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Matt Blais

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Over 70 Years of History in Precision Manufacturing

Over 70 Years of History in Precision Manufacturing

Small Parts Manufacturing has been machining precise, tight tolerance metal parts since 1946. Over the past seven decades, our company has expanded from four screw machines to a large facility with dozens of CNC manufacturing equipment. From our beginnings in the late 40s to the integration of computerized control systems, all the way to our present day partnerships, Small Parts Manufacturing has a long, rich history in precision manufacturing. 

The start of a multi-generational company

Merton ‘Rocky’ Rockney served as a Machine Operators Mate (MOMM3) in the Navy during WWII. Following his service for the Navy, Rocky used his experience to establish Small Parts Manufacturing Co. with just two Cleveland single spindle screw machines and two ACME four spindle screw machines.

Rocky and his team immediately set the standard for SPM, committing themselves to quality machining and personalized service to each customer. George Irwin and Max Rutzer joined the leadership team and together, within 25 years, the company had grown from just four screw machines to a facility housing a variety of spindle screw machines, threading equipment, surface finishing, and tooling design. 

Howard Weaver eventually joined SPM in 1972, working in all parts of the company and joining the company’s leadership team alongside Jerry Harris, who joined the company in 1973 and assumed the Draftsman/Estimator role in 1976. They would continue to work under Rocky for several decades. 

Rocky would continue to serve as president of Small Parts Manufacturing until 2003, just two years before his passing. His nearly sixty years of quality service and manufacturing experience laid the foundation for what SPM has become today. 

Milestones and life-long partnerships

Thanks to Rocky’s hard work, Small Parts Manufacturing grew quickly, reaching its first major sales milestone on July 24, 1973 by making our first million-dollar year. We moved from our location on N Vancouver Ave. to the current location on NE MLK Jr. Blvd and continued to expand. 

As SPM’s capabilities grew, we partnered  with Freightliner Trucks in the 1950s, making various precision parts for them. Freightliner Trucks, now known as Daimler, is still one of our major customers today. 

Daimler is not our only long-time partner. In 1983 SPM became a primary defense contract for FMC and would continue doing contract work for the Defense industry for over 20 years. Mark Rockney would also join the team this year, eventually stepping into the leading role in customer service for SPM.

Two years later, in 1985, SPM also formed another long partnership, building torque wrench parts for Stanley Proto. To this day, we continue to make high-quality components for Stanley Proto, now known as Black and Decker. 

In 1992, SPM also started making rail car brake pins for the three largest rail-car manufacturers in North America. We continued to serve that industry until 2020. And, for the past two decades, SPM has been making precision components for the Medtronics Cardiovascular Group in Santa Rosa, CA, introducing our quality business to the medical industry. We found work in the Medical industry in 1998 and 1999 through a job shop show, which was the start of our partnership with Medtronics that we’ve continued through the present day.

Our most recent partnership is with Fox Racing in El Cajon, CA. We established an ongoing relationship with them in 2021, making parts for offroad suspension applications.

Expanding our technology

As our customer base expanded, so did our capabilities. In 1979, we acquired our first of two Eight (8) Spindle Wickman Screw Machines, which increased our production capacity in our Screw Machine department. Three years later, we also purchased our first EDM machine, a JAPAX Japt 4G to cut tools for our screw machines, and we acquired an AT&T 3B2, our first computer system.

The real development of our CNC manufacturing shop began in 1987. Late this year, we purchased our first computer numerically controlled, or CNC, machine, a Mazak SQT-15, a brand that we continue to use today. This very machine is still making quality parts for us today, holding .001” tolerance even after over 35 years of use. 

Later, in 1988, we expanded on the CNC shop, adding a CADKey system as the new drafting platform for making shop drawings and assisting with programming our CNC machines. And two years later, we would acquire our first CNC Mill, A Takisawa VF2 model, to better support the needs of our trucking clients. 

