Three M Tool & Machine, Inc., Walled Lake, Michigan has built its reputation on providing leading edge machining capabilities to its customers. As part of that philosophy, the company has constructed a machining cell dedicated to the application of cost saving high speed machining and hard milling techniques to the production of punches and dies used by a major customer to forge automotive CV joints. The cell is an all-Okuma equipped facility with three Captain L470 lathes, three MB-56VA vertical machining centers and an MC-V4020 C-frame vertical machining center. The results, even after only a short time in operation, have met the company's expectations.

"Because we were able to reduce costs using high speed machining and hard milling techniques, we were able to submit a very competitive bid to our customer and become their sole supplier of die and punches for CV joints," said Mike Medwid, Co-Owner and President of Three M Tool & Machine, Inc.

Three M Tool & Machine uses a combination of soft turning and hard milling to machine the dies and punches from round steel stock. The Okuma MC-V4020 vertical machining center is used for roughing the stock in the soft stage. The MB-56VA vertical machining centers are used exclusively for hard milling. The Captain lathes are used in both soft and hard turning. Mike said, "The combination production technique reduces tooling costs and processing time."

Three M Tool & Machine was new to high speed machining and hard milling when it established its manufacturing cell. "We had good support from the Okuma distributor and that helped get us up to speed quickly."