Sometimes, it pays to be exceptionally good at little things.
A case in point is Incodema by Fathom, our Ithaca, NY facility. It specializes in fabricating small, complex sheet metal components that require a high level of skill and technology to produce. This small but mighty operation has built a reputation for fast-turnaround parts that make it stand out in a very competitive industry.
White Glove Service: We’ve Been Doing it for Years
While White Glove service may be a new term in Fathom’s lexicon, the Ithaca team has been doing it for decades.
“We create value by helping our customers solve their most complex and urgent metal fabrication challenges,” explains Odin Wojcik, Ithaca General Manager.
Parts produced by this facility are small. They can fit in the palm of your hand or be comfortably carried by a single person. Examples of these parts include electrical, medical device, automotive, aerospace and defense components. They usually require multiple, precise bends to meet customer requirements. What makes it all possible is a unique blend of highly specialized equipment and dedicated workers who love what they do.
“Our team stands behind its work. They take a lot of pride in the fact that many of our competitors can’t make the complex parts we do,” he adds.
Can-Do Culture + Speed
Incodema by Fathom has a can-do culture that solves problems. The team often recommends changes to customers’ part designs that will improve their manufacturability. In many cases, these tweaks also help to reduce the cost of these tiny but sophisticated parts.
One thing that differentiates this facility is that it controls every step of the sheet metal fabrication process in-house. “That enables us to maintain a high level of quality and provide our customers with short lead times. We can turn around finished parts in six to eight business days. For sheet metal fabrication, that’s very fast,” Wojcik emphasizes.
This emphasis on speed, quality and precision makes it an attractive partner to build prototype parts.
“Our customer relationships usually start with a prototyping project, where we’re asked to build a handful of parts. We then go through several rounds of changes until the design is finalized. That’s where we prove our value. The work then scales up from there. Once a part is in production, we can handle order quantities up to 50,000 pieces,” he adds.
Speed + Precision: The Incodema Way
Parts made by Incodema by Fathom start as flat strips of metal. They are cut to the rough shape of the part using technologies like laser, water jet, micro water jet and wire EDM cutting.
What these tools have in common is that they enable the team to create “blanks” – precisely shaped, flat metal pieces that have been cut to the configuration the customer requires. In some cases, Fathom Newark makes these blanks for Ithaca using a process called photochemical machining.
The next step is to form or bend the blanks into their final configurations. Many of them are formed on a specialized machine called a multi-slide. Imagine a device that looks like the face of a clock. But instead of hands to tell the time, the circular perimeter contains a set of forming tools for bending, cutting and punching small pieces of sheet metal with incredible speed and precision.
It looks like something out of the 1940s. But it does sheet metal fabrication of tiny parts with 21st-century efficiency. In full automation mode, it can produce thousands of parts a day without human intervention.
For smaller quantities of parts, experienced workers manually bend the blanks using press brakes, which shape the metal using a punch and a die. They must do this very carefully to ensure that each part has the exact shape and tolerance the customer requires.
“This variety of equipment enables us to handle everything from a handful of prototype parts to tens of thousands of production parts. As a result, we’ve built a reputation as a shop that makes challenging parts really fast,” Wojcik points out.
Teamwork Makes the Dream Work
Much of Fathom Ithaca’s success is the result of its remarkable team. “We’ve got a core group of people who have worked here a long time, including several who have been with us for over 20 years,” Wojcik points out.
Clint Seely, the inventor of a compact multi-slide stamping machine that has become known as the “Seely Slide,” is still an integral part of the Fathom Ithaca team.
“We’re very fortunate to have him,” Wojcik points out.
He emphasizes that the team’s collective experience and expertise make a huge difference in their ability to optimize customer part designs for successful production.
“They have an incredible amount of domain knowledge of precision sheet metal fabrication. They’ve been through 20 years of challenging customer part designs. 20 years of putting their heads together and coming up with creative solutions. And 20 years of investment in new technologies that have helped us maintain our competitive edge.”
Wojcik emphasizes that the long tenure of these seasoned employees also benefits newer hires. “They see the passion of their more experienced coworkers. The younger workers not only learn from them, their ‘can do it’ attitude naturally rubs off on them. It’s pretty amazing to watch!”
Many businesses today struggle with a high rate of employee turnover, which makes it hard to build and maintain a strong, customer-focused culture over time. But that’s not a problem for Fathom Ithaca.
“Our entire team, young and old, gets it. They know what we’re selling is speed, along with a next-level customer experience and service. Their passion, dedication and loyalty make it much easier to deliver the value our customers expect,” he concludes.