In 2003, SPM expanded even further to serve its wide-ranging clientele. We purchased two Traveling Column CNC Mills, a Mazak VTC-200C to mill larger components. In 2007, the Kinefac Kineroller Model MC-6 was added to our shop to produce large-diameter rolled threads for our customers as well. 

We also would go on to add even more equipment the next year, including a new Mazak QTN200-MSY lathe, and a Mazak 510-C vertical milling machine to better serve our new customers in the medical industry. 

2010 was the year that we really began a full integration of CAD/CAM work into our milling processes. That year we acquired a PC fusion platform for more complex CNC programing and quickly grew our CNC machining business into what it is today.

The Present Day

Today, SPM is run by Merton ‘Mert’ Rockney Jr., who became the owner and president of the company in November of 2003. We’ve recently updated our EDM technology with the addition of a new Mitsubishi FX-10 Wire EDM in 2013 to make screw machine tools for our other equipment and continue to upgrade our capabilities with the latest technology. Our customer base has expanded to companies in a variety of industries–from Aerospace to Racing to Trucking and much more. 

SPM has grown exponentially over the past seventy-five years. With more than 200 years of combined experience and a foundation in quality and precision, SPM is proud to serve our customers with the best manufacturing around.

Update – February 2023

As you know, Small Parts Manufacturing strives to keep our customers up-to-date on any news that we receive from our outside vendors concerning changes in material costs or related updates. In keeping with this goal, we would like to share the following information that we received from one of our outside vendors:

“As many of you, we have been bombarded with record level inflation for many of our cost inputs over recent months, with little or no advance notice. As a surface finisher specifically, we are impacted by additional significant new and existing environmental regulation costs to manage potential hazards included in materials used in our processing to add value to customer parts. We must cover our costs and continue to be environmentally responsible and meet commitments to our customers and community.

Based upon increased costs, we will be adjusting our base selling rates by 11.6% for parts we process for orders received effective Tuesday, January 3rd, 2023. These changes will not affect our minimum charges. The energy and nickel surcharges will not be increased. Part price quotes issued 30 days prior will not be revised from the existing quoted amounts.”

SPM does not plan to increase our own prices as of now. We will continue to keep you informed as we receive new updates.

 

Update – January 2023

Small Parts Manufacturing is dedicated to keeping our customers updated on any alerts we receive from our outside vendors on material costs and other important information.
Recently, we received the following message from an outside vendor:

“You are likely aware of the Climate Commitment Act (CCA) passed by the Washington State Legislature in 2021. The goal of the CCA is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 95% by 2050. The CCA includes a cap-and-invest program, which sets a limit on overall carbon emissions and requires businesses to purchase permits to combat climate change. At this point, most oil companies are planning to include this fee in the overall cost of fuel.

Effective January 2023, you can expect an increase in rack prices as we begin to implement this new mandate. Our fuel analysts estimate gas prices will increase 32 to 47 cents per gallon for the average user. Ultra-low-sulfur diesel (ULSD) will likely increase by 40 to 57 cents per gallon.  

We recognize this is a significant industry change and appreciate your patience as we navigate these changes together. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact your Sales Representative.”

SPM would like you to know that as of now, we do not plan to increase our own prices. We will continue to keep you up to date as we receive more information.

Precision CNC Machined Parts for Industrial Pumps

Precision CNC Machined Parts for Industrial Pumps

CNC machining is one of the most versatile manufacturing processes today. It has many benefits that make it vital for various industries. One of those is industrial water disbursement systems. 

Why choose CNC machining to make parts for industrial pumps?

Water disbursement systems, or industrial pumps, must not only be durable, but they also undergo a great deal of physical and environmental stress. Even a tiny defect can throw the entire system off. The parts that make up industrial pumps have to be durable as well and also absolutely precise. 

