Do you remember the 1960’s cult series Star Trek and Mr. Spock’s “live long and prosper”? The phrase rather nicely captures the philosophy of Magor Mold in San Dimas, California. Long life and reward are two concepts that permeate all the company’s operations.
Many moulding tool manufacturers are striving to become suppliers to the quality-oriented medical equipment industry, a market in which Magor Mold has been active for several decades. In fact, tools for this industry make up a full 95 percent of Magor Mold’s production. Disposable items account for most of this percentage.
Wolfgang Buehler: “Automation strengthens competitiveness and creates new employment opportunities.”
Wolfgang Buehler, President, reveals: “My uncle, Max Ruf, was already supplying tools for medical equipment in 1967. Everything accelerated in 1990 when Max and I merged our operations. Thus, it’s safe to say that we have long experience in medical technology. This applies not least to our operators. They are highly skilled and the average length of time they have been with us is over ten years.”
Workforce continuity and accumulated expertise give Magor Mold’s customers peace of mind when placing repeat orders and great confidence when new challenges emerge. Project supervisors play a crucial role in customer relations. Each supervisor has total responsibility from beginning to end of his or her projects. The end here is not delivery, but the end of the tool’s service life!
At the high-volume end – up to half a billion a year – precision and long service lives remain two of the characteristics of Magor Mold’s tools. Tools that produce large volumes of precision items year after year. Wolfgang Buehler: “In recent years, the pressure on prices has increased considerably. Instead of thoroughly analysing an item’s long-term costs, many customers have tended to focus on the short term and tool prices. The question customers should ask themselves is, ‘one quality tool that will last a long time, or several tools each with a short life span?’ If you look at cost per item, we are indisputably very hard to beat.”
The magnificent double cell, two die-sinking EDM machines and a WorkMaster. The longest a single job has run here is 42 hours – unmanned!
Continuity is also a feature of the company’s supplier relations. Magor Mold and System 3R have worked together ever since the Mini system was introduced at the end of the 60’s. “Especially as regards electrode manufacture, System 3R have been of great help in increasing our productivity,” explains Wolfgang.
“Besides a loyal and skilful workforce, a willingness to invest has also played a key role in our success. We follow technical developments very closely and are always keen to acquire the best equipment. The early implementation of CNC technology is one example of this. We are now automating everything that can be automated.”
At the very beginning of the new millennium, the company installed its first automatic production cell. This was rapidly followed by several more. Today, Magor Mold has three die-sinking EDM cells: a Charmilles served by a WorkMaster (with, respectively, Macro and Dynafix pallets); a double cell with two Mitsubishis and a WorkMaster (this cell also has Macro and Dynafix in 98 magazine positions); and, another Charmilles with a WorkPartner.
On top of this, there are two automatic cells for electrode production. In both cases, these are Roku-Roku served by WorkPal (with a 60-position magazine for Macro pallets).
“Quite simply, automation is essential for continued operation,” concludes Wolfgang. “Without automation, moulding tool manufacture would disappear to low-cost countries. So that we in the western world can sharpen our competitiveness, it is vital that our productivity per employee increases. Contrary to the assertions of some diehards, automation saves jobs and creates new employment opportunities!”
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Automation in general
WorkMaster
WorkPal
WorkPartner
Macro
Dynafix
Mini