Top Shops 2011: High Tech Turning

High Tech Turning was founded in 1985 with the belief that the newest generation of CNC Swiss-type lathes would provide an opportunity for a lone entrepreneur to start a new business and be competitive against the then-prevalent cam automatic lathes. That idea paid off, and the company has grown steadily by utilizing the latest versions of sophisticated lathes and milling machines to produce increasingly complex and precise components. In-house, hands-on training has resulted in a highly skilled and dedicated workforce of machinists and engineers. Today, 24 skilled employees work in the company’s 15,000-square-foot manufacturing facility using 25 CNC machine tools to produce more than two million precision components each year. This growth is mostly due to the loyalty of approximately 65 customers that have partnered with High Tech Turning for more than 12 years on average.

The company has expertise in the machining of hundreds of different miniature components in a variety of plastics and metals. Miniature components are frequently used in minimally invasive surgical devices and in micro electronics. These components can be as small as 0.020 inch in diameter with lengths measuring less than 0.025 inch and drilled holes smaller than 0.010 inch. Tolerances can be as tight as 0.0005 inch. For customers needing miniature components with novel geometries, High Tech Turning’s engineers can work from solid models to develop fixtures and CNC programs to produce quality parts at a competitive price.

High Tech Turning has found that machining miniature components requires a new mind-set. Machinists and inspectors have to be comfortable working with components that are only truly visible with magnification. It has developed a comfort level in controlling tolerances at the micro level and edge conditions at the microscopic level.

The company can take components from pre-production prototyping through high-volume production. It has also implemented demanding quality control procedures that provide machine operators with immediate feedback on all aspects of production. Those procedures enable the shop to improve quality, train operators and ensure low manufacturing costs.