 |
NEW @ LAMPIN |
New Hurco Milling Center
High Production CNC Milling
New ERP Software
Dedicated Milling QC Room Currently less than 15% of our volume is CNC precision milling. We expect this to grow dramatically. As we expand our milling capability we recognize that it's not just about equipment. We need to be sure we have the support systems in place to assure quality. We recently built a second inspection area for the milling department with it's own HVAC system to maintain constant temperature 24/7. Extra height in the room will accommodate milling inspection equipment including a CMM and another optical comparator.
New Hardinge Lathe
Accuracy to 60 Millionths
Mongeau New Vice President Rick Mongeau has joined Lampin as Vice President General Manager. Rick has over twenty years of manufacturing experience mostly in the medical devices/equipment field. Recently he was Vice President of Operations at Luxtec Corporation, a world leader of medical fiber optic products. Prior to that he worked at Hologic, Incorporated for ten years from start-up through $100 million revenue. Hologic makes medical x-ray equipment and Rick held increasingly responsible positions from QA Manger to Project Manager and finally Manufacturing Manager. Rick has a Mechanical Engineering Degree from Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) and upon graduation worked for General Electric where he participated in their Manufacturing Management Program. With his outstanding leadership skills and strong commitment to all phases of manufacturing, Rick is the ideal person to lead Lampin's employee-owners to future successes.
If you need a partner who invests for tomorrow maybe you should talk to Lampin. New Okuma Turning Center
If your vendors have postponed capital investment this year maybe you should talk to Lampin.
If you have precision
swiss requirements you should talk to Lampin. Computer Aided Manufacturing
If you require a vendor who takes advantage of the latest technology you should talk to Lampin.
If you have turned
parts with marking applications you should talk to Lampin.
Recent growth has challanged our ability to continue to provide reliable turnaround. The installation of a Matsuura Model RA-1X twin pallet machine puts the "gold standard" of milling on our floor and gives us the capacity to continue to service our customers' sophisticated second operation needs with reasonable lead-times. The RA-1X has 24" X 15" pallets, 30 tools, and is lightning fast with up to 15,000 RPM, 1.2 second tool change, and 9 second pallet change. While Matsuura is a leader in high-speed, high-production milling, they never compromise accuracy and the RA-1X is no exception with .0002" pallet positioning. To optimize uptime we have purchased a series of chip control options including high pressure coolant, flood washdown, and a micro-screen conveyor. If you have production turned parts with complex, accurate second operations you should talk to Lampin.
The recession of 2001 seems like ancient history but we used that time wisely by planning for our inaugural session of Lampin University. During the first half of 2002 in alliance with the Massachusetts Manufacturing Partnership we have offered 3 hour classes on Fridays covering various manufacturing topics including shop math, safety, teambuilding, production planning, problem solving, and blueprint reading. Lampin has always offered a generous educational benefit and believes strongly that learning is a lifelong journey but bringing training in-house allowed us to establish a baseline, prioritize, and standardize. Employees could attend sessions most relevant to their needs. The result is a workforce with the skills necessary to keep you competitive. If you require a highly skilled, highly trained, highly motivated workforce you should talk to Lampin. |
Hurco was one of the early leaders in CNC controls and in recent years has developed a line of very powerful PC-based conversational controls with stunning graphics and speed. We have purchased a model VM1 with the probe package and indexer interface. As we've added milling work to our floor we've struggled to keep reasonable leadtimes on our traditional turned parts that require second operations. This machine with its easy set-up, 16 tools, and 8,000 rpm spindle will be perfect for those jobs freeing the larger machines for the more complex production milling jobs. One particularly useful feature on the VM1 is rigid tapping WITH a peck cycle that will be great for deep blind holes.
We have added a KIWA Triple V21i-R dual pallet machine to our milling department. The pallets have hydraulic clamping on the table and will come wired for dual indexers giving us the versatility we require as a job shop. This machine will be used primarily for high production jobs but will also occasionally be set-up to run two different jobs simultaneously. 
Lampin has contracted to purchase the VISUAL Manufacturing® suite from Synergy Resources. This comprehensive package will totally integrate front and back office with engineering and the manufacturing floor. VISUAL offers powerful business management performance tools that ensure accurate, real-time data will be used to help make the daily decisions needed for 100% on-time delivery and quality. We have always been proud of our “customer-driven” production control system and, using VISUAL, we will eventually be able to allow customers direct access to our system via the Internet. The software is scalable and is another important step in anticipation of the growth Lampin expects as it transitions to a 100% ESOP.
