Gent Machine is home to 38 Davenport screw machines. Our business was basically built around the Model “B” Davenport multiple spindle lathe. The Davenport machine was an industry leader in high volume production. It is an older technology, all cam controlled, that requires a stronger mechanical aptitude than the newer CNC machines. These machines have 5 spindles, which denote the number of work spindles and the number of stationary spindles. Simply put, there are 5 stations where processing work can be performed: turning, drilling, tapping, reaming, broaching, boring, threading, slotting, milling, etc. A rotating (e.g., drill, tap, ream) operation can be performed at an end working station while simultaneously performing turning operations (e.g., turn, OD thread) from the side. With the combination of 5 spindles working simultaneously, parts can be made in mere seconds and thousands in just a day. In addition to the Davenport’s speed, parts are still held to tolerances within thousandths of an inch. The optimal material for this type of equipment are materials that rate higher than 80% or higher in machineability: 1215, 12L14, brass, aluminum, 303 stainless.

Over the last several years, Gent Machine acquired the Davenport operations of a couple companies. Because of our expertise on the machines, we are able to engineer and setup jobs to run efficiently where other shops struggle. This has become and core competency for us. In this acquisition, we received 8 machines and 5 employees, bringing our Davenport total to 40, with many of them being rebuild. We didn’t stop there, however, as we’ve added sound enclosures to 95% of our machines. In an attempt to keep up with technology, we also equipped our machines with automatic shutoffs. Once a machine reaches a part count the clutch disengages and the machine will shut off. This eliminates the possibility of making bad parts and breaking tools, two key factors in reducing costs and keeping our customers satisfied

Adding to Gent Machine’s rich history was its involvement with the Logan Clutch Corporation. We volunteered our Davenports to be suited with a precision pneumatic system developed by Logan. The system added more precise cuts and threading to our Davenports and when the Logan clutch system proved itself, we added them to several of our machines.