A smooth transition into microparts

Courtesy of All images: RS Precision

RS Precision Industries in Farmingdale, N.Y.

The following is an interview with Robert Savitzky, president of RS Precision Industries, Farmingdale, N.Y. The interview was conducted by Contributing Editor Bill Kennedy. During the last 6 decades, RS Precision has transformed from a traditional tool and die maker to a manufacturer of microscale parts. Abe Savitzky, Robert’s father, started the company in 1948 to make tool steel and carbide progressive stamping dies for the zipper industry. In 1960, Abe bought an EDM to facilitate die production, but soon realized its potential as a production machine. The company adopted CNC technology in 1985, employing an Enshu vertical machining center to cut parts prior to heat treatment. Technology changes in the electronics industry in the early 1990s resulted in a sudden 50 percent decline in demand for electronics assembly tooling. Fortuitously, the opportunity to make small parts developed at about the same time, enabling RS Precision to gradually complete its transition. After working as a manufacturing engineer for Hewlett Packard, Robert Savitzky joined the company in 1978 and became president when Abe retired in 1986.

Robert Savitzky, right, discusses a part print with RS Precision ‘s EDM supervisor in front of the shop’s Mitsubishi EA8PV micro-holemaking sinker EDM.

Kennedy: How does your shop differ from a tool and die shop?

Savitzky: A typical tool and die shop is geared for one-at-a-time production and has a certain culture and a deliberate, careful pace. A die maker gets a blueprint of a stamped part and must design and build the tool to produce it. It is a considerable engineering and creative undertaking that requires exceptional visualization skills and craftsmanship. From an economic and a cultural point of view, a tool and die shop is not suited to production work. My father brought the tool and die processes from hand filing and machine fitting of punch and die cavities to form grinding and EDMing, thus transitioning the shop from one- or two-piece production to a mode more like a machine shop.

Kennedy: What aspects of the tool and die tradition aided the transition?

Savitzky: Most of all, meticulous attention to detail and a relentless pursuit of excellence. Many of our core competencies were a great fit for micromachining.

Kennedy: What challenges did you have to overcome in the transition?

Savitzky: When I first came to the company, methods for producing parts were in the hands of lead people, die makers. As a consequence, the methods were not consistent from batch to batch and repeatability was not predictable. My father’s efforts were essentially creative; he didn’t work out manufacturing details on paper. I initiated detailed operation sheets that contained the essential points for successfully making the parts. I performed engineering and documentation functions and supervised the shop to ensure jobs were done the way our method sheets required. I picked the brains of the smart people around me, highlighted the problems and asked for their advice on how to solve them. More importantly, I asked what concepts were behind their solutions. We developed innovative and effective solutions from this deep conceptual understanding of the problems.

Kennedy: How did your shop get into micromachining?