Over the last four decades, Canastota N/C Corp. (CNC) has grown to over 25,000 square feet with approximately 25 full-time employees. Their robust list of products manufactured includes agricultural and turf care items, fluid power manifolds, motor housings, hydraulic cylinders and valves, numerous automotive components and a variety of other sub-assemblies. The main materials cut in the shop are carbon steels and aluminum.
“As an employee-owned company, each member of the Canastota N/C team is dedicated to giving superior customer service,” said President Dan Cooper. “While manufacturing is at the center of our business, quality control, service and delivery are all vital components in any project that we undertake.”
The Search for Reliability
CNC was comfortable with the operations and quality of machine tools made in Japan, which occupied a large portion of their shop floor. They were brand loyal for years and never really shopped around for other options. However, when service issues began to pop up and the nearest techs were hundreds of miles away, Dan began to see the downside of putting all their eggs in one basket. “We were at the mercy of their schedule for service,” he said. “That’s a real problem if one or two machines are offline at the same time.”
At IMTS 2016, a team from CNC stopped by the Doosan booth to check out the product line and met with Kevin Hensler from Syracuse Supply, Doosan’s distributor for the area. “Right off the bat, we found there was a huge cost savings compared to the Japanese machines we had bought before,” Dan said. “That’s when we seriously started thinking about our options.”
Careful Consideration
“Cost savings over the Japanese machine tools was one thing we noticed from the get-go,” Dan said. “But we were hesitant about the capability and quality of machine build.” After some hands-on time, CNC found that Doosan machines kept tolerance, with very good repeatability, requiring very little offsetting and adjustments. “Some of the parts we manufacture are bearing journals that require close tolerances,” Dan said. “But we found the build quality on the Doosans is up there with the Japanese models.”
New Cat in Town
The company subsequently purchased a Lynx 2100 horizontal turning center outfitted with collet chucks that have a max OD diameter of 1.75″. They are running 4 to 5 different part numbers for the agricultural industry at a rate of about 10,000 pieces per month. An automated loading system by Toellner Systems Inc. keeps the machine running with minimal human intervention.
“Pricing, turn-key operation, service and machine capability were key factors when we decided to purchase our Lynx 2100 and loader,” Dan said.
Syracuse Supply was right there to install the machine and help with automated loading mechanisms and applications support. “I would like to thank the Syracuse Supply Service Department for their professionalism and commitment to ensure this machine was ready for production,” Dan said.
Easy Transition
Operators had no problem switching over to the new technology. Since the Maier swiss machines they have in-house all have FANUC CNC controls, programing was not a problem. “While the Doosans will be used for longer production runs which won’t require a lot of reprograming, our operators have had no problem editing programs for changes in specifications,” Dan said.
More Doosans in the Pipeline
Results have been so good on the line that another Lynx 2100 was recently ordered. It is currently being modified with a robotic loader before delivery. The second machine will turn out the same assortment of agricultural components as the first.
As for service issues, Dan says they have had none so far. “That’s a win as well,” he said. “And if they arise in the future, we know we can count on Syracuse Supply to help us out in a timely manner.”
Dan summed it all up when he said, “We are very satisfied and will definitely consider Doosan for all our machine tool needs in the future. The hesitation factor is no longer there.”
