New Year; New Equipment

We are one month into 2019 and things have already been happening here at Hoosier Pattern. 2018 was a crazy year and we are looking forward to what 2019 has in store, not only for us as a company, but for the industry as a whole. Last year was a year of expansion for HPI. In July, we added a third sand printer as well as expanded the sand cleaning/packing  area giving us room to expand increased printed product from these sand printers.  

In the fall of 2018, HPI added 2 Johnford bridge mills to our list of machinery. Both bridge mills have the same travel size of 83”x 70” The size capacity of these bridge mills allow us to take on larger jobs that once had to be turned away.

Journeyman Patternmaker, Phillip Bauman and Apprentice Patternmaker Kyle Rittmeyer, collaborating on a project infront of a Johnford bridge mill

We also announced last year that we were installing a Kuka™ robotic milling cell. This robotic milling cell allows us to machine foundry sand molds or plastic patterns. As of now we are able to mill sizes up to 60×100”. Training on the robotic milling cell for our workforce will take place in early February to help educate our team to communicate with the robot. This new technology will give our customers more tools to assist them to bring their finished goods to market sooner.  Be on the lookout for updates regarding the robotic milling cell.
 
The new robotic milling cell in the shop 

Lastly, we added a new Creaform™ laser scanner to our list of technology. New training for this scanner has been underway to enhance our knowledge and better provide quality inspections of our machined products.

The new Creaform™ laser scanner in the quality room ready to be put to work on some practice scans

Customers have always been the driving force behind our business and these purchases are no different. We look forward to what 2019 holds and seeing how our capabilities are expanded with these additions. Staying on the cutting edge of technology is what makes Hoosier Pattern different and sets us apart from the rest. We take pride in welcoming “out of the box” concepts and making sure that every job leaves our doors with the highest standard of quality. We know these new technologies will help us continue to keep doing great things here inside the walls of Hoosier Pattern.