Archive: Jul 2021

The Benefits of Peerless Precision’s In-House Laser Welding Services

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At Peerless Precision, we take pride in the relationships we build with our customers. We’re always going the extra mile to keep costs low and lead times short.

Like many other machine shops, it’s not uncommon for us to outsource to trusted vendors for certain services that we don’t have in-house. But we’re constantly looking for opportunities to add to our wide range of capabilities.

Offering as many services as we can in-house at our Massachusetts machine shop helps us control factors like cost, lead time, and quality to improve customer satisfaction.

Last year, we invested in a laser welder to accommodate one of our valued customers. It’s just one example of how far we’re willing to go to meet our customers’ needs.

The Challenge: Customer Was No-Quoted for Laser Welding Services

One of our customers had been relying on our electron beam welding services to fuse two titanium components together. But they ultimately decided that they wanted the parts laser welded instead.

Both welding methods produce high-quality parts, but there are some key differences:

  • Electron beam welding sends a stream of high-speed electrons toward two components. The heat produced from the moving electrons fuses the components together. But because electron beams are notoriously hard to control, welders must use a vacuum setup to concentrate theelectrons, then remove gaseous contamination afterward.
  • Laser welding uses a quick-heat laser that beams photons at the components to fuse them. Because the photons are easier to control,laser welding provides greater accuracy than electron beam welding with less setup and cleanup time.

Laser Welder

The team at our Massachusetts machine shop was well aware of the advantages of laser welding. But we didn’t have that capability in-house.

We attempted to source local laser welding companies on behalf of our customer, but all we got back were no-quotes. The customer’s part had thin walls, which increased the risk of shafts collapsing during the welding process. No one wanted to take on such a risky job.

In an effort to solve the problem, our customer began laser welding the parts themselves. We would ship the customer the components, and they would weld them together, then ship them back to us so we could continue machining.

Although our customer laser welded the parts successfully, it quickly became clear that the shipping expenses and lead times were untenable.

We had a better solution: invest in a laser welder to offer our customer a more efficient process.

The Solution: Peerless Precision Adds In-House Laser Welding Services

Where other machine shops sent back no-quotes, we took on the risk of buying a new piece of equipment so we could weld these challenging parts. Not onlycould we better serve this one customer, but we could also offer laser welding services to many others.

After doing our due diligence, we purchased the Trumpf TruLaser Station 5005, a tool that would allow us to weld thin, strong materials at lightning speeds.

Before offering our new laser welding services, our foreman underwent a rigorous training program with Trumpf to learn how to use the equipment. We’re a training company by nature, so teaching and learning new skills is baked into our culture. Still, Trumpf was by our side every step of the way to answer questions and set us up for success.

With our new laser welder in place, we began completing the entire manufacturing process for our customer in-house, saving them significant time and money.

Want to work with a machine shop that will go the extra mile for you? Request a quote today.

Mavens of Manufacturing Ep. 28: Helping to Catch the Boston Marathon Bombers

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In this episode of Mavens of Manufacturing, Meaghan Ziemba speaks with president and owner of Peerless Precision, Inc., Kristin Carlson about:

  • Her journey in manufacturing that lead to her ownership of Peerless.
  • The components that Peerless produces, including those that helped identify and capture the Boston marathon bombers.
  • Virtual tours and the Right Flight program.

We Supply Parts To:

  • Curtis Wright
  • EATON
  • FLIR
  • Kaman
  • Curtis Wright
  • EATON
  • FLIR
  • Kaman