Reducing the need for outsourcing, as well as keeping bench and spotting time to a minimum, is critical to the success of any mold making operation, particularly a start-up operation.

Twin Mold & Engineering in Shelby Township, Michigan began operations in 2005 when two experienced mold makers, Jason Van Laere and Jamie Smith, formed a partnership to produce plastic injection molds for automotive industry applications. The first CNC machine they purchased for the shop was an Okuma MB-56VA vertical machining center.

Jamie said, "The MB-56VA was a good machine to start with. It's a versatile machine that gives us the capability to perform 3D core cavity cutting, 2D plate work and to cut electrodes in-house for current customers, plus it allows us to pursue other avenues of business such as the medical equipment market, toys and the recreational vehicle market."

Jamie and Jason justified the purchase of the Okuma machine by its potential to drastically reduce outsourcing costs. After only a couple of months of operation, the savings in outsourcing costs had offset about half the cost of the machine. "We also found that the accuracy of the machine reduced our benching and spotting time by about 40 percent," Jamie said.

Twin Mold & Engineering machines primarily steel, with some aluminum and brass. The shop performs lights out machining operations to optimize the cutting time of the MB-56VA. Jamie said "We have a lot of confidence that the machine will produce accurate parts, and, because of the software, will avoid crashes and other shutdowns during unattended operation."