Located in Ann Arbor, MI, Zero Hour Parts is a one-stop solution for specialized parts delivering high quality in quick turnarounds. With speed and accuracy as their mantra, and Matsuura by their side, Zero Hour Parts has achieved tremendous growth.
Established in a garage nearly 15 years ago, Dan Schmidt has grown Zero Hour Parts into a high-tech 40,000 sq. ft. facility. With their incredible pool of talent and goals to deliver great service and value with precision results, Zero Hour Parts maintains decades of experience and know-how.
MTD-CNC’s Tony Gunn interviews President and Owner of Zero Hour Parts, Dan Schmidt, and discusses how Matsuura and their Matsuura USA Distributor, Yamazen, continue to support Zero Hour’s customized approach to each job with Matsuura’s unattended lights-out machining.
“About 10 years ago, I saw a problem with the labor force where skilled labor would always be a bottleneck for our growth. My initial solution was to buy a pallet changer, and then another pallet changer, so we had four pallet changers and was getting into running overnight and some program setup,” Schmidt explained.
“It was a one man show as I was trying to design a lights-out machining center for our business when I ran across a lot of problems, so when I saw that Matsuura had actually done all the work, had all the experience and an army of engineers, well that blew me out of the water. It’s cheaper to buy it from a business who knows what they are doing.”
Zero Hour Parts invested in the Matsuura MAM72-35V. The MAM72-35V highlights production flexibility with 320 tools and 32 pallets and is capable of unattended production, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to meet the demands of global industries. ATC tool magazines and APC pallet systems on Matsuura 5-axis machining centers allow the machines to automatically continue production without human intervention.
Zero Hour Parts shares their customers’ sense of urgency and works within their timelines to deliver top-quality precision results.
With competition at an all-time high, today’s development cycles are becoming more demanding.
“Having to wait weeks or more to receive a vital machine component is not only unacceptable to our customers, but it can be damaging to their bottom line. Leveraging technology, software, and years of industry insight, we solve this problem, bringing our customers a solution that helps them get to market faster and reduce costs along the way,” said a Zero Hour Parts Spokesperson.
“Another thing that’s so great about the MAM72-35V is parts can get loaded offline while the spindle is turning, so we can load up 32 different jobs in the back, while it holds 300 plus tools,” Schmidt added.
“A normal machine can run through four jobs a day with different parts breaking down tools and building back up, then measuring them and everything else, while the Matsuura spends less than 10 minutes a day switching out tools,” Schmidt explained.
Zero Hour depends on the spindles turning on their machines. At Matsuura, we recognize the investment made in purchasing machine tools and our 5-axis automated palletized solutions help customers meet critical deadlines.
“It’s really a no-brainer-the Matsuura just runs and it’s just such a timesaver for us,” Schmidt said.
The Matsuura MAM72-35V features an array of configurations from PC2 to Full Automation and Unmanned Production and delivers maximum flexibility: Attended Operation, the machine produces high value-added and prototypes, and during overnight runs, Unattended Operation provides long series of low-cost components.
The MAM72-35V is providing Zero Hour Parts a 25% labor savings in programming.
“This machine measures its own tools and it’s accurate within less than a thousandths, it’s just beautiful,” Schmidt said.
The Matsuura MAM72 Series provides versatility in the machining of very small to very large components. Possessing 32 pallets as standard, the MAM72-35V is the solution for long periods of unmanned 5-axis simultaneous productivity.
“If the order is for more than one, we know it’s going to be right-you can just launch it at night unattended since the machine does not screw up,” Schmidt added.
“With the rigidity and the accuracy, there are no unexpected results.”
Equipped with Direct Drive Linear Motors, high precision and accuracy are guaranteed on the MAM72-35V. The machine also assures sustained longer tool life through the dynamic thrust and acceleration of the B / C axes.
“We haven’t needed service or support since the Matsuura MAM72-35V was installed-I cannot think of an issue we’ve had because it runs as advertised and it’s everything we wanted it to be,” Schmidt concluded.
Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc., located in St. Paul, MN is the U.S. subsidiary of Matsuura Machinery Corporation in Japan. Since 1935, Matsuura has been the forerunner in designing innovative technology and manufacturing solutions to a variety of industries around the globe. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. delivers unmatched excellence in 5-axis, vertical, horizontal, linear motor, multi-tasking CNC machine tools and machines with a powder bed metal AM platform with machining capability. Matsuura Machinery USA, Inc. provides the service, applications and technical field support that have always been the Matsuura standard for business.
For more information on Matsuura products, contact: [email protected].