Larson Tool Teams with Nidec Minster to Expand Capabilities
With an aggressive growth strategy that includes acquiring new technologies, the Larson Tool and Stamping Company continues to evolve as one of New England’s most comprehensive manufacturers.
Located in Attleboro, Massachusetts, Larson Tool has been supplying precision stampings and assemblies for more than 90 years.
“Larson Tool is the A to Z supplier. That’s the way I think of us,” company President Chuck Cederberg said. “So many stamping houses now specialize in just one or two things, but Larson Tool really offers everything. We offer the design part of it, we offer the tool build part of it, stampings, assemblies and more.”
Large press room at Larson Tool and Stamping.
In maintaining a diverse portfolio, Larson has relied on a long standing relationship with the Nidec Minster Corporation to keep the company equipped with the technology and production tools required to stay competitive.
Specially designed inclined Nidec Minster MMC provide production flexibility at Larson Tool.
A recent collaboration involved a custom Nidec Minster MMC CX1-4000 single point inclinable gap press needed for some demanding applications.
“We started out looking for a solution to replace an existing 250-ton press,” said Ray Niquette, Director of Engineering at Larson. “Today, that inclined style of press is not readily available so the MMC group at Minster was able to take and customize their current product line and put it on an incline.
“The reason why we like the incline is for part ejection,” Niquette added. “It helps with the blank-and-draw-style of parts we do in that press. The other thing that we were looking for was a zig-zag feed for material utilization. With the MMC press and feed we have a big enough window to run some higher volume jobs, and we’re saving nearly seven percent material on those parts.”
A small sample of stamped parts produced at Larson Tool.
In addition to the inclined bed, Minster customized the drive on the MMC press for a higher energy curve and 440 tons of stamping force.
“There is a high-tonnage job that we were having issues with in our existing press, in fact we broke the bull gear,” Niquette said. “That job runs on the MMC press without any issues at all right now. The press has only been here about two and a half years, and I bet we have six million hits on it, and outside the one hiccup, it’s been very reliable.”
Larson Tool has added a second inclined MMC press and has a total of four CX1 gap presses in operation at its facility.
“I think the MMC presses are an example of how we rely on our relationship with Minster,” said Neil Fonger, Sales and Marketing Manager. “The MMC presses were totally new to us and we had no hands-on experience with them. We definitely relied on the Minster group and its expertise.”
MMC CX1-800 press in production.
In addition to the MMC presses, a recent Larson facility expansion houses several large straight side Minster presses, some of which are equipped with the Alternative Slide Motion (ASM) feature.
“The Minster presses are very reliable,” Niquette said. “When we put a certain tonnage job in a Minster press, we know we don’t have to de-rate the press. We know that the press can handle it.
“And we have two presses with the ASM technology, allowing us to be more productive on the deep draw work we do because we can maintain our stroke velocities through the forming of the part,” he added.
“From a sales and marketing standpoint, I’d say having that group of Minster presses out there — knowing that we have a solid press room — I can go out and sell with confidence,” Fonger said. “People know Minster presses and they have come through here and have been very impressed.”
Along with the impressive lineup of mechanical presses, Larson Tool has numerous hydraulic presses for deep draw applications and the company’s capabilities will soon be expanding with the addition of a Minster FX2-400 servo press.
“We see our growth as staying competitive in the marketplace. It’s what’s going to help attract new business here,” Cederberg said. “Staying competitive in the marketplace means staying technologically competitive too, and that’s what led us to the decision to purchase the new Minster servo press.”
Cederberg said the high performance technology of the Minster FX2 Servo Press series seemed like a good match for Larson Tool.
Minster E2H-450 handles some of the larger applications at Larson Tool and Stamping.
“One of the biggest factors in selecting this press was the relationship we’ve developed. We’ve been very comfortable working with Minster over the years,” he said. “We want to be aggressive with this capability, and we need to have a relationship with a press-builder that will help us fully utilize servo technology.”
To learn more about Larson Tool and its capabilities, products and services, visit the company online at www.larsontool.com.
