CNC West Oct Nov Web

26 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST October/November 2018 CNC machining parts. Our eyes were wide open now to the possibilities so we sold that machine and bought a standard Fryer MC40 3 axis mill.” That mill was quickly filled to capacity so Matt added a second MC40 and then a third. “I didn’t have any experience with CNC prior to buying one,” admits Matt. “I learned how to get my draw- ings into Solid Works from watching YouTube videos and the Internet. Our parts are not super complex and don’t require aerospace level tolerances so after only a few days of training with our first machine I had things fig- ured out. Funny story I actually had swine flue during the training so I only got one full day of training in. Even be- ing dehydrated and on the verge of collapse I picked it up quickly. It was all very logical and just meshed perfectly with how my brain works. I do all the programming and my guys run the machines. The conversational program- ming on the controls is super handy and I do most of my programming from there.” Lean manufacturing was a buzzword that Matt wasn’t necessarily familiar with. Spyder Manufacturing utilized similar principles in their assembly processes, but it wasn’t until Matt went in search of faster ways to ma- chine that he discovered pallet systems. “I learned right away that pallet systems are an effective way to increase my production,” tells Matt. “I also learned that for the most part they are also expensive. Pierson Workholding came up in my Internet search and I saw they had a cost effective Mini Pallet System designed for hobbyist and tabletop setups. Then their Pro Pallet System caught my eye. It didn’t cost an arm and a leg and was a way for me to try out a pallet system without a huge investment. So we purchased their pallet hardware kit for one machine. It allows me to connect three pallet bases by chaining them to a single air valve and gives me the option to make my own pallets. I was impressed.” Matt outfitted three machines with an identical three- pallet system, allowing him to run any job on any ma- chine by just loading the program. Each pallet is spring powered and only uses air to unlock the pallets so it is failsafe in case air pressure is lost. Spyder Manufacturing just added a fourth Fryer six months ago. The new MC30 has a slightly smaller work envelope so when it came time to buy Pierson Workholding Pro Pallet System for it only two bases were needed. “I have all my jobs setup on pal- lets and ready to go at any time,” explains Matt. “I built a pallet rack that holds 100 pallets. My guys go over to the Matt built a pallet rack that holds more than 100 pallets. Each of his parts has its own pallet so the operator only needs to grab the pallet and the tooling.