Process integration, increased flexibility

Founded in 1968 in Monticello, Minnesota, Ultra Machining Co. (UMC), with 215 highly skilled professionals, is recognized as an experienced, reliable manufacturing service provider in medical technology as well as aerospace industries.

Services include engineering with design for manufacturability (DfM) capabilities, prototyping, machining, and post-processing services such as polishing, bead blasting, honing, laser marking, assembly, and more. Twenty-two DMG MORI machine tools – the first of which was installed in 1997 – form the technological backbone of production. UMC attaches great importance to efficient processes and the consistent integration of technologies. The company has been using turn & mill technology for more than 25 years to manufacture sophisticated components on six sides in one work area. The investment in three additional NTX 1000 2nd Generation machines in 2023 was a logical step toward expanding capacity.

Easily handles complex geometries

“Whether it’s a lifesaving medical component, an implant to improve quality of life, or engine components to bring families together across the globe, we’re using DMG MORI equipment to change people’s lives,” says Sarah Sundine, COO, giving an insight into the company’s range of services and the motivation driving her and the team. “We focus on complex, palm-sized components made from difficult-to-machine materials.”

The consistently clean and bright production areas reflect the demand for first-class quality.

“Sometimes our products almost resemble jewelry,” Sundine notes.

With this high aspiration, UMC developed processes and installed manufacturing solutions that make it possible to accept new orders at any time – from prototype to high production.

“The DMG MORI equipment we’ve purchased is flexible and scalable for us so we also can be flexible and scalable to our customers,” says Scott Peterson, director of Automation and Facilities, explaining the strong focus on machine tool technology from the innovation leader. “Machining is our largest contributor to our value stream by a significant margin. Therefore, high machine uptime is crucial to supply our customers on time at all times.”

UMC’s experience with manufacturing technology from DMG MORI has shown their machine tools work absolutely reliably and meet the requirements in terms of efficiency and productivity. The NTX series especially convinced UMC.

“It continues to prove its worth in our environment. It’s flexible enough to cover all segments of production and capable of producing the most challenging components,” Peterson notes.

Challenging, in this case, means medical components and aerospace parts that require very tight tolerances and critical finishes.

Process integration

In particular, the increasing integration of technologies and processes in one working area contributes to flexibility and productivity in production. The NTX 1000 2nd Generation is one of the most important models in UMC’s machine park and is the perfect example.

“The DMG MORI Turn & Mill machines of the NTX series enable us to produce highly complex and demanding parts for our customers. They do so with absolute reliability and meet all requirements in terms of efficiency and productivity.” ~Scott Peterson, Director of Automation and Facilities, Ultra Machining Co.

“Six-sided complete machining with turning and milling in a single clamping operation is essential for machining high-quality products competitively,” notes Gregg Anderson, application engineer. In-process measurements and constant monitoring are also important factors for process reliability. “For example, sister tools are changed in good time when wear requires it.”

This feature is important to UMC since the company machines materials which rapidly degrade tools without machinists present. UMC also benefits from the connectivity capability of DMG MORI’s machine tools.

“It allows us to collect data on total effective equipment performance (TEEP) for reporting and we’re able to predict equipment load,” explains Brian DeGrote, manager of Automation and Continuous Improvement.

Booming markets

While medical and aerospace industries are continuing their growth patterns, UMC has also been seeing a large increase in demand from the space side of the aerospace market. According to Peterson, this ties directly into UMC’s recent acquisitions of DMG MORI equipment: “This machinery has proven to meet highest standards in terms of productivity and quality. Therefore, we’ll be able to make parts that ensure safe missions to space.”

Further process integration, automation solutions

Looking at the economic development, UMC continues to invest in growth. “We recently completed a 65,000ft2 expansion, which is providing us with the opportunity to procure new equipment and restructure our original space to better serve our customers and provide scalability for the future,” Sundine says. UMC also owns more land beyond what’s currently built upon for future growth. “We’re dedicated to sourcing the best equipment possible to serve our customers and end users of the products we produce.”

As DMG MORI covers all disciplines for production – from sophisticated prototype construction to quality-oriented high production – UMC is also planning to invest in the machine tool manufacturer’s production technology in the future.

“An NTX 500 is high on the list for discussion. Its increased capability with a Y-axis turret, larger turret tooling capacity, increased RPM, and reduced footprint are very attractive,” DeGrote explains. Automation solutions are a decisive factor for future investments, too. “With the opportunity to have it shipped with robotics (IMTR) it checks all the boxes again. The biggest decision is where and how we want to deploy regarding options to best serve our customers.”

DMG MORI US
https://us.dmgmori.com

Ultra Machining Co. 
https://www.ultramc.com