That’s why CNC machining is so valuable for these systems. Not only can this manufacturing process create long-lasting parts, but it can do so with great precision and consistent accuracy. CNC machining also has several other advantages. It produces less waste overall, is a very efficient production process, and is also very flexible and compatible with various materials. 

What parts are typically produced through CNC machining?

These advantages make CNC machining an excellent choice for manufacturing parts for industrial pumps. And there are several parts for water disbursement systems that are often produced by this process. 

Some of those parts are:

  • Pulleys: connect the pumps to engines or other systems and have to be precisely sized 
  • Bearings: play a critical role by bearing the load of the pump and allowing rotation of the moving parts within in it
  • Housings: ‘house’ the vital parts of the disbursement system
  • Shafts: transmit torque to the impellers or the other displacement elements of the pump
  • Seals: prevent liquid or other material from escaping the shaft 
  • Wear rings: create contact between rotary and stationary parts of the pump, reduce recirculation, and stabilize the pump rotor
  • Backplates: connects the pump to other parts of the machinery, assists in sealing 
  • Impellers: moves liquid along the internal parts of the pump
  • Brackets: mounts for the pumps
  • O-rings: another type of seal connecting the pump to the rest of the machinery that’s built to withstand high pressures

Looking for someone to machine parts for your products?

Small Parts Machining has been providing made-to-order manufacturing services for over seventy-five years. From CNC turning and milling to various secondary machining and finishing processes, we have plenty of experience in manufacturing metals and plastics into the parts our customers need.

Update – September 21, 2022

We have received some updates from our outside vendors about changes in material costs over the past couple of months that we wanted to let you know about. Across the board, prices have been rising. According to one of our plating vendors, all manufacturers and services providers have seen cost increases, no matter the business.

The vendor informed us that they’ve received price increases and supply restrictions for different items nearly every day, sometimes without any prior notice. They and many others have had to adjust their prices as a result. As of the end of June, they’ve increased all of the selling prices of their parts by 18%, and they’ve adjusted their minimum charges as well.

Shipping companies are no exception. We’ve heard that they’ve had to increase their fuel surcharge multiple times because of the increase in diesel prices. Diesel fuel prices have increased by 33% since April, so as of July 1, 2022, so one of the shipping companies we work with has increased their fuel surcharge to $40. They’re hoping to see some relief soon.

SPM does not plan to change our prices as of now, but we want to keep you informed on the recent changes. We will continue to monitor the situation and let you know about any updates we receive as time goes on.

Material Updates

Material Updates

Price Fluctuations in Raw Materials

The costs of raw materials have seen a recent and somewhat unexpected rise in the past few years. We received several notifications from our outside vendors about updates on their selling prices and the reasons behind them that we want to share here, as well as on our Material Updates Page.

Here, we’ll summarize the bulk of the letters we’ve received from our vendors so far, but if you’d like to see the updates in more detail, you can also head to the Material Updates page of our website here.

Unprecedented Upsurge

SPM has received many updates from our outside plating vendors, shipping and delivery companies, and oil and other raw material suppliers about price changes. All are somewhat different in what specific changes they are enacting. However, they share a similar message–due to an unprecedented increase in costs for materials, shipping, and many other factors across the board, they have had to adjust their prices to accommodate the upsurge. 

These changes don’t just apply to one or a few industries either. All manufacturers, service providers, raw materials, and part suppliers have incurred cost increases at unexpected rates. In short, everything has unexpectedly become more expensive over the last fiscal quarter. While SPM does not plan to change our prices any time soon, we want to keep you up-to-date on the recent changes and why they are happening. 

What factors affect the prices of raw materials?

So why do the prices of various services, parts, and materials fluctuate? Supply and demand are probably the first things that come to mind. After all, if there is less product, its price is likely to go up, and if demand for a specific product is low, its price will go down. 

