Reflecting on 2023

Saturday, December 30, 2023 | News

As we bid farewell to 2023, we are thrilled to reflect on the remarkable achievements we’ve accomplished throughout the year at C&B Machinery.

Innovation: At the beginning of the year, we set our sights on innovation, and the momentum carried us through the successful launch of the Newly Designed Clamp Bore Face Grinding Machine. It was gratifying to see multiple CBVR-2F-2S machines built and shipped in 2023, a testament to the collaborative spirit with our customers in developing this new design.

Community: Our commitment to the local community has always been a cornerstone of our values. In 2023, we actively participated in two Job Shadow Days and National Manufacturing Day through the coordination of the Livingston Educational Services Agency. These events allowed us to connect with high school students and provide them with insights into specific career fields.

During Job Shadow Days in March and October, students shadowed our Controls Engineer and our Shop Leader/Machine Builder/Service Technician. National Manufacturing Day in October offered a valuable opportunity to showcase our facility and dispel myths surrounding manufacturing careers.

Increased Customer Satisfaction: Our customers are at the heart of our success, and in 2023, we made extra efforts to enhance their experience. The newly designed CBVR-2F-2S Clamp Bore Face Grinding Machine, developed in collaboration with our customers, garnered multiple orders, reflecting their confidence in our products.

We also delved into ways to improve our service offerings and preventive maintenance packages, aiming to extend the lifespan of our machines and meet our customers’ grinding needs more effectively. Stay tuned for more details on these enhanced service options.

Gratitude: As we express our gratitude, it’s essential to acknowledge our membership in the Orbitform Family. The cultural values of Orbitform continuously challenge and inspire the C&B team, pushing our ideas, skills, and pursuits into new and exciting areas.

Heartfelt thanks to our Customers, Vendors, and Business Partners whose collaboration made our 2023 successes possible. We eagerly look forward to working with you in 2024, continuing to provide the best USA-made grinding machines available. Here’s to a successful and prosperous 2024!

Revitalizing Precision: Rebuilding Double Disc Grinding Machines

Tuesday, November 28, 2023 | News

Customer: Help! We have a 50 year old grinding machine with outdated controls and grinding quality is decreasing daily.

In the ever-evolving landscape of industrial machinery, C&B Machinery has been working with customers in similar situations for over 40 years. The life cycle of equipment often presents challenges that demand strategic decisions. When it comes to double disc grinding machines, there are multiples avenues to restoration and revitalization. This article discusses two of the most popular: rebuilding and re-engineering. Each offer distinct pathways (and budgets) to breathe new life into these precision machines.

Rebuilding: Restoring Original Prowess

Re-building a double disc grinding machine can be compared to a meticulous restoration project, aiming to bring the machine back to its original or near-original condition. While not delving into radical design changes, this process focuses on replacing worn-out components and refurbishing existing parts, ensuring the machine operates within its original specifications.

Scope:

Replacement or refurbishment of specific components, such as bearings and motors.

Focus on repairing and rejuvenating worn-out parts.

Purpose:

Extending the machine’s lifespan and improving reliability while ensuring adherence to original specifications.

Outcome:

A double disc grinding machine that closely resembles its original state but with replaced or refurbished components, delivering modern, reliable performance.

Remanufacturing: Elevating Beyond Original Design

Remanufacturing is the epitome of restoration, going beyond mere refurbishment to create a machine that surpasses its original capabilities. This comprehensive process involves disassembling the machine, inspecting every component, and incorporating modern technologies to achieve superior performance and efficiency.

Scope:

Comprehensive restoration, potentially surpassing the original specifications.

Integration of modern technologies to enhance the machine’s capabilities.

Purpose:

Achieving a like-new condition and positioning the machine for superior performance and extended lifespan.

Outcome:

A double disc grinding machine that combines the best of the original design with upgraded and new components, achieving peak performance and reliability.

Conclusion: Choosing the Right Path

The choice between re-engineering and rebuilding depends on various factors, including:

A. The machine’s current condition

B. Desired level of improvement

C. Budget considerations

As the grinding industry has evolved, these processes offer a roadmap for ensuring that double disc grinding machines not only withstand the test of time but continue to remain as formidable tools in the modern manufacturing landscape. Whether it’s a transformative re-engineering venture or a meticulous rebuilding effort, the goal is clear: to breathe new life into your precision machinery and meet the grinding demands of the future.

MFG Day 2023

Monday, October 9, 2023 | News

Manufacturing Day 2023 was a Success!

C&B Machinery, in coordination with the Livingston Educational Service Agency (LESA) and Ann Arbor Spark, was given the privilege of hosting 2 local high school groups on October 5, 2023 as part of the national event coordinated by The Manufacturing Institute.

