In 2006, Dale Greife left his job at a large machine shop, bought the first of two Okuma mills and opened his own very small job shop-- Aspire Machine in Union, MO. To gain a foothold in a very competitive marketplace, Greife knew he would have to be very capable and more nimble than others in his business. For that he would rely heavily on his years of experience and a versatile CAD/CAM package that would allow him to do just about anything.
During 11 years as a machinist and programmer for a large tool and die shop, Greife had an opportunity to become familiar with a number of CAD/CAM packages. He says that each one had a few strong points. However, what he needed most was a CAD/CAM package with a broad range of capabilities that would allow him to open the door when opportunity came knocking, no matter how challenging the project.
Mastercam X was his first choice because it readily accepted any type of CAD file and “it was the best rounded package. I can do anything with it,” he said.
Greife got the word out and started picking up whatever jobs were available — piece-work, motorcycle parts, medical devices. Soon his expertise in CAD/CAM combined with his willingness to pull all-nighters led customers to give him intricate rapid prototyping parts that needed to be completed within a day or two, if not overnight.
Greife reasoned that if he could deliver the part overnight, he would be sure to get more rapid prototyping work from the customer next time the need came up. He was right. Greife estimates that he has done about 30 of these fast-turn jobs in about 12 months, and these jobs have turned into regular business from three new customers.
Work has been so steady that Greife has hired his son and brother. They work a flexible schedule that allows the shop to keep running 24 hours a day if necessary. Most days, Greife leaves his shop before dark and lets his workers run the night shift. That is, unless he gets a cryptic e-mail message like, "Can you machine this?" Often “this” refers to an attached parasolid file generated by any of a number of CAD programs.
The typical answer to this question is, "Yes, when do you want it?" The answer that comes back is almost always, "As soon as you can get it to us." Greife will then head home for a nap while "the boys" clean up the work currently on the machine that he will use that night for the rush job.
On average, Aspire has been taking on two or three of these rapid prototyping jobs a month during the past year. This rapid-delivery service has had a very positive effect on the growth of the business. Greife concluded, “A lot of people are tied into their current machine shops and it’s hard to get in the door. But when you can turn around prototypes overnight, that's pretty hard to refuse. They can't stay away from you. They have to use you, and it gives you a chance to show them what you can do.” |