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Manufacturing Cost Savings Lead to Success at Leyshon Miller
 Die/mold production and plastic injection molding for both the toy and the home appliance markets require the same demanding processes as do electronic fighter jet and helicopter electronic components. Sturman Moore, President of Leyshon Miller Industries, Inc., says it is simple. “We have to produce quality and cost-effective products. That requires solid engineering and manufacturing processes that drive out as much time and cost as possible regardless of the application.
“We are a very diverse operation at Leyshon Miller, and we get involved in each of these four markets. Our customers come to us with all kinds of issues, and our focus on process efficiency allows us to stay competitive with much larger operations.”
The Cambridge, Ohio, company is now able to eliminate 100-percent of the cost for all bench work on die/mold jobs. These improved business processes have led to a 20-percent cost elimination off the bottom line says Moore.
“That’s a big savings for our customers, who then feel good about choosing our company to do their work. Some customers and prospects often think our project estimates are in error. We actually have customers come back to us and question whether we need to submit another quote, because we must have forgotten to bid on an element of the job. That is simply because our processes allow us to operate significantly lower than our competitors.”
The biggest part of that process, Moore explains, is the enhanced productivity of modern machinery. “We have been able to better utilize new operational procedures to increase sales and drive out manufacturing costs due to our investment in new machine technology like Makino. While still making our margin, we have cut a previously normal 18 to 20 week delivery down to eight weeks. That tremendous time and cost impact makes us valuable to our customers and is a key to our marketing.”
Concept to Completion [back to top]
Leyshon Miller began as an engineering firm, doing “black-box” engineering projects that progressed into aluminum prototype molds for their injection molding operation. They now build aluminum and steel dies and molds in their shop, expanding their business into a complete project manufacturing operation with a strong engineering and custom molding focus.
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“There was one particular job on our old EDM machine that took around 17 hours with many carbon electrodes and difficult polishing. When the EDNC65S became operational, we did the same burn in about 45 minutes, with no bench time on the backside.”
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This concentration has kept them busy when many shops were not, according to Moore. “One of the keys to our success is that we can be a turn-key operation. We can solve their problems through engineering, and we can actually put something in their hands that they can feel and touch. With our ability to tool it and run the production, our customers don’t have to worry. They know if we tell them it’s going to be done on-time, it’s going to be done when needed, and it’s going to be done right.”
“As an example, one customer marketed a dispensing unit, but they were not happy with it. Their customers were complaining about difficulties in using it. We took that project and re-designed it, and then built prototype parts on our machinery. After these proved to be functional following testing, we built aluminum tools and actually molded parts in a test run. They were happy with the effort, and we now manage the entire production run from concept to completion.”
Moore adds they even use this process on one of their most consistent and valued clients—themselves. “Our goal is not to become a commodity molder, but a specialty molder. In our own case, we developed, patented and sell through e-commerce a collector’s carry-and-display case for dolls. We actually make the parts and sell them. And we’re growing that part of the business right now.”
Merging Technology [back to top]
Moore says a great deal of Leyshon Miller’s process success comes from acquiring high-technology machinery that drives out operational costs. And, they merged both a Ram EDM machine and a milling machine from Makino to produce phenomenal results.
“We bought the EDNC65S Ram EDM machine with HQSF™ (High-Quality Surface Finish) technology to give us significantly improved accuracy and finish while also eliminating benchwork expenses,” says Moore. “We also needed Makino’s MAX65S high-speed mill desperately, as the Makino SGI.3 software improved our accuracy, as well as quality finishes, speedy cutting performance and eliminated a lot of benchwork.”
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| We bought the EDNC65S Ram EDM machine with HQSF™ (High-Quality Surface Finish) technology to give us significantly improved accuracy and finish while also eliminating benchwork expenses. |
All tool engineering at Leyshon Miller is done in solid modeling. Once completed, they desire to get the tool into steel quickly and accurately, according to Moore. “Rather than having three or four processes, the two Makino machines combined are capable of eliminating a lot of backside, secondary operations. Manual milling, drilling, polishing and other types of bench work are incorporated into our programs. Rather than spending hours on manual operations, what we can actually do is increase our volume and our sales. At least three CNC machines, as well as all grinding and drilling machines, have been eliminated from our shop due to the Makino combination. And, cycle time reduction has been dramatic.”
