Randy Misenhelter (left) and Mike Layne, both of Precision Downhole Pumps, inspect components made in single setups on a Puma twinspindle, twin-turret machine.
Precision Downhole Pumps, a division of Cameron International, manufactures and markets subsurface sucker rod pumps and other products for the oil industry worldwide, including the U.S., Canada, Indonesia, Romania, Russia, and South America. To go from barstock to finished part, many of Precision’s pump components require up to six different operations, each of which means that machine operators have to stop the process and change tooling or reposition workpieces before proceeding to the next operations.
To remedy these sorts of production hold-ups, the shop incorporated two twin-spindle, twin-turret turning centers with Y-axis milling capabilities that slashed the six separate manufacturing operations down to one continuous operation. The two multi-tasking machines, a Puma TT1800SY and a Puma TT2500SY, are both from Doosan Infracore. The machines have created manufacturing reductions of over 30 percent at Precision and have significantly improved quality and speed, largely due to operators not having to handle parts six different times.
“The Doosan equipment has reduced our labor costs, reduced handling time and improved the quality of our finished products. It is amazing to see what this equipment has meant to our productivity,” said Mark Burris, Precision’s business development specialist.
According to Randy Misenhelter, operations manager at Precision, the machines improved the shop’s ability to deliver product to customers in a timely manner. “It used to take three days to make a part. Now we get an order and can ship the part the next day because these two machines have taken over the work of 10 lathes and mills … and we haven’t even pushed the machines yet! When we do, we will be able to increase the speed of production even further as time goes on,” he explained.
In production, Precision’s operators set up the Doosan machines and an inventory of barstock. They confirm the programming for the specific components and let the machines do their work. Raw material exits the machines as finished, precisely manufactured parts.
Notably, the efficiencies created by the Doosan machines has allowed Precision to become competitive in China, where oil production is a fastgrowing segment of the economy. Plus, the shop is recognizing strong growth in both its domestic and other international business. Today, it has sales that are five times its 2004 numbers.
