Page 34 - 2021 CNC West April-May

DKW PRECISION MACHINING INC.
QUALITY OVERRIDES EVERYTHING
Kiel Franklin- Jason Franklin - Brian Kott - Layton Tomson - Clint Franklin, Patrick Clayton.
Since 1984 DKW Precision Machining Inc. has lived by the motto “Do as you say - Say as you do.” Rivaling companies five times their size,
their “quality overrides everything” attitude earns them customers in the competitive Northern California manufacturing arena. Brothers Doug (D) and Kurt (K) Franklin took out a loan from their father Wayne (W) to open DKW in a rented San Jose, Ca. garage. Manufacturing medical and lighting parts, they quickly added guys and machines, outgrowing the garage and several buildings along the way. Since 2001 they have called home a 10,500sq.ft. manufacturing center in Manteca, CA.
Brian Kott is DKW’s general manager. He joined the company back in 1994 as a delivery driver and is one of a handful of employees not- blood related. “It’s a big family here,” tells Brian. “All but one person has been with the company for decades or is part of the Franklin family. Doug was bought out by Kurt in 2015 but his sons Clint and Kiel are key members of the team as well as Kurt’s son Jason. They are all bad ass machinists just like their dads.”
The milling department consists of a Doosan DMN 500II, a YCM TV188B, a Jupiter VMC 4022 and a pair of Fadal VMC 4020’s. The lathe department is made up of all
Doosan turning centers, a Puma 200 and three Doosan Puma 2600SY. “To build a good part you have to start with a good piece of equipment,” explains Brian. “We are known as a shop that can handle tight tolerances and hard to cut materials. That requires a tougher machine. Since day one Doug and Kurt wanted robust machines and that still holds true.”
DKW set themselves apart from other shops of similar size by not having standard milling and turning equipment. The YCM TV188B is a beast of a machine for this size shop. “In 08 like everyone else we were struggling with the economy and looking for ways to improve our sales,” explains Brian. “I was thinking a lot about parts being made in China and I thought what if instead of focusing on smaller items that can easily and cheaply be transported, we went bigger. A big heavy piece of stainless is less likely to be sent overseas for manufacturing. So, I proposed that we buy a larger mill, way bigger than our 40 x 20 Fadal mills. Doug said if I sold a job for it then he would buy one. I was not quoting jobs in the Y 26”, 30”, and 32” range. We wanted as much Y as we could afford and the YCM has 70” x 34” x 31” range.” It’s a 50-taper machine with direct drive that spins at 10,000 RPM.” They
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CNC WEST April/May 2021
Article & Photos by Sean Buur