Hundreds of manufacturers in Southern Ontario attended the 8th annual Joint Open House, held April 9 and 10 in Mississauga and Oakville. The popular event is organized by five machine tool distributors: DMG MORI, Elliott-Matsuura Canada, EMEC Machine Tools, Ferro Technique and SST-Canada.
Together, the organizers represent more than 10 machine tool builders. More than 25 machines were on display, many of them under power.
Jim Syme and Russel McKinnon, manufacturing engineers with Husky Injection Moulding Systems, Bolton, ON, missed last year’s event but were intent on attending this year’s event “to see the latest innovations that can help set us apart from other manufacturers,” Syme told Shop Metalworking Technology.
While some manufacturers lean toward certain brands of machine tools, McKinnon says Husky doesn’t purchase machines because of a name. “We buy based on the application and what the customer wants. We go through a year-long process before we make a decision. We run multiple tests in our facility and at machine tool suppliers’ facilities.”
Giovanni Bruno of JM Design, Mississauga, ON, is just starting up his business with his three brothers. The machine shop manufactures carbon fiber components for the automotive industry and will soon be manufacturing aluminum wheels.
“We’re outsourcing machine right now, but we want to purchase a new machine. I like this DMG machine [DMC 1035 V ecoline three axis milling machine] because it’s one of the few machines I’ve seen that has the right machining footprint on a three axis that will allow me to make the wheels and the carbon fiber components. We compete by buying new machines. We’re starting with this but we’ll look at a five axis machine after we’ve started up.”
