Indiana Manufacturer Closes the Skills Gap with Hurco Control

We will probably not buy any 3-axis machines in the future. Building off the success of our first 5-axis CNC, the Hurco VMX42SRTi, our next four to five machines will be 5-axis CNCs because we do not want to take parts in and out of the machine as we had to do on our 3-axis CNCs. We want to keep both our parts and machines running.

— Rick Williams, Owner, Qualitex Inc.

About Qualitex

Qualitex, Inc., located in Columbia City, IN, is a full-service gauge and fixture manufacturer that specializes in inspection services, gauges, fixtures and tooling. Founded in 1993 by Rick Williams, Qualitex has grown from a small shop to a company with over 20 employees and 30 machines housed in a 16,000 sq. ft. facility. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified and holds ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation.

Why Hurco CNC Machines?

1. Fast return on investment (ROI) of Hurco CNC machines
2. Ability to close the skills gap due to Hurco's conversational programming control feature
3. Experience with Hurco from previous employer before starting the business

Closing the Skills Gap

"My operators and the people I have trained on Hurco CNC machines take to it right away," Williams said. "Our onboarding time, as far as bringing in a new employee and getting them trained, is usually about a week to a week and a half. If they have any experience in programming whatsoever, they take to Hurco CNCs faster than any other piece of equipment I have ever bought."

Williams attributes this quick learning curve to conversational programming, which Hurco invented in 1976. "You do not have to program everything in NC or need a CAD/CAM system to do it. Our biggest thing with Hurco is we can take things from engineering and go straight to the machine and in a few minutes we are up and running."

Graduating to 5-Axis

While the fleet of Hurco CNC machines at Qualitex is comprised mostly of VM10i and VM20i 3-axis mills, Williams recently graduated to 5-axis machining with Hurco and said it has taken his shop to an entirely new level. Not only has the 5-axis CNC eliminated set-ups with the ability to complete 5-sided machining on parts they typically would run on a 3-axis machine, but it has also allowed Qualitex to provide simultaneous 5-axis machining capabilities for complex parts.

Key Features

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• Advanced CNC technology
• User-friendly interface
• High precision machining

Hurco machines have transformed our manufacturing process.