Processing work was greatly enhanced, according to Moore. “There were a pair of injection mold cores for a sub-strate, one was a right and a left pistol grip handle for a power tool with the second a rubber over-mold for that unit. It was eight-inches by twelve-inches, cut out of P20 steel, milled 100 percent on the MAX65S with no bench time. Absolutely none.
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“We were actually able to take these units directly to our mold shop, achieving the required 4-micron finish with zero bench work. The cavity surface was that great.”
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“On the cavity side of that sub-strate, we built electrodes and burned those in the EDMC65S. We were actually able to take these units directly to our mold shop, achieving the required 4-micron finish with zero bench work. The cavity surface was that great. When the customer saw that light-matte finish of the samples we made, they said, ‘That’s where we need to stop, we like them as they are, go ahead and start production.’”
Measuring Results [back to top]
On the power-tool handle project, Leyshon Miller was simultaneously burning the cavity on the sub-strate and cutting the cavity on the over mold on the two respective Makino machines. This coordinated effort led to a reduction in lead time from as much as 18 weeks down to less than six weeks.
HQSF™ results on the Ram machine have been fantastic, says Moore, allowing the firm to operate at about 60 percent unattended time. “Our guys can now focus their time on making sure the programs and setups are right and making sure the tool changers are loaded. It’s not unusual to run these machines lights out throughout the night and on weekends. That has helped us to shorten lead times, as well as to pass on some redemption costs to our customers.
“There was one particular job on our old EDM machine that took around 17 hours with many carbon electrodes and difficult polishing. When the EDNC65S became operational, we did the same burn in about 45 minutes, with no bench time on the backside. That is a pretty dramatic change, and there is just no comparison in quality thanks to HQSF™. What would take us three shifts to cut on the old machine, and which we would still have to bench, we can cut in less than one shift on this machine with no bench work. That is a huge saving of time and cost.”
Moore notes that Makino’s quality helps achieve measurable results in both the prototyping and the production runs. “We can cut a small aluminum tool in a matter of a couple of shifts with the universal mold bases that we developed in-house to fit most needs, eliminating the need for a new base with every new mold. We can go from concept to molded part on a small job in as little as 24 hours.
“That is pretty impressive to our diverse customers. Sometimes we’ll run 30 specialty parts, sometimes we’ll run 100 or 500. We have a few jobs that are a little under 100,000 pieces a year. In all cases, they want us retained because of the quality in management and production.”
Growing Pains [back to top]
Leyshon Miller says they are experiencing growing pains right now. They are looking for a larger building and are developing a strategic plan that will include several other pieces of equipment. And, Moore says Makino remains at the top of his acquisition list. “Our tooling, and the size of the work, is limited to our 375-ton injection molding machine. We will probably expand that up to 700-ton size once we get a facility, so we will need the infrastructure machinery to handle new customer demands. We are working with Makino to try to incorporate new capabilities and machinery into our shop.”
Justifying such an investment is not difficult, according to Moore. “There are two ways to manage a business in our industry right now. You can carry the weight of the world on your back and try to operate with old technology and escalating process and wage costs. Or, you can do things the easy way and invest in technology like Makino machinery.
“When you start looking at unattended machining time, reducing secondary operations, eliminating bench time and driving out those process and wage costs, you discover a secret. At the very least, Makino machines are priced competitively. That is the return-on-investment; that is the justification.”
Moore says that their customers understand the investment and they see the difference. “There are a lot of ‘throw-away’ machines out there, and in four or five years their accuracy is gone. My experience has been that the Makino hangs in there for a good while and is a better investment value.”
The only thing Leyshon Miller has to sell is service, according to Moore. They interpret service as quality, responsiveness and cost-effectiveness, and feel that Makino machines help them achieve this focus. “Without their machines, we couldn’t do anything different than the rest of the world is doing. This is the contribution that Makino makes to our bottom line.
“We have a standard shop rate, but when we’re running unattended we adjust that rate dramatically because we are taking costs out of the operation with Makino machinery. We recoup costs in order to justify the purchase, but we make sure that the customer also benefits from Makino technology in our processes. That’s why we are capturing some projects that other folks are struggling to get, because we have the ability to reduce that cost with Makino machine technology.”
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