There is rarely ever one thing that is behind the cause of price fluctuations. A vast number of different factors affect material and product prices. Usually, multiple factors affect the pricing of parts and raw materials. Some of these factors are:

Geological Events

Also referred to as ‘Acts of God, these are events that aren’t caused by direct human action. For example, major weather or geological events can cause problems obtaining and shipping materials and parts. Extreme weather hazards like hurricanes, blizzards, droughts, and many others can stall or stop the collection and shipping processes. Even less severe weather can be a problem–icy roads can interfere with shipping, storms can hinder or ground planes and much more. 

Pandemics like the recent coronavirus pandemic are another example of a geological event or act of God. The COVID pandemic did not just halt the worldwide economic system but also impacted the availability of labor and other resources. 

Cost/Availability of Labor

This is a prominent factor that might get overlooked from time to time. How much a part costs to produce, how much it costs to pay workers to collect and refine raw materials, and more is always an essential part of the end price of a service or product. 

Geopolitical events

These are political, human-related events that have wide-ranging effects on the economy around the world. Events such as Brexit and the invasion of Ukraine by Russia can have huge impacts on the supply chain, the availability of certain raw materials, and overall shipping costs. 

Political Relationships

This factor refers to America’s overall political relationships with the countries from which companies source different raw materials. Prices can go up or down depending on our country’s relationship with other countries. For example, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused the trading of Nickel and other LME metals to halt. 

Geographic distance

This final and simple factor is relatively self-explanatory but often overlooked. The distance that parts, products, and materials travel–and how they travel–can be a significant factor in the final price. Fuel charges, transportation costs, and more will increase the further the products travel.

As prices fluctuate, we will do our best to keep you in the loop, and we will continue to update you whenever there are changes or interruptions.

CNC Machining for the Trucking Industry

CNC Machining for the Trucking Industry

CNC machined parts can be found throughout the automotive industry, especially in vehicles that require durable parts with long lifespans. From axle end shafts to case housings and their internal components, there are many different services that CNC machines provide to the trucking industry.

CNC is important in the trucking industry because it allows for the manufacturing of accurate, durable, and reliable parts. Parts for the trucking industry have to be able to undergo a lot of consistent, repeated stress. Many of them must meet precise tolerances that only a CNC machine can deliver.

At Small Parts Manufacturing, we have a variety of machining capabilities that we have used to serve the trucking industry in a number of ways. Our CNC turning machines can create parts with tight tolerances, and our CNC milling machines can produce accurate, complex parts up to 4 feet long.

Some of the parts that SPM has made for the trucking industry include (but are not limited to):

  • Adapters
  • Bosses
  • Clutch shafts
  • Spacers
  • Bushings (knurled, flanged, threaded, and straight)
  • Connectors
  • Studs
  • Shock components
  • Tank bosses
  • Latch components

Automobile parts can be made out of a variety of different materials, but the most common ones that we use at SPM are aluminum, bronze, brass, plastics, and stainless, mild, and alloy steels.

If you’re looking for high-quality trucking components, please consider contacting Small Parts Mfg. for your custom part requirements. We have CNC milling, turning, and swiss machining capabilities, as well as Wire EDM to complement our manufacturing processes. We utilize advanced technology to consistently deliver tight tolerance components for reliable, durable, high-quality parts that exceed customer expectations.

The Fundamentals of Wire EDM

The Fundamentals of Wire EDM

There are many different computer numerical controlled machining processes in manufacturing, but one process in particular has grown in popularity. With recent advancements in technology, Wire EDM machining has become increasingly widespread in manufacturing. Wire EDM parts are widely used in many different industries and these machines have a range of applications in manufacturing.

What is Wire EDM Machining?

Wire electrical discharge machining, or wire EDM is a computer-controlled machining process that, like many other traditional machining processes, removes material from a bar stock. However, unlike most traditional machining, wire EDM shapes the bar stock by means of spark erosion rather than having the tool come into direct contact with the material.

