My story

I’ve spent more than 40 years working with machine tools, from installing brand-new CNC machining centers to bringing old manual machines back to life and/or intergrade them with new CNC. My expertise includes installation, repairs, precision leveling, alignment, calibration, as well as hydraulic and pneumatic system design, troubleshooting; PLC program development.

Along the way, I’ve worked with manufacturers, machinists, and engineers, always learning and sharing knowledge. Each job taught me something new about both machines and people.

Now, as I enjoy retirement, I’m less focused on day-to-day service calls and more passionate about teaching the next generation. Whether it’s showing how to level a machine, troubleshoot a hydraulic system, or design a PLC program, I’m here to share what I’ve learned so the trade continues strong.

One of the most exciting projects.

Project:

A complete electrical rebuild and retrofit; hydraulic upgrade of a 13.2m Dorries VTL

This 13.2m VTL is one of the five largest machines in North America.

And to make the project even more challenging, there was a time frame of 10 weeks to complete the project, as this VTL was central to customer’s manufacturing and its downtime had to be minimal.

Project Milestones:

To meet the timeline of 10 weeks the machine downtime, Team of service professionals under my lead did all the designs and preparatory work at our own facility far in advance of the actual installation.

Once on site, Team Machine replaced all the VTL’s original electrical components, with a new Siemens 840D CNC system, new servo and spindle motors and drives, two operator’s panels, complete new wiring, and also integrated the original 100 KW DC table motor with a new drive and system. Upgraded accessory’s hydraulic system to new components.

At the machine’s retrofit completion, it achieved C-axis positioning with a +/- 2 arc seconds with table capacity up to 300 tons.

Project Outcome:

The customized electrical refit of the 13.2 VTL resulted in a completely updated machine that was now running at optimal performance.
As the minimum downtime of this VTL wasvital, Team was given 10 weeks to install the new components. We completed the job in 7 weeks and met all customer’s in-house health and safety requirements as well as all commercial issues.

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