Hallmark Tool & Gage, a family-owned and operated business in Wixom, Michigan, has more Hurco 2-meter and 3-meter
DCX double column machining centers under one roof than any other company in the country. Hallmark invested in these 2-meter and 3-meter machining centers to expand their capabilities in order to increase the services they provide their customers.
“When we research the need for new equipment, we are always seeking to expand our capabilities in size, technology, quality, and efficiency,” said George Richards, president of Hallmark Tool & Gage.
Hallmark provides complete turn-key operations from raw material to final machining and assembly at their 34,000 square-foot facility. However, the company also provides a la carte services. Richards said his business philosophy is straightforward.
“At Hallmark, our goal is to provide our customers with a complete turn-key operation from raw material to final machining for any size project. We want to be a partner with our customers and consistently provide them with the quality and service they require at a competitive price. But we also offer smaller services too; if you’re looking for only fabricating, just machining, or simply an EDM service, you’ll find it here at Hallmark.”
Founded in 1980, Hallmark Tool & Gage had six employees and was primarily a gage and fixture manufacturer when Richards purchased the company 1990. His son, Scott Richards, started as a trainee at Hallmark in 1992 and worked his way through the company to his current position as vice president. Today, the company has dozens of employees and has expanded into all phases of the manufacturing industry from fabricating to CNC machining, an EDM service company and a complete turn-key application.
The majority of Hallmark’s projects in the past were revolved around the automotive industry, but the father and son team spent the last five years diversifying their customer base to include defense, food packaging, and a variety of commercial and industrial projects.
“We do a lot of plate work and machine bases," said George. "The machines we build are in operation all over the world."
A surface grinder by trade who has been in the industry since 1966, George said he was first introduced to Hurco in 1996.
“We had never looked at CNC equipment, and we were looking for a company that could supply us with a machine we could train our employees to operate for a specific part we needed to machine. We also wanted a machine that was versatile enough to handle other machining needs as required,” explains George.
“After looking at several different machines, Hurco was the answer. The control’s operating system is easy to use and it made it easy to train employees who had never programmed a CNC machine before. Hurco and
Braun Machinery (the Hurco distributor in Michigan at that time) gave us the support necessary to get us going and continued that support at every request. When we got our first Hurco, Scott was programming at the control and making parts within six hours. I was sold. We’ve been buying Hurcos ever since,” said George.
Hallmark currently owns 12 Hurcos: their first Hurco, a 4-axis BMC40/50, now two
VMX84 mills, one
VMX50 mill, a
VMX42 mill, a BMC40/20, a
VM20, two
VM1 mills, a
TM10 slant-bed lathe, and three of the large double column DCX mills: two 2-meter
DCX22 mills and one 3-meter
DCX32 mill. As for their investment in three DCX double column machining centers, Scott said:
“We went with the DCX obviously because of the size of the envelope (83 x 126), but ultimately it’s the control."
He added that the ease of programming is what puts Hurco above the competition.
“The technology is what sets Hurco apart from other machine tools. It’s so user friendly. There are so many ways to get from point A to point B when you’re setting up and running the part, and the Hurco control makes it easy.”
When asked for specifics, George and Scott identify Hurco’s patented
UltiMotion feature and
NC/Conversational Merge as two examples of technology that put Hurco above the rest.
“The new UltiMotion is incredible," Scott said. "It eliminates all that lost motion you used to see. And NC/Conversational Merge is huge. The ability to go from one to another and use the best of both programming methods is a real benefit."
Regarding Hallmark’s purchase of the three DCX double column mills, George Richards added:
“The extra Y-axis is just phenomenal on the DCX machines. Whenever we look at buying a new machine, we ask ourselves, ‘Should we spend a little more to expand our capabilities in addition to expanding our capacity?’”
While the Hurco machine tools are known for their control technologies, George said their rigidity and reliability shouldn’t be underestimated.
“The machine itself is of the highest quality and has the rigidity, accuracy and repeatability we need for the job at hand, whether we’re machining aluminum, stainless, mild steel or pre-heated materials.”
As for specific control features that make his job more efficient, Paul, a CNC programmer/operator at Hallmark, said the Tool & Material Library,
DXF Transfer, Concurrent Programming, and AutoCalc are among them.
“Hurco makes everything quick and easy,” says Paul.
With the Tool & Material Library, he sets up the tool parameters by part material in the control, along with feeds and speeds, and then he just selects them when he is setting up the part.
“You enter the information once, and you’re finished,” explained Paul.
While other machine tool’s have features similar to DXF Transfer, Paul said Hurco’s DXF feature is top notch. With DXF Transfer, data entry mistakes are eliminated because the tool paths are created from the geometry of the CAD-generated file. The Hurco DXF Transfer has some extra features that are time savers: multiple part planes can be linked into a single program, you can automatically chain contours, and a group of hole operations can be selected based on the hole diameter.
AutoCalc is another time saver.
“You put in the dimensions that you know, and the control automatically fills in what’s missing,” said Paul.
A feature Hurco calls Concurrent Programming maximizes productivity.
“Once this job is running, it’s time to program another.”
While Paul is running one job, he can program the next one right at the control without interrupting the cycle.
As for the future, Hallmark will continue to rely on great employees and top-notch equipment to provide their customers with world-class results. Hurco and Braun Machinery are proud that a quality company like Hallmark has made Hurco their CNC machining center of choice.
Hallmark Tool and Gage
51200 Pontiac Trail
Wixom, MI 48393
248-669-4010
