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Precision Craftmanship and World-Class
EDM Production with Small-Town Touch
Located about 40 miles southeast of Fort
Wayne, Indiana, is Geneva, a small town
surrounded by endless acres of farmland.
Amid the ocean of golden fields is a machine
shop that produces world-class dies, molds,
punches and gears for the automotive
industry.
O&R Precision Grinding has been
competing globally for almost a quarter
century. And by employing the latest in wire
EDM technology, it looks to stay competitive by keeping
future manufacturing costs low. According to
Calvin Roth, vice president of O&R
Precision Grinding, small-town craftsmanship
is not the only feature that impresses its
customers. O&R's technology shocks them
as well.
"We surprise a lot of people when
they come into the shop," Roth says.
"They are surprised when they come in
because of the technology on the floor. They
think that because we are out in the
backwoods that we are pounding away with
chisels and hammers, working really hard to
make their product. We do work hard, but we
work with our heads, and we have some
technology on the floor that does a great
job for us."
Using advanced wire EDM technology,
O&R Precision crafts progressive dies
for the automotive industry. Its largest
customer, a leading automotive electronics
supplier, has been using O&R since it
was founded in 1978. "They are a loyal
customer and very demanding, but that has
never been an issue, because we are a
service-oriented company."
In addition to a shop full of grinding
machines, O&R Precision has 13 wire EDM
machines. Five of these are Makino U32K
high-speed precision wire EDM machines.
O&R uses the wire EDMs to create
piercing and blanking stations, form
stations in progressive terminal dies for
some very intricate automotive electrical
assemblies.
"Some of these dies are very tiny
with an inside radius that requires
0.004-inch wire," Roth explains.
"One of the advantages of the Makino
machines is that they do a very nice job on
0.004-inch wire work and can hold a tighter
tolerance than our other machines."
Updating Workflow, Technology
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Working in a well-planned facility,
O&R Precision Grinding has come a long
way since its humble beginnings. In 1978,
Tony Oswalt, president of O&R Precision
Grinding, and Roth opened the shop in
Oswalt's garage, less than a mile from its
current location.
"We stayed there for most of the
year before we moved," Roth says.
"We built another building and
continued to add on to it. We eventually
constructed our new facility here in 1995.
It took a lot of work to get this facility
prepared."
While building the new facility, Oswalt
and Roth had the opportunity to reinvent the
company's workflow processes. Roth says
O&R streamlined its workflow and
improved internal processes, which cut costs
and enhanced customer service. In addition,
individual work cells were created to help
conserve space, increase employee safety and
reduce workplace distractions.
O&R arranged its wire EDM machines in
a separate room from its grinders to
eliminate equipment misuse and increase
overall productivity in order to help drive
out unnecessary operational costs. Then, in
1998, it added two Makino wire EDM machines
to its operations after acquiring Hoosier
Quality, a local machine shop.
Quality Finish Demanded
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Because its customers require a
high-micron finish to produce long-lasting
and quality dies, O&R added three Makino
U32K wire EDM machines when it expanded its
operations. The U32K can achieve surface
finishes of 3µmRmax in three passes while
maintaining ±3 micron machining accuracy.
"The Makino gives us a quality micron
finish," Roth says. "The surface
finish has a direct effect on the life of a
die. If a die's surface is rough, it is
going to get dull a lot faster. The Makino
machines allowed us to achieve a
high-quality micron finish at a more
affordable price than other machines on the
market."
 In the past, O&R Precision used four
grinding machines to machine form stations.
But then the customer required a finish
which could not be achieved through
grinders. "The wire machines provide
better uniformity and higher quality in the
finish," Roth says. "At one time,
a lot of our form stations were ground form
stations. Now all of these form stations are
programmed into wire craft and are usually
polished. We get a higher-micron-finished
product in a lot less time when using a
Makino wire."
In addition, the smooth surface finish
provided by the wire machines negates a lot
of additional bench work. Roth estimates
that O&R has increased its productivity
by as much as 20 percent by eliminating some
of the back-end polishing.
"We still do some polishing, but
it's mostly for appearance," Roth says.
"Even with a nice finish, the final
product will show a matted surface. But it
doesn't take much polishing to make it look
nice. The better product you give a
customer, the more they want that same
product."
Cost-Effective Production
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Driving out costs is imperative for a
shop like O&R to remain competitive.
Unattended machines are a major factor in
shop efficiency. Roth states that having
wire machines with the ability to run
unattended allows one operator to run
numerous machines simultaneously.
Ultimately, this results in lower overhead
and higher productivity.
In addition, O&R has been able to
drive out costs from operations by keeping
machines up and running. The last thing that
a shop like O&R Precision wants to
happen is for a machine to break down when
at peak capacity. According to Roth, Makino
provides required service support with
O&R allowing for more machine uptime and
fewer untimely repairs.
Machine shops are constantly searching
for ways to drive costs out of operation,
whether it is cost per part or total cost of
ownership. O&R is no exception.
 "Cost is what ultimately matters to
us when we are buying a machine," Roth
says. "What we can get off the machine
matters, and ease of operation is important,
but I believe that the main consideration is
what can we get for our dollar."
"Makino drives out cost because they
give us what we need," he adds.
"That is a high-micron finish and close
tolerance at the best price."
Two decades have passed since O&R
Precision Grinding literally opened its
garage door for business. Thanks to sound
business decisions, quality Makino machine
technology, strong work ethics and small-town
craftsmanship, O&R Precision has
transformed itself throughout the years into
a world-class player in the progressive die
market.
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