Manufacturing Day is an annual event celebrated nationally in early October. According to the Manufacturing Day website, ‘MFG Day is manufacturing’s biggest annual opportunity to inspire the next generation, positively shift perceptions about our industry, and build the foundation for the manufacturing workforce of the future.’

By participating in Manufacturing Day, C&B Machinery provided high school students with experiences and insights into the world of manufacturing, a wonderful way to inspire and educate the next generation of industry leaders.

About 35 students visited our facility accompanied by their teachers and spent about 1-2 hours learning more about C&B. The first group were students taking an engineering class offered at Brighton High School. The second group were students taking an Auto Shop class at Brighton High School.

For this year’s event, we chose to focus on 3 careers and areas of work we do at C&B: Controls Engineering, Mechanical Engineering/Design and Service Technician/Machine Builder. Students were split into smaller groups to learn more about the Controls Engineer and Mechanical Engineer roles. We then brought the entire group back together in the shop to watch our Swing Arm Double Disc Grinding Machine at work grinding customer parts for a trial production run lead by two of our Service Technicians/Machine Builders. By focusing on specific careers and areas of work within C&B, we gave the students a targeted and meaningful exposure to a few different roles and responsibilities in our company.

C&B Machinery was honored to participate in Manufacturing Day 2023! We look forward to more events like this in the future. We are preparing to host students for Job Shadow Day at the end of October.

C&B Machinery is dedicated to investing in the future workforce and helping young individuals discover the potential within the manufacturing industry. Hosting events like Manufacturing Day and Job Shadow Day are crucial steps towards building a skilled and motivated workforce for the future.

Employee Spotlight – Bob Waddell

Monday, September 18, 2023 | News

Bob Waddell – Machine Builder

Bob has been a integral part of C&B for over 17 years. We are grateful to have him on our team and figured it was time to shine the spotlight on him.

What is the story behind how you came to work at C&B Machinery?

I began my work as a machine builder in 1979. I worked for about 4 companies and was very loyal to each one. I found myself looking for a new job when the owner either decided to retire or passed away.

About 17 years ago, I had finished up at a job and was looking for another one. I had worked in the building that C&B was occupying in Livonia and saw the sign that said they were machine builders. I stopped in, knocked on the door, told them about my experience and was hired.

Since coming to C&B, what has been your favorite project?

I don’t have a favorite project that stands out to me.

As a machine builder, the newest project is always the most challenging. I do prefer to build a brand-new machine over a rebuild, mainly because a rebuild has many challenges, is dirtier work and there tend to be more complications. You can pretty much guarantee there will be bolts that won’t come out and other areas that no longer function.

What about robots? How do you like incorporating them into your machines?

I have been working with robots for over 30 years. This is not new technology to machine builders. Successful automation requires collaboration with the programmers and controls engineers and you work together with each other’s strengths.

Hot Sauce Meter – Mild, Medium, Hot, Fire

Open the bottle, but don’t pour it on.

As mild as you can get.

How did you get involved in the grinding industry?

When I came to C&B, I did not have any experience building grinding machines. I had general, industrial machine building experience. I had to learn from others and used my aptitude for machine building to figure things out. It wasn’t that different.

I did have a lot of alignment experience prior to C&B and that has been valuable in my role here.

Town you call home:

Born and raised in Ohio. Moved to Michigan around 19 years old and lived in Plymouth for 10 years. That is the place that felt most like home, though I have not lived there in 30 years. We rented a house near Kellogg Park and enjoyed the events and activities in the area.

What advice would you give to someone thinking about manufacturing as a career?

To become a machine builder, experience is not a requirement. If you try to become a machine builder, you will know pretty quickly if you have an aptitude for it or not. I found that I did, but have seen thousands of people try it and many do not.

The main requirements are good work ethic and a willingness to learn. You have to be able to work with others and be trained. Be open to learning and don’t be afraid to ask questions.

Manufacturing can provide a good career, if the work fits your personality. Working for a smaller company, like C&B, there is nowhere to hide. Everyone pulls their weight and does their job well. There is a lot of teamwork.

Blue & Gold (U of M) or Green & White (MSU)?

Maize and Blue. My wife did graduate from MSU, but she seems to cheer for the blue and gold, too.

What roles have you held at C&B? What does your current role entail?

I have only held the title of Machine Builder. There are many pieces to this role. I go out on service calls as a Service Technician because I am an expert on machines and how they are built. I am able to troubleshoot the issues pretty easily.

I also work with new employees and office staff to teach and train regarding how the machines are built and how they work. I enjoy this aspect of my job, as well.

