Presetter Adds Precision, Speed to Machine Shop Peterson Machining
their shop needed—a well-built, durable measuring system that could help manage runout and wear of the micro end mills the shop uses; one that could model tools and be used with verification software to optimize the shop’s five-axis machinery and lights-out operations; and one that could move setup adjustments offline. The Petersons and their team decided on a SPERONI FUTURA STP 66 from BIG KAISER. “Everybody at BIG KAISER knew what they were doing,” said Steve Carper, lead machinist at Peterson Machining. “Since this was a new technology for us, we really wanted to be able to have that support to get started.” After a few months working with the system, the results are in. While Peterson Machining is
“Before, it would just be me or the setup person with an indicator and I’d take up 20 or 30 minutes of machine time dialing in my tools. Now I can get that all done offline.”
capable of high-production work, Carper says much of what comes through the shop is prototyping and small batch runs—anywhere from one to 500 units. Some of the more challenging processes involve using micro end mills as small as .010" (.254 mm) in diameter. “We create parts in some of our machines that you only know the end mill broke because you can see the engraving didn’t go well,” Ronda Peterson said. “The two-camera [high-frequency, sub-pixel, 45X standard optical magnification] ability has been a really big factor in that work.” Carper added that he noticed discrepancies of a couple of tenths from one day to the next with some in-machine lasers, and that concern—and extra time adjusting at the spindle—has been eliminated since the addition of the presetter.
Peterson Machining, Boulder, Colo., success over the years can be attributed in large part to thoughtful, planned capital investments. Despite already having a good mix of five other machining centers, the addition of two DMU 65 MonoBLOCK five-axis machines from DMG Mori has bolstered the shop’s capabilities. With such significant investment in machines, shop owner and CEO Ronda Peterson knew maximizing efficiency was a key next step. A presetter wasn’t exactly a new idea for the shop. The Peterson team had been researching different makes and models for eight years, including during four visits to IMTS and a couple of cross-country trips to suppliers’ headquarters. But now, the timing was right. Ronda Peterson, along with Todd Peterson, her husband, partner, founder and COO, knew what
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