Accutech Machine Inc.

Bryan Becker founded Accutech Machine Inc. nearly 20 years ago, in April of 1994. Though he had several years of working for machine shops under his belt, coupled with his formal manufacturing training, Bryan, not even 30 years of age, was extremely young to take on such a bold venture. Bryan says, “I was tired of working for someone else. I wanted my success (or my demise) to be completely in my control.”

There was no demise. Business was good from the onset,and the company’s overh was low, with a single bay to run the business. Just 3 years after starting his company, Bryan hired Tyler Bushman. Tyler, even younger than Bryan, learned machining in high school, and Bryan hired him as a saw operator.

The philosophy at Accutech Machine is to grow talent from within the organization, and since Bryan remains very hands on, there is no “That’s not my job” attitude within the company. Bryan says that the ability to grow within the organization results in lower turnover than is seen in the industry. In fact, Tyler today is second in command, with 16 years at the company, and Bryan says that the succession plan calls for Tyler to purchase the business when he retires (years from now).

Today, Accutech produces a wide variety of products, ranging from high precision aircraft and medical components, to ski lift and oilfield parts. Their customers span the United States, and they even manufacture products that ship internationally. Additionally, they are versed in a wide variety ofmaterials, from exotic and stainless alloys tosimple plastics and aluminum. Their state-of-art facility is worth your time to visit.

Always pro-actively trying to stay ahead of their competitors, Accutech was early to recognize the need to certify to ISO 9001:2000, which they achieved for the first time nearly a decade ago. Bryan says, “We feel that this is a vital role not only to the quality of product but also to Accutech as a whole. It is more than a quality system. It is a management system that has an effect on everyone and everything in our facility.”

More recently, in 2009 the company added AS9100 to its list of credentials, thereby facilitating growth in the aerospace and defense industries.

Tyler says, “We strive for continual improvement of our products and services through training, management involvement, and technological improvements.” He continued, “We have set a quality policy and objectives to analyze and improve our quality and delivery, and to meet or exceed our customer’s requirements. In fact, all of our employees and suppliers are involved in our quest to achieve customer satisfaction.” Accutech’s efforts are evidently paying off, as they are a Tier 1 supplier to several OEMs, and they have earned the distinction of being a Boeing “Silver Supplier”.

The team at Accutech is very well aware of the need to continually decrease costs while simultaneously increasing production, and they know that this can only be done with superior machine tools. Just prior to going to press with this article, the company officially began lights out operation. The company owns many different sizes of machining centers, giving them the ability to run various sizes of parts in varying materials. Their mills are all 4th or 5th axis capable, and they also have 2 integrated high-rise (two level) pallet-handling systems to support their customers’ wide variety of parts and higher quantity runs. They have live tooling on their lathes, allowing them to incorporate milling procedures while turning the parts. Bryan says this enables them to cut down on operations, which in turn saves their customers time and money.

Though Bryan has long known about Smith Machinery and its outstanding reputation for quite some time, it wasn’t until the last couple of years that he began purchasing machine tools from them. Clark Smith, 3rd generation president of Smith Machinery, says, “It was just a few years ago that Accutech made a decision, based upon the demand for increasingly complex parts, to purchase higher end technology to support their customers. This is when they invited us to bid on their machine tools.”

Accutech’s first purchase from Smith Machinery was the Mazak Integrex i-200ST. Tyler says the INTEGREX i-Series Multi-Tasking centers bring together extreme versatility and accuracy for Accutech’s mid-size to large, complex components. Clark added, “The i-Series machines fall into Level 4 of Mazak’s 5 Levels of Multi-Tasking.”

Achieving and maintaining higher accuracies are accomplished through several design features including Mazak’s unique roller-gear cam drive for the rotating B-axis. It’s super rigid and has virtually no backlash or wear. The i-200ST also has heavy-duty turning spindles, 12,000 RPM 25HP milling spindle and X-axis core cooled ballscrew utilizing temperature controlled circulated oil to enhance thermal stability. In addition, milling spindles are monitored for heat, vibration and displacement as a preventive measure through the Intelligent Performance Spindle (IPS) module.

Bryan says, “The support we received from the onset from Smith Machinery and Mazak was outstanding. We value the fact that they have local support from both distributor and Mazak factory technicians, and when we have an issue, it is resolved immediately. We get very experienced, knowledgeable support from them. Smith Machinery operates ethically, and they are more than fair to us.”

Tyler added, “These machines are complex, and you don’t just read a manual to become expert. In fact, Mazak provided onsite training and support to us for 3 solid weeks. Additionally, we have the ability to send our machinists to Mazak for training."

In December, Accutech received their first Mazak horizontal machining center, the HCN 5000-II with a 2-level high-rise Palletech and soon after their new Mazak Variaxis i-700 5-axis arrived with a similar Palletech system. The HCN 5000-II has dramatically shorten cycle-times by using Mazak’s unique ultra-high speed technologies. The 5-axis Variaxis can efficiently machine very complex parts with minimal secondary operations. The two Palletech systems allow Accutech to produce a wide variety of parts with minimal set-up time and provide long periods of unattended operation. The ROI has been so successful that a second HCN-5000-II has been added to that system.

Bryan says, “The key to becoming locally and globally competitive isto minimize the labor content of your operations. And the key to plant-floor labor optimization is automation.” Clark agreed and added, “Bryan and the team really have a big picture view. They know what they have to do in order to grow and be competitive, and so they are investing in their future with proven automation.”

Mazak’s palletized machining systems (Palletech) are pre-engineered automation that can serve one machining center with a few pallets – or up to eight machines with (100) pallets. Also, you can add machines, pallets and load/unload stations as you need them, pacing your capital investment with the growth of your business. Palletech includes a simple and effective scheduler, which allows jobs to be queued and prioritized for “lights out” operation. Yet, when the prototype job or the emergency delivery arises, as it always does, it can easily be given top priority in the schedule without the need for re-organizing other work.

Palletech cells are an effective strategy for both low-volume and high-volume requirements. Resident pallets and part fixtures make lots-of-one manufacturing economical, and tombstones with multi-part fixtures serve higher production users. These cells are compatible with Horizontal Machining Centers, Variaxis 5-axis enters, as well as with the e-Series Integrex.

For more information on a highly automated, ISO9001/AS9100 certified machine shop, please contact Accutech Machine Inc. at 801-975-1117 or visit their website: www.atmi.us.

Article courtesy of A2Z Metalworker

41 West Guest Avenue
Salt Lake City, UT 84115
Phone: 801-263-6403
Fax: 801-263-6404
Email: smc@smithmachinetools.com