Smalley Steel Ring Company, a designer and manufacturer of retaining rings and wave springs, has donated an OMAX 2652 to the College of
Lake County (CLC) in Grayslake, IL. "The abrasive waterjet machining center is the college's first and broadens the CNC/Machine Tool Trades Department's ability to offer the waterjet technology skills sought by many employers recruiting the CLC graduates, including Smalley," said an OMAX spokesperson. "Waterjet machining is one of the fastest growing machining processes in manufacturing today. Its ease of use and ability to cut almost anything while maintaining high precision make it suitable for a large array of operators from short-run job shops and R & D facilities to large corporations engaging in full-scale production."
The OMAX 2652 JetMachining Center, which was recently installed at CLC, is a midsized cantilever-style waterjet machine with a table size of 5' 9" x 2' 6" and capable of tolerances up to ±0.001" (±0.025 mm). With a completely sealed and protected ball screw drive system, this machine is built for cutting projects with smaller dimensions but needing high precision. It comes standard with an OMAX MAXJET 5i Nozzle.
CLC is a comprehensive community college offering an associate degree in Applied Science and two certificate options in CNC Programming. Jeff Hines, Department Chairman over CNC Programming at CLC, plans to integrate the machine into several courses including fabrication, wire EDM and welding beginning in the fall of 2015.
Tim Doran, Owner at Tristate Machinery, Inc., the OMAX distributor for Wisconsin, Illinois and Indiana, is a member of the career advisory committee for manufacturing at CLC and helped bring his customer, Smalley, and the college together. Career advisory committees, which include representatives of small businesses, large corporations, labor unions, faculty, secondary education instructors, recent graduates of the programs and high-performing current students, help ensure that curriculum meets workforce needs by providing feedback to instructors.
"Jeff Hines and the advisory committee have a unique vision for how to bring together the best tools and technology that will help students develop the skills today's manufacturers want and need," said Doran. "With the addition of this machine, CLC is one of the only schools with a waterjet machining center in its classroom setting, which gives these students a huge advantage."
Smalley also donated several accessories with the machine, including a Variable Speed Solids Removal System and a Tilt-A-Jet accessory. Through the machine's Intelli-MAX control software, the Tilt-A-Jet is designed to automatically calculate and adjust the angle of the nozzle to remove the natural taper from the finished part by transferring it to the scrap part of the material - all while maintaining high cutting speeds.
Smalley, which also donates to CLC for a scholarship, uses OMAX abrasive waterjet technology to manufacture equipment used in the production of its products, including retaining rings and wave springs. "With a No Tooling Cost manufacturing process, Smalley can also create prototypes and small to large runs of custom parts as an affordable alternative if the ring a customer needs is not available," said the spokesperson. The OMAX 2652 was the company's first waterjet. Smalley replaced the machine with a new OMAX 55100 JetMachining Center, giving the company two of the same models on its shop floor.
"We are grateful for this generous donation by Smalley," said Hines. "The addition of waterjet technology to our program will give students a stronger skills and training portfolio when they complete their degrees that now includes a basic understanding of waterjet and how to safely operate the machine."
"We are thrilled to help CLC continue to educate the next generation of tool and die makers and machinists," said Michael Greenhill, President of Smalley. "Our partnership with the college is a win-win situation. Students and instructors at the college now have access to this advanced technology, and we hope that some of the well-trained students might become future employees of Smalley."
For more information contact:
Sandra McLain
Vice President of Marketing
OMAX Corporation
21409 72nd Ave. South
Kent, WA 98032
800-838-0343 / 253-872-2300
omax@omax.com
www.omax.com
Smalley Steel Ring Company
www.smalley.com
College of Lake County
www.clcillinois.edu/home
Tristate Machinery, Inc.
www.tristatemachinery.com