Glover began looking for an USB interface for his old RS232-based machines. Glover wanted to make sure everyone on the shop floor could easily use any solution he chose for the machines. Floppy disks were still around, paper tape was still in use, and CNCs – such as the Haas VF-1 vertical machining center (VMC) – were still a new concept. There are close to 100 employees at Fredon and a big percentage of them have been working there for more than 25 years, when technology was not as frequently used at the machines. I had to find a quick and easy solution that could be used by all team members, regardless of technical ability.” “It varied from machine to machine, and most times, it was a nightmare. “The process of having to load and unload our CNC programs was inefficient,” Glover says. Photo courtesy of Shop Floor Automations Quick, easy solution It contains its own DNC firmware and requires no other device or components to work. The USB Connect Pendant is a USB to CNC communication device that can be used to load and save programs from CNC memory and drip-feed to most CNC machines.
Machinists at Fredon use turning, milling, grinding, 4-axis, and 5-axis equipment, and with so many capabilities and a commitment to customers, downtime is not an option. Fredon is small enough to keep a one-on-one relationship with our customers and skilled enough to surpass the expectations of a facility many times larger. “A consistent goal of ours is to remain at the front of the manufacturing world,” Glover states, “to be able to provide our customers with high-quality parts manufactured in innovative ways. The company started in Euclid, Ohio, with a two-man team in a 1,800ft 2 facility and today operates out of a 70,000ft 2, climate-controlled facility in Mentor, Ohio. The company’s objective, “one step beyond,” means constantly striving for the goals of lean manufacturing, continuous improvement, precision, and operational excellence. Randy Glover, project manager at Fredon Corp., is a bit of a technology enthusiast, which helps him find solutions for challenges encountered at work.įredon has been in business since 1969, machining difficult-to-make parts for the medical, aerospace, transportation, and electronics industries. The USB Connect acts as an interface between commercially available USB flash memory and any CNC control with an available RS232 port.
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