Page 36 - CNC West April May 2022 copy

Three days of training in LA and I was back cutting chips. It just came naturally for me. I always just liked making stuff.” Mike continued his education at Fullerton Junior College, taking classes as part of their general machine shop program. “I was already a pretty solid machinist at the time,” continues Mike. “But back in the day learning AutoCad and Cad/Cam was a big deal and a great way to elevate my game. They have a fantastic program over there headed up by Dan O’Brien. I’ve sent a few of our guys there including our shop foreman Ricky, my brother-in- law. He too took advantage of being close by and took a bunch of classes. Being in the industry already we typically have a different knowledge base than most of the other students, but there are fundamentals that we might never have learned on the job. They are a great local resource for sure and I encourage all the local shops to check them out. Dan’s dad has a shop right behind us, so they too are a family with manufacturing in their veins.”
AIP have a shop filled with an assortment of CNC milling, turning and Swiss turning centers. Trusted brands like Haas, Doosan, Brother, Hardinge, Okuma and Nomura are spread between 5 units. “We have 20CNCmachinesandsomemanualstuff,”describes AIP’s shop manager Ricky Lindenburg. “As a job shop, we need a variety of capabilities to best service the customers. Good thing about being a job shop is there is never a dull day. Bad thing about being a job shop is there is never a dull day. We are constantly being challenged and love it.” Setting AIP apart from the perceived job shop is their certifications. AIP is an AS9100 and ISO9001 accredited operation. “Quality has always been important,” adds QC manager Tommy Reimbold. “Ten years ago, we got our ISO certification, and it opened the doors to new business opportunities. We earned more advanced jobs and with that came customers that valued the higher level of precision. We wound up getting AS9100 certification soon after. It is a costly process, but one that we and our customers value. Even our customers that don’t require certs benefit from the processes. Our tolerances, our protocols, our QC lab are all above that of most other job shops.”
AIP have a wide variety of machines to do a wide variety of jobs. AIP have palletized machining centers, 4 axis milling, Swiss turning, standard turning, and mill turn. “Automation is one of the ways we are trying to keep prices down and our efficiency high,” details Mike. “From intake to delivery we are seeing opportunities to improve. Something as simple sounding as material cutting on automated saws makes a difference. Any new machine or even
The IM Series Instant Measurement System is an automated optical comparator that can perform up to 99 dimensional measurements in 3 seconds or less at the push of a button.
As an AS9100 and ISO certified job shop AIP work in a variety of metals. Parts range in size and quantity but they do a ton of parts in titanium, stainless, brass and aluminum.
Nomura NN20J2 is a great example of how AIP rethought manufacturing a part that required an extra 4 axis op after coming off the lathe. Now it is one op and done.
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CNC WEST April/May 2022