In Wire EDM, the metal part to be machined is submerged in a dielectric fluid with a wire. By using electric discharges between the wire and the part, material is removed from the part, creating complex, delicate shapes. As the wire gets closer to the metal part, the electric current can pass more easily between them, leading to the separation of material with each spark.

Wire EDM Machining has many advantages

Because of the way in which material is removed, there is far less stress on the bar stock. Wire EDM can machine even hard or fragile materials into tiny, delicate, or complex parts, so long as the stock material is conductive. And, these machines can do this without causing the usual stress that contact machining produces. As a result, Wire EDM parts are not bent or warped. 

Also, because these machines can produce pieces without the stress of contact between the stock and the tool, they make parts with smooth surfaces finishes that are free of burrs. The parts can be brought to incredibly close tolerances and are completed without a need for any secondary processes. This reduces time and labor costs, while increasing the production efficiency. 

Since Wire EDM requires an electrical field to work, these machines can only process conductive materials. They can be more expensive than more traditional CNC turning and milling processes, and require well-trained personnel to run. However, these machines can greatly reduce production costs, as they can produce metal parts efficiently and without the need for finishing processes. Also, because of the use of spark erosion, there is a reduction in material costs and wastes as well.

Some common applications of Wire EDM

Wire EDM is ideal for parts with complicated shapes or patterns, and especially very small parts. Because there is no mechanical force on the part being machined, wire EDM machines can create very delicate pieces, or work with delicate materials without distorting them. These versatile machines are more commonly used to manufacture highly-detailed parts for the medical, aerospace, electronics, and automotive industries, as well as create tools that complement other machining processes.

The versatility and cost-effectiveness of these types of machines is particularly useful for prototyping, and can be used for projects that are low or high volume. Most often, they are used to manufacture metal components and tools at lower volumes, or parts that require low levels of residual stress.

At Small Parts Machining, we mainly use Wire EDM to build screw machine tooling to be used in our other production machining. Our wire EDM machine cuts high speed steel and carbides, which we then use in our screw machining and tooling in order to make high production runs. While our primary focus is not in wire EDM, we use it to complement our other machining processes in order to produce the best products possible.

CNC Turning: Everything you need to know

CNC Turning: Everything you need to know

There are multiple different manufacturing processes out there, each with their own advantages, and applications. One of the most common of these is CNC Turning. Like CNC Milling, this process is computer-guided, producing complex parts with high accuracy. However, CNC turning lathes and centers manufacture very different types of parts than CNC milling machines.

What is CNC Turning?

CNC Turning is a manufacturing process in which the bar stock is rotated while a tool removes material from it to create the desired shape. The speed of the stock’s rotation is adjusted according to the computer for more accurate or deeper cuts. CNC Turning machines commonly conduct operations like boring, drilling, facing, knurling, grooving, parting, reaming, taper and turning. These machines are more suited for parts that are cylindrical or symmetrical, and for parts that are smaller and more specialized, like bolts and screws.

CNC Milling vs. CNC Turning: Which is best for you?

While CNC Milling and Turning are both similar, computer-guided processes, they have very different applications and are used to manufacture different parts. If you are unsure which is best for you, then the following comparison may help.

Milling

  • A tool rotates against stock material to make multiple, discontinuous cuts
  • Utilizes a multi-point tool to machine flat or irregular surfaces, creating parts that are flat, square or larger
  • Best for more complex, irregular shapes

Turning

  • Bar stock, usually cylindrical in shape, rotates while a tool uses the created friction to continuously remove material
  • Utilizes a single-point tool to machine cylindrical bar stock into parts that are circular or tubular, and parts that tend to be smaller
  • Best for smaller, circular parts

Advantages of CNC Turning

CNC Turning machines have a wide variety of advantages. Because they are computer-guided, they produce highly accurate cuts with great consistency. These types of machines also tend to have a higher production efficiency and production speed.
With this increased speed, manufacturing large volumes of smaller parts is much quicker, and the computer guidance increases not only the accuracy of the parts, but their consistency. This automation reduces costs, waste, and production, making these machines a valuable asset to many precision CNC machining shops.