Get Your Grind On – C&B Grinding School

Wednesday, August 30, 2023 | News

C&B Machinery has implemented a new program for our employees. Grinding School was born from the realization that we were missing out on a huge opportunity: cross-training our shop employees. Cross-training is beneficial in so many ways that we knew we HAD to start this program. C&B believes this will benefit not only our company internally, but will be a benefit to our customers, as well.

In a small to mid-size manufacturing company, training an employee to do more than one specific job is vital. Without cross-training, you run the risk of an employee leaving the company, for whatever the reason, and you won’t have another one to step in and fulfill the tasks of their role until a new employee is hired and fully trained. This not only affects the company, but can also have an adverse affect on the customer.

Increased knowledge in multiple job roles, continuous improvement and teamwork are just a few of the benefits employees and companies can realize when a cross-training program is implemented. The employees who are teaching, as well as, the employees who are learning feel more engaged. The teaching employees have an opportunity to share their knowledge on a specific topic, which may require some planning and preparation. Employees who are being taught are given an opportunity to ask questions and take time to completely understand a concept, where in a normal ‘work’ setting that may not always be the case.

Research shows that when an employee feels more engaged there is a higher probability of him/her doing their job more effectively and efficiently. C&B will continue to seek out opportunities and listen to our employees’ requests to help provide the training and education they need and desire to be the best in their role.

C&B Machinery is a Builder of Grinding Machines. We build new machines plus remanufacture, retrofit, rebuild and re-engineer used machines. Bring us your grinding machine and we will collaborate to make it the machine to fit your current grinding needs.

New C&B Clamp Bore Grinding Machine Offers Simplified Design

Wednesday, July 26, 2023 | News

C&B Machinery (C&B) announced the completion of their newly redesigned Clamp Bore Face Grinding Machines. After months of planning, redesigning, and building the machines, C&B is excited to announce the latest CBVR-2F-2S model Clamp Bore Grinders.

Clamp bore face grinding machines are specifically designed for generating tighter squareness/perpendicularity tolerances for high-precision face grinding applications.

After numerous discussions, brainstorming sessions, and conversations with our customers, C&B embarked on the challenge of updating the design of their Clamp Bore Face Grinding Machine. The process took about a year with multiple redesigns throughout the process. Collaboration between Sales, Engineering, and Service Engineers helped achieve the final design.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS:

An ideal fit for tighter tolerances required for EV Drive Gears.
Overall Simplified Design
Reduced Cycle Time
Reduced Price
Reduced Downtime
Reduced Spare Parts
Reduced Swarf Buildup
Easier Access for Maintenance

We Consider Our Customers Our Partners

When asked about redesigning the C&B Clamp Bore Face Grinding Machine, President of C&B Machinery, Bill Tulpa, said the following:

Listening to our customers was the main push for us, but we also listened to our Service Engineers. We consider our customers our partners. We want honest feedback from them. They live with our machinery every day. We asked them what improvements would help them the most with uptime, maintenance, and overall production. We took the feedback from our customers and our Service Engineers and made the necessary improvements. I don’t think our newly designed Clamp Bore could have turned out better. It was truly a team effort!

Jeff Allen, Vice President of Operations, added:

The idea of implementing a robot into the clamp bore grinding machine has been getting bounced around for years. We facilitated numerous brainstorming sessions and discussions. The kind of brainstorming where you wake up in the middle of the night with an idea. That was the excitement around this redesign.

We also put a lot of weight on specific customer feedback and requests based on existing customers using older model clamp bore face grinding machines. There were specific requests on what design changes they would like to see on the new model.

The previous design of the C&B Clamp Bore Face Grinding Machine had a gantry system that made servicing the machine a challenge and required a high number of spare parts.

Standard clamp bore face grinding machine design included a gantry system that required a large number of parts. All of these parts were located within the interior of the machine, making servicing the machines difficult, as the space to work was very tight. The C&B Engineering Team worked to improve our work holding tooling and remove the gantry to achieve the desired upgrades. Allen provided details about the design:

The core components of the machine stayed the same. We repositioned the spindle columns to replace the gantry mechanism. This one change allowed for several previous components to be removed, making the machine more open and maintenance-friendly. The main change is that we have incorporated a Fanuc robot within the machine for the movement of parts.

The part handling area of the machine is simpler than in previous models. This is an area where many of our service calls occurred. The new design fixes the issue before it happens.

After testing multiple design concepts, the new design will be put into production in the very near future and multiple machines are being manufactured. This machine design allows users easier access to the spindles, gauges, and work holding than previous models. It also provides better coolant flow and minimizes areas for swarf buildup.