All of our equipment is well maintained on a preventative maintenance schedule to maintain accuracy and avoid costly unscheduled downtime. In recent years the used market has been so depressed that we've kept our older CNC machines and run them intermittently to give us scheduling flexibility. Our older Hardinge Conquest has been used for second operation and chucking work and has been so busy that we have decided to supplement it with a new Hardinge Talent 6/45 lathe. The two machines will be moved to a chucking and second operation cell. The new machine will be fitted with the Hardinge 16C collet system, which produces better rigidity and runout allowing for superior precision. Its maximum turning capacity is 11". The purchase of this lathe continues a 25-year relationship between Lampin and Hardinge, one of the premier world-class machine tool companies with headquarters and manufacturing in Elmira, New York.
As customer accuracy expectations increase Lampin's ability to verify tolerances has kept pace. All our measuring tools and gages are calibrated on a regular schedule by an outside service and are traceable to NIST. Our inspection area has a separate climate control system that keeps the temperature at a constant 68 degrees 24/7. Our digital micrometers are capable of .0001" accuracy. We now have added a model 283-20 laser micrometer manufactured by BETA LaserMike, which is capable of .000060" accuracy. This non-contact device removes the operator variable from measurement and has resolution of .000010" with repeatability of .000020". It can measure parts from .010" to 2.0" and has full software features allowing total integration with SPC tools. Visible and audible alarms give instant operator feedback when limits are set allowing for quick sorting of parts. Since the unit is self-calibrating, it can actually be moved to the shop floor to monitor particularly difficult jobs during the manufacturing process.
Customers often ask us when we're going to quote milling work. The new Okuma MC-V3016 is our sixth CNC milling spindle increasing our second operation and milling capacity. This top-tier machine tool incorporates all the latest available technology from one of the world's premier machine tool builders. At this level it's minor but significant features that Okuma builds-in to assure precise, trouble-free performance. Features like precision ball screws with direct drive, high-torque motors, absolute position encoders, and high tensile strength stress-relieved cast iron for increased stability are all standard on this machine. With added options like a 15,000 RPM spindle and a chip conveyor this precision workhorse will be a production workhorse operating 100 hours a week.
Lampin has added the
new Okuma Captain L370 to its turning department. This 2” bar
capacity CNC incorporates the Okuma patented PREX servomotor
for lightning fast and accurate turret indexing.
The machine was purchased with the sub-micron option allowing .00001” (that’s
10 millionths!) offset for critical tolerance control. The biggest
advantage this machine offers is cross and face milling and drilling
capacity directly from the turret. Depending on the part, the ability
to complete secondary operations during the turning phase can save
time and money. Customers get a competitive price and complete
parts are ready for shipment sooner. 
We have expanded our CNC swiss turning capability with the addition
of another Citizen L20 Type VII lathe. This is our first machine
with the new Windows based Mitsubishi control. It incorporates
all the latest technology including 4 cross milling/drilling stations,
10,000 RPM main and sub spindle, high pressure coolant, one degree
indexing, and C-axis. It has been packaged with the usual Lampin-required,
productivity-enhancing options such hydrostatic bar loader, chip
conveyor, mist collector, and long workpiece adapter. This investment
increases our swiss capacity by 25 percent. 
Lampin Corporation has
entered into an agreement with IMCS Incorporated of Fort Washington,
PA for a network rollout of their acclaimed
PartMaker software. PartMaker is one of only a handful of CAM systems
capable of programming swiss machines in addition to traditional
turning and milling centers. This software will allow our highly
skilled machinists to import electronic files and convert them
directly into machine code. The savings in programming time on
complex parts will be dramatic while the chance for error will
be reduced. Changing manufacturing from one machine to another
will be as simple as choosing a different post from a drop down
menu. This flexibility will allow us to respond even quicker to
changing customer requirements.
We
have recently purchased an Epilog Legend 32 Laser. This state-of-the-art
CO2 machine is part of our building-wide fiberoptic NT network and
has been linked to a Windows desktop running the latest Corel graphics
software. Engraving speeds up to 80 inches per second on a 36"
X 21" table with a 35 watt laser allows us to build upon an
outsourced service we've offered for the past few years. Quick turnarounds,
reliable deliveries, and consistent quality were behind the decision
to bring this service in-house. Laser marking is the best method
for marking your precision parts whether you need company logos,
international symbols, part numbers, or serialization. The Epilog
Legend 32 marks both ferrous and non-ferrous materials as well as
plastics.
For a company that "doesn't
do milling", we've invested heavily in that area as customers'
needs have changed. In 2001 we brought a Tsugami horizontal on line
to keep up with our MITRPAK gear drive growth and an Alliant bed
mill to support our precision prototype work. The previous year
our first automatic pallet machine showed us that the concept of
around the clock continuous machining was the only way to competitively
quote higher quantity jobs.