running two shifts, 5.5 days per week. EMP anticipates on needing a third DNM as their projects expand. In addition to having a reliable machine, dependable support was just as important. Through the Ellison team’s attentiveness and responsiveness, EMP realized the quality support they would receive by switching to Doosan.

 

"Our experience with Doosan and Ellison has been 100% positive. They are true customer advocates and an important component of our decision. Even though we’re a small company, they give us a great response time whenever we reach out."