Product: LPM VMC
Supplier: TRAK Machine Tools
End User: Delta Machine & Design
Delta Machine & Design in Ingersoll, ON, has been in business since the mid 1980s, but in July 2016, it underwent an interesting ownership change. Brad Stubbe and Kevin Stubbe from Bell-Camp Manufacturing, one of its customers, also in Ingersoll, purchased the company.
“We knew the business was coming up for sale and we purchased it and then added another 7,000 sq ft building to that operation,” says Kevin Stubbe, co-owner of Delta machine who purchased it with his cousin Brad Stubbe.
Since purchasing the machine shop, Stubbe says business has been good. Indeed, January was a “record month for sales ever” and he credits part of the success to the high performance machines in his shop, citing one in particular, the TRAK LPM vertical machining centre from Southwestern Industries Inc. purchased from the company’s Canadian distributor, Ferro Technique.
“The LPM machine helps us be competitive in this market.”
Matt Duncan, a machinist in the shop that manages the LPM and does the machine setup, says he likes how easy the machine is to use. Once he has set it up, machine operators with less experience can easily run the LPM.
“When we’re running 100 to 500 parts, the complexity isn’t that great, so we don’t require a CAM system; we can program right at the machine. The conversational program [ProtoTRAK conversational language] makes it easy to do the machine setup. Once the machine is set up, it’s easy to load and unload the parts.”
Stubbe says he’s happy with service and the machine has been reliable for them. If the company does run into a technical issue, Ferro Technique’s John McGonigle is a good resource.
“He’s quite technical and knows the TRAK machines well, so he’s a good resource for us.”
According to TRAK, the TRAK LPM is the only vertical machining centre that integrates the machine, control, fixturing and tool offset measurements in one complete system. With the ProtoTRAK conversational language, the company says most machinists can learn to run it within a day. Programs can be generated and edited in G-Code at the machine. The machine also features quick changeover capabilities and an external tool setting system that allows an operator to determine tool offsets for one job while the TRAK LPM machines parts for another job.
Delta Machine & Design has a diversified range of customers including the industrial, automotive, military and agricultural markets. Stubbe says approximately 40 per cent of the work comprises production machining with 60 per cent being custom machining work.
Delta’s operation has a large variety of conventional and state of the art CNC machines that can cut, turn, mill, drill, grind and assemble parts. Stubbe says that Delta Machine & Design combined with Bell-Camp’s large custom fabrication and painting shop create a total solution provider for all manufacturing needs.
