BOYER MACHINE & TOOL STORY

Boyer Machine & Tool Relies on IMTS for Profitable Ideas

For almost 50 years Columbus, Indiana-based Boyer Machine & Tool has relied on IMTS - The International Manufacturing Technology Show to provide its best and most profitable equipment ideas. IMTS 2006 was no exception.

The Boyer IMTS team of nine engineers and operators scoured the show for new ideas. As a result, one of Boyer's smallest investments - about $2,000 for a Freddy Ecovac 200 ( Sanborn Technologies ) - which is designed to remove coolant, swarf and oil from machine tool sumps, separate the particulates and return filtered coolant for re-use or disposal, has had huge payback. Now, Boyer realizes a 75% reduction in cleaning time for its 20 coolant tanks and a significant increase in uptime for its machining centers.

A larger investment following IMTS 2006, but critical to keeping Boyer competitive, was the purchase of a Mazak PFH 4800 horizontal machining center. This milling machine investment positions Boyer to produce high volumes of very precise parts which has opened the doors for the company to capitalize on the fast growing medical device sector and increase its diesel engine and aerospace business.

Boyer's IMTS 2006 experience has been repeated and repeated over the years. As the business grew to encompass contract manufacturing, high volume production assembly and custom prototype creation, whenever they have needed a solution, they have looked to IMTS.

"IMTS, in the early 1960s, inspired us to purchase our first NC controlled mill - a Bridgeport mill with a Slo-Syn control that was the size of a refrigerator," CEO Bill Boyer remembers. "This was just at the time when the machine tool builders started offering NC equipment that was affordable for smaller companies and we knew that we had to keep up with technology to be successful." After the purchase of the numerically controlled equipment, Boyer needed a better way to program, and again, the place to look was IMTS. "We took a sample part to the show and visited most of the software vendors to see which one could produce the machine code the fastest and easiest," Boyer recalls. "Our choice, which we still use today, was Esprit by DP Technology."

From that first NC mill to programming software and turning centers the ideas have come from visits to IMTS. "Every machine we buy either results in dollar savings or allows us to do business better, faster or both. "In the 1990s our production rate went up 35% when we went from our old horizontal mill to the Mazak 400 and its faster computer," Boyer said.

Along with higher volume production, came the need for faster inspection equipment. Looking for the best and fastest method to inspect parts, they zeroed in on a coordinate measuring machine. Now, two Brown & Sharpe coordinate measurement machines are integral to Boyer's quality lab.

Reducing set-up time, removing inspection steps from their process and eliminating secondary operations are constant objectives when choosing equipment. "Dual spindle Mazak lathes (Mazak Integrex 200SY, Mazak Super Quick Turn 200 MS, Mazak Super Quick Turn 18 MS Y) and the Mazak Integrex 200 IIIs multi-tasking machine tool, are all examples of technology that have resulted in at least a 75% reduction in cycle time," noted Boyer.

"As our business grew, the need for equipment to produce small, turned parts became a necessity," Boyer explained. "Again we went to IMTS. We found the best machine for our needs would be a Citizen Swiss L20 CNC turning center ( Marubeni Citizen-Cincom ). We currently have five of these machines and plan to add more in the future.

What does he have in mind for IMTS 2010? "We always attend IMTS with a target in mind, but usually invest in something we didn't even know existed," he concluded.

Founded in 1945 by Russell and Ruth Boyer, Boyer Machine & Tool is today a machine shop specializing in precise, custom-machining and assembly of small parts and assemblies used in technical, and often critical, applications in aerospace, automotive, diesel engines, electronics, medical and healthcare to name a few. Since the 1970s, the company has advanced through the leadership of Russell and Ruth Boyer's sons, Bill and John. As with the generation before them, they believe that the consistent expansion of their Columbus, Indiana, facility and continuous renewal of equipment have enabled them to keep pace with customer needs, while constantly improving their ability to deliver excellence cost efficiently.

Company Information

Boyer Machine & Tool Company, Inc.
Columbus, Indiana
800-551-6863
www.boyermachine.com

IMTS 2010 Exhibitors Mentioned in the Story

» Sanborn Technologies - Booth N-7538, Abrasive Machining/Sawing/Finishing Pavilion, North Building
» Bridgeport - Booth S-8348, Metal Cutting Pavilion, South Building
» ESPRIT/DP Technology - Booth E-3910, Controls & CAD-CAM Pavilion, East Building
» Mazak Corporation - Booth S-8300, Metal Cutting Pavilion, South Building
» Marubeni Citizen-Cincom, Inc. - Booth S-9424, Metal Cutting Pavilion, South Building

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