MTConnect: Different Devices, Common Connection Changing ...

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Bell Manufacturing and A&C Metals KEEPING THEIR SAWS IN TUNE WITH THE SERVICE GUYS To keep up with increased demand for its products, Bell Manufacturing, a custom metal fabricator located in Golden Valley, feeds its band saws almost continuously. Business is up 15 percent this year over last year and, if one machine breaks down, it could lead to days or weeks of backlog. For that reason, the company relies on The Service Guys for emergency repairs and routine maintenance. A family-owned business since 1965, Bell Manufacturing works with all types of metal to make a variety of products, from industrial shelving to store fixtures. The majority of its business, however, is making steel furniture and accessories, such as loft beds, table bases, and outdoor furniture. Currently, it is a major supplier to Room and Board, one of the largest furniture retailers in the United States. Last year, however, a portion of Bell Manufacturing’s business nearly came to a screeching halt. One of its two band saws stopped working and needed to be fixed immediately. It appeared there was a problem with the wiring that controlled the machine’s backstop. Steve Buckman, maintenance supervisor, called the machine’s manufacturer in Germany and was shocked to learn that a replacement system would cost $10,000 and take 2 to 3 months to arrive. Buckman’s next call was to The Service Guys, a local metalworking machine repair company. He had been doing business with founders Chris Tarvestad and Dave Meyer for more than a decade, even before he was hired Chris Tarvestad (left) and Dave Meyer (right) at IMTS. at Bell Manufacturing, and wanted a second opinion. Tarvestad recommended a product called a Tigerstop, which was retrofitted to the machine and performed as well as the replacement system at a fraction of the cost. Within a week, the band saw was up and running. The Tigerstop has been in use for nearly a year without any problems. In fact, Bell Manufacturing installed another Tigerstop on its second band saw a few months later. “It has been a lifesaver,” Buckman said. “Essentially, we got a brand new machine for $8,000 installed and under warranty. Plus it’s a lot easier to use. The old system was a moveable backstop or link stop, which was very complicated for the average person to use. Now anyone with 5 minutes of training can walk right up to these machines and use them. The controls are as simple to use as a handheld calculator.” Over the years, The Service Guys have worked on at least a dozen other “There have been several times when The Service Guys were able to repair or debug a machine faster than the manufacturers of those machines …” - Jeff Jensen, plant manager, A&C Metals machines at Bell Manufacturing, from CNC mills to cold saws to band saws. Often times The Service Guys are able to walk Buckman through repair and maintenance right over the phone. “I would highly recommend them to other companies,” he said. “They have a wide knowledge base and have always been able to get our machines up and running quickly.” A&C Metals A&C Metals, another longtime customer, agrees. This metal service center, located in Blaine, relies on The Service Guys to repair all of its metal cutting machines in order to keep up with local demand for next-day delivery on pre-cut metals. A&C Metal’s band saws, cold saws, precision plate saws and contour saws run 24 hours a day, 6 days a week, resulting in at least one breakdown every few weeks. But nothing has been beyond repair for The Service Guys, according to Jeff Jensen, plant manager. “There have been several times when The Service Guys were able to repair or debug a machine faster than the manufacturers of those machines,” he said. “Several years ago, for example, one of our plate saws broke down, so the machine’s manufacturer sent out a technician. The technician spent 3 days working on the machine but couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I called Chris and he was able to repair it in 1 hour.” “Another time there was a problem with one of our cold saws,” added Jon Degnan, foreman. “Dave stopped by on his way up to the cabin and spent 3 hours fixing the machine, with his wife waiting patiently in the parking lot—all so the machine would be ready for the first shift on Monday morning. That’s the kind of service they provide.” In addition to routine maintenance and emergency repairs, A&C Metals relies on The Service Guys for machine parts as well. It recently began purchasing a new 16 | PRECISION MANUFACTURING September | October 2012 PAID SUPPLEMENT
SHOP PROFILE “If you schedule regular maintenance a few times per year, we can catch 90 percent or more of all the failures you’ll potentially see within the next few months, especially with regard to bearings and blades …” - Chris Tarvestad, founder, The Service Guys line of band saw blades and discovered that they perform just as well as the topend blades, for less money. “We just feel there’s nothing they can’t do,” Jensen said, “whether it’s solving a tough problem with a machine or knowing which parts we don’t have to order from the manufacturer.” About The Service Guys Tarvestad and Meyer started The Service Guys as a “service only” company in 2004, after working for several years as field service engineers for a local distributor. Today, they sell and service a full line of production machinery for small manufacturers as well as large OEMs. They also handle special applications and integration in-house. Most of their customers are in the Midwest area but, since they receive referrals from many machine manufacturers, they get calls from people all over the country. The most common problems they see on band saws, according to Tarvestad, are parts coming off the machines that are not cut straight and true, and saw blades that may last only a fraction of the time they should. To avoid these issues, he offers manufacturers two words of advice: scheduled maintenance. “If you schedule regular maintenance a few times per year, we can catch 90 percent or more of all the failures you’ll potentially see within the next few months, especially with regard to bearings and blades,” he said. “This is so much easier to deal with than an emergency downtime situation, because we can schedule downtime for inspection inside your work schedule, not in an emergency case when the machine stops working.” Recently, The Service Guys began refurbishing and selling used machines to complement their offering of new machinery. However, service has and always will be the focus of the business. “We service first and sell by accident,” Tarvestad said. “I think our customers appreciate that approach.” PM For more information about The Service Guys, visit www.theserviceguys.net or contact Chris Tarvestad at 763.234.9810 or chris@theserviceguys.net. Above: Two Tigerstop linear measurement rails operate back-to-back as installed on Bell’s Kaltenback saws. PAID SUPPLEMENT September | October 2012 PRECISION MANUFACTURING | 17
Page 1 and 2: SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2012 THE FUTURE
Page 3 and 4: FEDERATED® Your Association Does!
Page 5 and 6: CONTENTS September | October 2012 8
Page 7 and 8: MPMA EVENTS: SEPTEMBER Sept. 20 - 1
Page 9 and 10: COVER STORY Dream It. Do It. is a n
Page 11 and 12: MANUFACTURING MARVELS Election Ferv
Page 13 and 14: Bill Kuban: Legend and Legacy desig
Page 15: MADE IN MINNESOTA Tower Solutions S
Page 19 and 20: INDUSTRY PROFILE: ENGINEERED FINISH
Page 21 and 22: WHEN NUMBERS MATTER: 6 NEW JOBS. 2
Page 23 and 24: FEATURE STORY Remember, MTConnect i
Page 25 and 26: BEST PRACTICES To solve this, Metal
Page 27 and 28: MANUFACTURERS’ MARKETPLACE A few
Page 29 and 30: MEMBER DIRECTORY Blanski Peter Kron
Page 31 and 32: MEMBER DIRECTORY IFS-Industrial Fab
Page 33 and 34: MEMBER DIRECTORY Stone Machinery, I
Page 35 and 36: AFFORDABLE PORTABLE CMM 1-Align 2-I

MTConnect: Different Devices, Common Connection Changing ...

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?