IMPULSE MFG. GETTING "STAINLESS"
REPUTATION AS QUALITY JOB SHOP
Manufacturers in the
southeastern U.S. are always looking for that "ultimate job shop" which can
punch, cut, machine, saw, weld and paint a variety of parts in differing quantities at
competitive prices with superior service. While many shops strive to fit that role, few
succeed.
One shop which actually "does it
all" and rightly calls itself "a true one-stop shop for all our customers'
components" is Impulse Manufacturing, Inc. out of Cumming, Georgia, just north of
Atlanta.
President Ron Baysden knows such claims
put considerable pressure on his staff of 53, but they respond to the challenge daily.
Impulse runs approximately half its work
in various grades of stainless, as its primary customers are in the food, poultry,
bottling and cryogenic industries. Other materials run include copper sheet & bar, HR
P&O, aluminum and various plastics. Material thicknesses run the gamut from 26 gauge
to 1", while finishes include 2B on stainless, #3 and #4 polish, #1 on plate. Mild
steel surfaces are typically Cold Roll and P&O type. Impulse also makes parts used in
electrical power systems, sheetmetal cabinetry & boxes and tube & frame
construction of many types.
This 30,000 sq. ft. job shop houses a
variety of machine tools, as it produces components for its customers' final assemblies.
Impulse runs precision sheet metal parts, CNC vertical machined parts, CNC turned parts,
as well as MIG/TIG welded components and more.
During the company's first 10 years in
business, conventional machine tools did all the work and did it well, according to
Impulse President Ron Baysden. Then, in 1995, the company purchased its first
high-pressure, gas assist CO2 laser. Since then, it's purchased a second laser
pallet shuttle and with a dual workpiece lifter from the same supplier, Mitsubishi. Both
lasers have 5' x 10' work tables, the second laser being equipped with two such tables
which shuttle.
"Most of our laser work is taken off
turret press and CNC machines. The speed and accuracy are my favorite features, though
there are many," boasts Baysden. "Programming these lasers is the easiest of all
our CNC machines. We typically have parts in the shipping department off the lasers before
we can set up tooling on other machines in our shop. The speeds on the Mitsubishi LXP
machine are simply phenomenal, especially in clean-cutting stainless steel. This is very
important for our customers in food and cryogenics."
Baysden continues, "The lasers'
accuracy and edges are well within five thousandths (0.005" with no problem. Plus,
the savings in tooling, productivity and turnaround times slam-dunked our own conventional
machine tools for basic home making and contour shapes. Material yield is a major cost
factor with stainless and our lasers reduce the web and punch-out areas to an almost
negligible amount, compared to turret presses." Tolerances on the lasers range from
gross to ± 0.001", with ± 0.005" on flat patterns. Sheetmetal tolerances run
from 0.005" to 0.020" per customer needs.
He also pointed out a "problem" with
the lasers running at Impulse. "We unloaded so much work from our machining centers,
we had to aggressively go after different types of parts to keep them loaded," mused
Baysden, who praised his staff for responding to this challenge, as well.
According to Ron Baysden, Impulse now
produces numerous parts which formerly would have been "no quote" situations.
Thus, the company's business base has expanded while actually providing better and more
services to existing customers, a classic win-win scenario.
While part runs range from one to several
thousand at Impulse, the typical job is 1-100 pieces, meaning the estimating and
production scheduling are key. Other personnel at Impulse cited by President Baysden as
important parts of this process include Production Supervisor Kenneth Boling, Estimator
Jeff Spencer and Customer Service Rep Donnie McCook.
Ron Baysden had these comments on
Mitsubishi as his laser supplier. "Their equipment is fast, accurate, reliable and
has great uptime in our production shop. Plus...and this is important to me...their
service people have always been very responsive. They have a sense of urgency in solving
problems and getting our machines back online. In fact, we recently bought a press brake
from Mitsubishi. The speed and accuracy of this machine compliment the same features on
the lasers. There's no question our previous experiences with the company's quality,
service and personnel played a role in our decision to buy the brake.
In the end, Impulse President Ron Baysden
points to the reason his company's reputation remains "stainless" as a
full-service, one-stop shop. "Our customers typically have all their components for
an assembly made here to eliminate the hassle of multiple vendors for a product line. If
we let them down on even one component, their whole process is in trouble. We simply will
not tolerate that at Impulse," Baysden concluded.
For more information on this story, please contact:
IMPULSE MANUFACTURING, INC.
1500 Redi Road
Cumming, GA 30040
Phone: (770) 889-9499
Fax: (770) 889-0602
Web: www.impulsemfg.com
Email: ron@impulsemfg.com
Attention: Ron Baysden, President
or
MITSUBISHI LASER DIVISION
MC MACHINERY SYSTEMS, INC.
1500 Michael Drive
Wood Dale, IL 60191
Phone: (630) 616-2970
Fax: (630) 860-7824
Attention: Glenn Kline, National Sales Manager
West Coast Tech Center:
11170 Valley View St.
Cypress, CA 90630
Phone: (714) 894-3252
Fax: (714) 894-4799
IMPULSE
MANUFACTURING, INC.
(706) 216-1700 Fax: (706)
216-1800 email:
impulse@impulsemfg.com
