Since 1967, industry leader NOSHOK has been synonymous with quality and precision. Their pressure and temperature measuring devices, gauges, and valves are preferred by leaders in the fields of heavy industry, energy, oil, and gas for their ability to withstand the harshest conditions in “can’t fail” situations.
Like many companies with large product lines, they have significant supply chains to manage and the high cost of maintaining parts inventories, even for lower volume items. This led to a company-wide initiative to bring manufacturing in-house whenever possible both for cost savings and to reduce lead times to better serve their customers.
NOSHOK High Pressure Gauges
Christopher Knarr, a Mechanical Engineering Technician for the company, spoke of the versatility the WAZER offers for NOSHOK, “it’s affected a lot of areas in our engineering department, our manufacturing, and in production.” The WAZER is being used to prototype parts, and to create end-use parts for their demanding applications, as it keeps costs down without sacrificing quality on short run items. With the in-house waterjet, NOSHOK can reduce outsourcing some production, and replace previous manual machining with digital CNC automation, which helps them speed up and control their supply chain.
These critical parts can be made significantly faster in-house, without risking improper interpretations by third party vendors. In addition, the company is updating its internal practices to 5S Lean Manufacturing, and the WAZER is being used to create assembly fixtures to help speed up production in this effort.
NOSHOK Locking Bonnet Plates being cut on the WAZER
“It’s a swiss army knife of capabilities for us”
Along with having a variety of uses, the WAZER also cuts a variety of materials without the need for expensive tooling changes. Some of the materials being cut on a regular basis include mild steel, stainless steel, garolite, glass for gauges, gaskets, and various plastics up to ¾” thick. Chris says the WAZER “is a Swiss army knife of capabilities for us.”
