When job lot sizes were big, the shop used three manual grinders, and output was satisfactory. Transmission component manufacturing at Long’s Machine involves quite a bit of precision grinding. Now, with servicing many more different transmission types, lot sizes of the same parts have shrunk to only 20 or 30 pieces. Back then, the shop could make and stock 100 to 150 of the same gears or shafts for one transmission type. In the past, Long’s Machine made only two kinds of transmissions, and that amount has since ballooned to ten. It was this expansion of automotive business that created a need to make parts for a wider variety of transmission types.” “And within five years, we went from being 80 percent industrial to 80 percent race car components. “Needless to say, orders for the connectors shrank,” said Long. The electronics industry then transitioned from large multi-pin connectors to USB and micro connectors along with wireless systems. In addition to its own product lines, the shop provides a variety of custom and contract machining services as well.ĭramatic market changes in the mid-2000s preceded the shop’s present stability. Today, the company outsources only casting and heat treating and has more than 30 CNC lathes and mills as well as grinding, broaching, EDM and gear cutting machines. Shifter manufacturing opened the door to making other transmission components, and the shop’s capabilities expanded to include turning, milling, EDM and grinding of gears, shafts and cases. To ensure a steady stream of revenue, the shop also provided contract machining of aerospace electronic connector housings and other products. Leonard Long designed and patented a five-speed racing shifter in 1976 and in 1979 founded Long’s Machine to produce it. The strategies included increased use of precision grinding instead of hard turning operations and the application of just-in-time machining methods. The adaptation involved changing production strategies and equipment to compensate for shrinking demand for some products while meeting growing orders for others. in Cleona, Pennsylvania, has adapted to major shifts in its markets to become a leading supplier of auto racing transmissions and components for NASCAR and other race series. West Ohio Tool Million Hole Drill Case Studyĭuring 35 years of operation, Long’s Machine & Tool, Inc.Advanced Grinding Technology Gives Shop A Micron-Size Niche.BLOHM Case Study - Rolls-Royce Oberursel.Tracey Gear & Precision Shaft Customer Spotlight.Complete Grinding Solutions Customer Spotlight.Continental Diamond Tool Corporation Customer Spotlight.
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