When a CNC machine is referred to as "dedicated," it means that the machine is designed and programmed for a specific job. This is the case for four of our 11 CNC machines. Each of these four machines is dedicated to one customer and will produce that's customer's part(s) indefinitely.

This is not just good for business but great for the efficiency of output. Being a dedicated machine, we are able to study the job(s) over time by observing tool life and tool paths. Based on this data, we can make adjustments. These can include changing tool grade, tool geometry, machine speed, tool feed, depth of cut and many other factors. All of these variables can affect how many parts can be made off of one tool. At the end of the day, we want to change tools less frequently, produce the part as fast as possible and with the best efficiency.

Why can't this be applied to all jobs, one may wonder? Orders that require just 500 pieces does not give sufficient time to study and make adjustments. Of course, there are additional factors that can contradict this statement but the majority of small orders like this are better off being setup quicker and therefore produced quicker.

As a high volume producer of precision turned components, Gent Machine is able to perform these studies on most jobs. This maximizes our output but this also means our customer expects a lower price since we will have the time squeeze every tenth of a second out of the cycle time.

In contrast, a general-purpose CNC machine may be used for a wide variety of tasks, but may not be as efficient or precise for any one specific task. Many shops operate this way and it can be very lucrative. Their setups are much quicker than a high volume shop and their orders will be complete faster. This is a case where the customer expects to pay a higher price because the customer knows they cannot capitalize on economies of scale.