Filtering a new channel to productivity

Wisconsin-based Mitotec Precision has taken the process of business transformation to an entirely new level. Opening its doors in 1963, the fourth-generation enterprise has transitioned from the traditional cam-style machining of bosses, bushings, and pins to high-precision, high-production processing for the firearms, medical, and aerospace industries with cutting-edge machine tool and conveyor technology.

Mitotec has doubled its workforce from 50 employees to more than 100 since 2019 and expanded its revenue significantly from $14 million in 2023 to $30 million in 2024.

“We’ve taken the mentality of our company from essentially a mom-and-pop type of shop to one that has the personnel and capital to offer high-value solutions to our existing customers and potential new customers,” says Mitotec Sales Manager Warren Schoenborn.

In little more than two years, Mitotec mastered quick, efficient changeovers allowing them to perform tight-tolerance work for several different customers. Just as important, it gave the company added manufacturing capacity to selectively target and acquire additional customers fitting the company’s high-precision profile.

Scaling for maximum production has presented challenges, however. Case in point: increasing titanium baffle production for firearms suppressors from 200 suppressors to 25,000 per week. Since each suppressor contains 11 baffles, Mitotec was machining a tremendous amount of titanium, and that required a major modification to its production line.

Titanium is well known for its long, stringy chip formation during machining. Those bird nests of chips were consistently jamming the standard conveyors on Mitotec’s Eurotech machines. Additionally, the titanium powder created by machining the baffles clogged coolant filters, causing reservoirs to overflow and dump coolant on the shop floor. Mitotec’s high-precision, high-production model was quickly drowning in a swamp of titanium chips and coolant.

“We were looking for a solution for the titanium chips packing the coolant lines coming from our coolant tanks,” says Mitotec Engineering Manager Adam Pouillie. “We discovered Jorgensen, and they showed us their EcoFilter product.”

The EcoFilter 200 self-cleaning conveyor enables efficient filtration of fine chips to 200µm nominal at more than 98% efficiency. EcoFilter conveyors use a two-stage chip removal and filtration process carrying out large chips on a hinged or scraper belt. Fine chips flow with used coolant between the belt runs to a flow-through in the EcoFilter cell where they’re separated from the coolant. Then, clean coolant is discharged to the coolant tank while filtered fines are brushed from the filter screen and flow to the bottom of the conveyor, where they’re picked up by the belt cleats and discharged. By dramatically decreasing the chips migrating to a machine tool coolant tank, Mitotec significantly reduced downtime for tank cleaning and maintenance while improving pump, tooling, and coolant life.

“It was a pretty easy process,” Pouillie says. “We discussed our issues, and they (Jorgensen) walked us through the conveyor design and its capabilities. The communication and customer service has been nothing short of excellent.”

For titanium processing, Jorgensen’s conveyors have been a game changer for Mitotec.

“It was definitely a no-brainer for us to continue to get these conveyors on our equipment,” Schoenborn says. “Because without it, it really does take us to a screeching halt and makes a mess with coolant everywhere.”

Mitotec now has seven EcoFilter conveyors on its multi-turret and Swiss-style machines, and the company says it would rather let a machine tool sit idle until a Jorgensen conveyor can be installed rather than deal with the downtime and coolant flooding.

Jorgensen Conveyor and Filtration Solutions
https://jorgensenconveyors.com

Mitotec Precision
https://mitotecprecision.com