Smart Growth for Small Shops: How Apogee Scaled CNC Production

Apogee Manufacturing Solutions, a growing machine shop based in New Holland, PA, has built a solid reputation delivering precision-machined components in prototype and low-volume quantities. Until 2020, their projects typically ranged from one-off prototypes to short production runs of up to 250 parts. But when a long-standing customer presented them with a major new opportunity—high-volume production reaching into the tens of thousands of parts per year—Apogee faced a challenge familiar to many small shops: how to scale without expanding physical space or overextending on capital.

Note: MIDACO Automatic Rotary 4-Pallet Changer shown with 2-sided light curtain guarding and a side panel on the right of image. Newer models are designed without a side panel and provide 3-sided CE light curtain guarding.

Smart Scaling With Limited Shop Floor Space

“Our current location is very limited on space, and we have a very conservative risk position for capital expenditures,” Apogee shared. That meant adding a second machine or expanding the facility wasn’t an option. However, productivity had to increase, and efficiency had to improve.

That’s when a machine tool vendor suggested looking into MIDACO’s pallet changing systems. After reviewing the product offerings on MIDACO’s website, Apogee quickly realized the Automatic Rotary 4-Pallet Changer (model AS5020SDR4 with four 50” x 19” {1270mm x 482.6mm} End Load Cast Aluminum Pallets) was the solution they needed.

“It was clear that their product was a great option for this opportunity,” they stated.

Tackling Complex Batch Production with Minimal Downtime

The specific job required machining several part configurations in small rotating batches, each with its own unique fixture setup that filled most of the Hurco VM30i’s working envelope. Traditional setups and changeovers would have resulted in substantial machine downtime between part runs.

“The MIDACO 4-pallet changer enables us to machine all the designs with minimal down time and labor for change-overs,” Apogee noted.

Since MIDACO offers an option to purchase additional pallets to the standard four which come with this model Pallet Changer, Apogee configured SIX dedicated pallets for their Hurco VM30i, which gave them the flexibility to rotate between setups quickly and efficiently. The automatic pallet changer drastically reduced the time spent manually swapping fixturing and parts between jobs.

Increased Spindle Uptime by Nearly 50%

Beyond setup efficiency, the pallet changer offered another significant benefit: increased spindle utilization. Operators could now load parts on one pallet while the machine continued cutting on another, keeping the spindle running consistently instead of sitting idle.

“This simple aspect increased our spindle up time by almost 50%.”

This dramatic improvement in CNC machine uptime helped Apogee meet growing customer demands.

Scalable Productivity on Existing VMCs

With MIDACO’s AS5020SDR4 Automatic Rotary 4-Pallet Changer, Apogee Manufacturing was able to evolve from a low-volume job shop into a more dynamic, high-throughput CNC operation.

Key Benefits:

• 50% increase in spindle uptime
• Reduced change-over labor
• Efficient small-batch rotation
• Flexible enough for both high-volume and prototype jobs

If your shop needs more output on existing machines, explore how a MIDACO Automatic Pallet Changer can transform your workflow.

For more information on MIDACO Pallet Changers

Call or complete our online contact form today.