2018cnc4-5.2

40 www.CNC-West.com CNC WEST April/May 2018 M aintaining tight tolerances on large precision parts is no easy feat, which is one of several rea- sons that manufacturers shy away from projects of the massive variety. Such is not the case with Tapemation, a 55-year-old Scotts Valley, Calif., company that specializes in manufacturing a wide range of large parts — including precision pieces that ultimate- ly make their way into the reaches of space. “We specialize in the crazy stuff that no one else wants to do,” says lead programmer Rick Hobbs, who has been with Tapemation for 18 years. “There are very diverse industries that we work for, so there’s an absolute variety of work.” Nestled in the redwood-populated foothills of the Santa Cruz mountains, the company tackles its unique projects with a crew of 25 and a mechanical workforce of two vertical lathes and 12 three and 5-axis mills — the largest of which offers 20 feet of travel. “The large pieces that we do are most often prototypes, and we do very little production,” says Hobbs. “Many of our cus- tomers are repeat clients, but some wander in for one-of-a-kind jobs.” The manufacturing of aerospace prototypes for both space- flight and ground support is typical of the jobs undertaken at Tapemation, as are pieces for the architectural, energy, and de- fense industries. Among its unique projects are an aluminum cross lattice made to support a custom glass ceiling in a man- sion, as well as a titanium keel for a sailboat. Many parts manu- factured by the company are in orbit, some on the moon and Article Supplied by Vero Software HED//MANUFACTURING ON A GRAND SCALE DEK//LARGE PRECISION PROTOTYPE MANUFACTURER TAPEMATION MACHINING, INC., SAVES TIME AND GAINS ACCURACY WITH SURFCAM TRADITIONAL Rick Hobbs lead programmer at Tapemation