Incodema is a prototype and short run sheet metal stamping provider that produces prototype sheet metal stampings, intricate metal forming, short run production stamping, laser cutting, photo chemical machining (PCM), CNC machining, and wire EDM (electrical discharge machining)
According to Sean Whittaker, CEO, the Ithaca company uses complex 3D designs from client-supplied CAD files to transform those ideas and designs into reality. “Our reputation hinges on our team’s ability to produce high-quality, sheet metal prototypes with very rapid turnaround times. We have redefined “rapid” by offering same business day delivery of prototype metal stampings. Customers can routinely request and receive an E-Quote in minutes and receive the parts in five business days or less.”
Whittaker said the company’s success and growth is the result of optimizing ordering and production processes, focusing on quality, being innovative, and expanding capabilities.
Incodema redesigned and renovated its 30,000 sq.ft. facility to better accommodate lean manufacturing principles and 5S procedures, and to accommodate expansion with a capital equipment acquisition program. Whittaker explained that Incodema has selected tools and methodologies that assist in identifying and eliminating waste. This, in turn, improves quality reduces production time and costs.
5S (Sort, Set-in-order, Shine, Standardize, Sustain) is a method for organizing a workplace and keeping it organized. Whittaker said that Incodema’s entire workforce has become committed to the principles of Lean and 5S, with the result that work centers are running more efficiently, tools are always available when needed, and pride in the workplace and products is self evident.
One example of innovation at the company is the first U.S. commercial installation of a new European developed precision water jet cutting technology. The MICROCUT process was specifically designed to machine two-dimensional, high precision and micro parts with a substantially smaller kerf width (0.012 in.) compared to traditional cutting processes (0.045 in.). This cutting process quickly and accurately removes material to produce a finished piece with little to no burr and no heat deformation. This makes it an ideal solution for soft materials such as rubber, plastics, or silicone, and it works equally well with hard alloys.
Incodema’s capabilities have also increased with the acquisition of a 22-employee company in Newark, NY that specializes in photo chemical machining (PCM). PCM is the process of fabricating sheet metal components using a photoresist and etchants to corrosively machine away selected areas, and can produce highly complex parts with very fine detail accurately and economically. Whittaker explained that the PCM process can offer economical alternatives to other machining processes for thin gauge precision parts. The tooling is inexpensive and quickly produced, thus the process is useful for prototyping and allows for easy changes in mass production.
PCM can be used on virtually any commercially available metal or alloy, of any hardness. It is limited to materials with a thickness of 0.0005 to 0.080 in (0.013 to 2.0 mm). Metals include aluminium, brass, copper, inconel, manganese, nickel, silver, steel, stainless steel, zinc and titanium.
Leveraging expertise that remained from a company that left Syracuse, Whittaker recently created a subsidiary called IwinRP that specializes in Stereolithography (SLA), an additive manufacturing process which employs a vat of liquid ultraviolet curable photopolymer “resin” and an ultraviolet laser to build a part’s layers one at a time. For each layer, the laser beam traces a cross-section of the part pattern on the surface of the liquid resin. Exposure to the ultraviolet laser light cures and solidifies the pattern traced on the resin and joins it to the layer below.
Incodema and its new sister companies are registered under the U.S. Department of State’s International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR), which allows all three locations to fully support all military and homeland security projects in the U.S.
The company now employs 52 people in Ithaca, 22 in Newark, and 5 at the new startup group in East Syracuse. For more information visit www.incodema.com
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