Minic Precision, Inc. (Spring Grove, IL) makes a wide variety of parts including medical & dental instruments, electronic connectors, small gears and other high-precision applications.

According to owner Mike Gajewski, the company uses 25 Swiss-style machines to produce millions of parts each month, with some requiring us to hold tolerances to +/- 0.0001”.

“We’re a Swiss turning shop and we machine all kinds of bar stock including beryllium  copper, stainless steel, brass, tool steel, and many steel alloys. Most of the materials we use have very small diameters which means the bars can easily become deformed if not handled carefully. I learned about the LNS GT 112-E automatic bar feeder when I visited a Swiss machine builder and saw one in their factory.

A number of things impressed me about the bar feeder, especially the fact that you can simply place the bars onto a tray, and they roll into a scrolling mechanism that loads them into the bar feeder. This keeps the bars from becoming bent or otherwise deformed.”

The GT 112-E automatic magazine bar feeder loads bars with diameters from 0.8 mm to 11 mm (12.7 mm with bar preparation). It has a unique dual, 2-diameter U-shaped guiding channel system with a patented sectional cover that, combined with a self-centering bar clamping system, matches the entire diameter range of the lathe.

“We ordered our first GT 112-E to go with a new Swiss machine about 15 months ago. Since then it’s run continuously, including lights out, with no issues. It loads and feeds a 1 mm bar 24/7 and never misloads. Just as important, it does a great job of supporting the bar stock so we can produce high-precision parts held to very tight tolerances.

The bar feeder is also compact, taking up much less space than previous bar feeders, so we can put more workstations in the same space. It also saves time when loading bars onto the tray from the side of the machine instead of pushing them in from the front or back. Again, this keeps the bars from becoming deformed.

We’re both a high volume producer and custom job shop. In addition to executing a variety of high volume jobs, we specialize in working closely with customers through the design and prototype stages of custom applications. This enables us to optimize cycle times and overall productivity, which adds great value for the long run. We think this extra attention and expertise is what sets us apart from other CNC shops.

In the same way, we had a wonderful experience with LNS because they also worked closely with us on the details up front and gave us a lot of attention, treating us as if we were their number 1 customer. We now have 2 Swiss machines coupled with GT 112-E bar feeders and a third machine and LNS bar feeder on the way. They perform flawlessly, and we look forward to our continuing partnership with LNS as our business grows.”