Swiss Turning Machines: What sets them apart?

There are also specialized CNC turning machines known as Swiss Turning machines. Traditional lathes hold the bar stock in place while it rotates. Swiss turning centers slide the stock axially through a guide bush while it rotates, which allows them to make more intricate cuts.
Swiss Turning machines do much greater precision work than traditional CNC turning machines, and are best suited for very small, delicate parts. They can manufacture these tiny parts with extremely tight tolerances, deeper cuts, and thinner walls. Some Swiss turning machines can even manufacture parts up to a 20:1 length to width ratio.

Swiss turning machines also often produce ready-to-ship parts because of the way they cut the bar stock. This in turn reduces manufacturing time and lowers costs. Some of the more common parts that are often machined are implants, shafts, contact pins, housings, inserts, and sockets, but these machines have applications in many different industries, as you’ll soon see.

Applications

CNC Turning and Swiss Turning machines have applications in a wide variety of industries such as Aerospace, Automotive, Medical, prototyping, telecommunications, and electronics, to name a few. They are often used to produce different types of spacers, pulleys, shafts, pins, bolts, and more out of various types of materials. Their many capabilities, as well as their ability to produce precise, effective products consistently, makes them incredibly useful and cost-effective tools.

Small Parts Machining maintains a full complement of CNC Turning and Milling equipment, and a Swiss turning lathe to serve a wide range of industries. If you have a part that requires CNC Turning services, or if you would like to learn more about the other capabilities, contact Small Parts Machining at (503) 287-1181.

Is CNC Milling the right service for you?

Is CNC Milling the right service for you?

Milling is one of the oldest and most common manufacturing practices, and its most recent iteration is more precise than ever before. 

The different types of CNC Milling machines

At its most basic, computer numerical controlled milling, or CNC milling, is a manufacturing process in which a cylindrical cutting tool rotates against a workpiece in multiple directions, guided by a computer program. They can machine parts with tight tolerance, even if the parts have intricate designs.

The most common type of CNC milling machine is the vertical CNC machine. A vertically-oriented spindle holds the workpiece in place while the cutting tool or tools rotate against. These types of machines are ideal for parts that are angled, have slots, holes, or curves, or similar characteristics. 

The other, less common type of CNC milling machine is horizontal. These contain horizontally-oriented spindles to hold the workpiece, as well as shorter, more robust cutting tools than their vertically-oriented counterparts. Like other milling machines, CNC horizontal machines are ideal for cutting grooves or slots, but are more suited to working with heavier materials. Because of the orientation, horizontal milling machines can also machine multiple sides of the workpiece as well. 

The Advantages of CNC Milling

There are many advantages to CNC Milling. This list is just some of the few.

  • They produce less, sometimes no waste in the process of tooling than other manufacturing processes. 
  • Because this is a computer-guided process, there is far less human error, and even intricate and more complex parts have great accuracy. 
  • CNC Milling machines can produce models efficiently, swiftly and at a high volume, at low production cost, 
  • Because of their set-up, they allow for much greater part complexity, as well as easier prototyping and modification
  • CNC Milling also has complex drafting and modeling capability compared to other manufacturing processes.

Applications and Industries

CNC Milling has the capability to serve a wide variety of industries, such as metal fabrication, petroleum, and automotive. At Small Parts Machining, we’ve also served partners in even more diverse industries, such as creating NFC components for our partners in Aerospace, graph tools and hearing aid parts for medical companies, and many more. We have also recreated sample parts for some of our clients that are no longer manufactured anywhere in the world.

If you’d like to learn more about the applications of CNC Milling, or if you think CNC Milling is the service you need for your parts, then you can learn more about our capabilities here: (link to website)

CNC Milling is just one of the processes we perform at Small Parts Machining. If you have a design for a prototype or part then contact us today for more information.

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