RECENT WORK

Projects

A few jobs that show how wire EDM, milling, grinding, and tool design fit together. Customer names are withheld.

Medical

Medical form tool

Wire EDM · CNC milling · Grinding · Form-tool design · Tool steel

A medical customer brought us formed prototypes that needed secondary machining, with volume that looked likely to reach the thousands. Over eight months we designed a tool-steel form tool that could be revised as the design changed, and we made close to 10,000 parts.

Detail of a tool-steel medical form tool Tool-steel form tool for a medical part Form tool rails and dowel details Full view of the medical form tool Another view of the medical form tool Close view of the form tool assembly Form tool components in tool steel Finished medical form tool
Research

Microtome fixtures

CNC milling · Grinding · Tool steel

A research customer needed a vise to hold plastic samples for a microtome, and a second fixture to heat a plastic bar, apply test specimens, and hold the bar at thickness under weight. We milled and ground the tool-steel parts for both fixtures.

Tool-steel vise for holding plastic microtome samples Microtome sample vise, second view Detail of the microtome sample vise Fixture that heats and holds a plastic test bar Related microtome fixture Ground tool-steel fixture detail Finished microtome fixturing
Medical

Prototype copper instrument part

Wire EDM · CNC milling · Form-tool design · Copper

This prototype medical instrument part let the customer test the design while the production form tool was being made. We wire-cut the blanks, designed the forming tool, and checked the form on our Nikon VMA 2520 visual CMM.

Prototype copper medical instrument part with a formed hook Copper prototype, second angle Top view of the formed copper prototype Close view of the copper prototype Copper prototype instrument part

Fine stamp lettering

CNC milling · D2 tool steel

A customer asked if we could mill with a 0.005" endmill. We regularly mill with 0.010" tools, and this D2 tool-steel stamp needed internal corners sharp enough for the lettering to stay legible.

Microscope view of milled lettering on a D2 stamp Stamp face viewed through a loupe Close microscope view of sharp internal corners in the lettering Detail of a milled character on the D2 stamp

More photos from the shop are in the gallery, including work that does not have a full write-up.

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