St Marys Carbon may have a viable economic solution for you with our capability to Press to Size your parts. Traditionally, carbon graphite parts are molded to rough shape or even a slug/plate. Once baked in an oven, the parts are then machined to the final dimensions.
In Press to Size applications, many if not all the part features can be molded and baked to the net part dimensions without sacrificing quality or operational effectiveness. The ability to mold these features as compared to machining the features can be a significant cost savings to your application.
We have found Pressed to Size to be a beneficial solution for multiple customers with different needs. Not only have we been able to meet their stringent qualities, we have been able to lower cost and lead time.
A customer within the sealing industry was experiencing issues with its current supplier and approached us as an alternate source of parts. The part that was under review was a more complex part than many Press to Size applications we have previously manufactured; however traditional machining methods were not practical for such a high-volume part.
The customer also had very stringent quality and tolerance specifications for this part due to its application which further added to the complexity. However, our Product Development team took on the challenge and worked closely with the customer to design and implement specialized tooling and manufacturing methods that would meet the part’s more complex specifications.
As a result of our team’s ability to successfully work through all obstacles:
An existing customer within the pump industry approached us with a need for us to start supplying to another one of its locations at a significantly higher volume than we were currently.
We initially reviewed the part via the traditional machining method; however, given the quantity requirements, this method would have resulted in unacceptably high costs and lead times. Given this, our Product Development and Engineering teams reviewed the part and determined that many features on this part could be made via Press to Size.
A Press to Size production plan was developed that had two major benefits for the client:
In addition to these benefits, there have also been no noted quality issues with the parts since production began in 2016.
Given the benefits and success we have seen with Press to Size for both new and existing customers, we have invested significantly into capital equipment and robotics specifically related to Press to Size which should result in even further cost savings, increased quality and shorter lead times for our customers.
Give our team a call and we can work with you to see how Press to Size can help you.
