Micro Mold is adding a Yasda YMC650 high-speed 5-Axis milling center [Image courtesy of Micro Mold]
Precision mold maker Micro Mold has renovated in Erie, Pennsylvania, to make room for its new Yasda YMC650 high-speed 5-axis milling center and 3R Workpartner automation cell.
The new equipment will be used for electrode manufacturing and finishing hard mill applications. The milling machine is accurate to 1 micron for high-volume, ultra-precision tooling work, the company said.
“In addition to efficiency gains due to reduced setup requirements, the new Yasda will offer improved accuracy, the ability to manufacture components of increased complexity and capacity for larger workpiece sizes over the 3-axis mills currently employed,” Micro Mold GM Chris Hanes said in a news release.
Micro Mold repurposed shop space to build a climate-controlled workspace for the new equipment, Hanes said. The renovation project also made room for future growth and equipment.
To make room, sister company Plastikos Medical shrank its grind room by 50%, which meant six surface grinders had to go. “This was a little bittersweet for me … knowing how many pieces and parts they created during their many years of use at Micro Mold,” Plastikos Medical GM Ryan Katen said in the release.
Micro Mold said it has grown 120% between fiscal 2018 and fiscal 2021, and is currently on pace to grow 15% from fiscal 2021 to fiscal 2022.
Micro Mold and Plastikos — both headquartered in Erie — specialize in precision mold design and fabrication as well as tight-tolerance injection molding. The companies have more than 100,000 sf² of combined space for mold design and fabrication, engineering, and cleanroom and white room manufacturing. The medical molding rooms are controlled through two ISO 7 clean rooms and one ISO 8 clean room.