In 1973, Jim Ennes opened a smallfabrication shop, Perfection Fabri-cators Inc., in Elyria, OH. Welding

and bending and machining equip-ment operated by three employeesfilled the 30 by 40-ft. space.

Cut to 2015…Perfection Fabricatorsstill resides in Elyria, a suburb of Cleve-land with a glorious industrial past. Tostay ahead of the game in a region witha rich history of fabrication expertise,and stay attractive to customers whocan source worldwide, Perfection andits 12 employees have embraced newtechnology. The latest: a waterjet cut-ting machine from Omax—a Maxiem1530 JetMachining Center with a 30-hp,22-kW direct-drive pump.

The waterjet joins a formidablearsenal that includes a 3000-W Trumpflaser-cutting machine, 10-ft. Pullmaxand Wysong press brakes, Wysong 10-ft.

by 0.25-in. shear, and other equipmentsuch as two vertical mills, tube bendersand rollers, rollformers and assortedwelders. With its flexibility—a must asthe company produces 30 to 40 jobs perweek at 1 to 500 parts per job—Per-fection supplies parts, assemblies andprototypes to numerous big-namecompanies in tool, industrial, auto-motive and industrial markets, as well“the little guys.” Fabricated materials atPerfection run the gamut, from glass toplastic, stainless steel, aluminum andcast iron.

Laser-Cutting Success Spurred Waterjet Addition

Impetus for bringing in a waterjetcutter began with the decision to go all-in on new technology in 2011 and buythe laser-cutting machine.

“Jim’s son Dave took over the busi-

ness in 2005, then I took over Dave’s job,and that is when Dave and I decidedthat it was time to modernize from fab-rication’s Stone Age to compete andsucceed within the industry,” explainsStacey Gerken, Perfection president.

The elder Ennes, who at 78 stillcomes to work four days per week, hadbeen against the purchase of a lasermachine, recalls Gerken.

“After installing it we went a solidyear evolving that part of the businesswhile Jim laid low, not sold on thisnewer technology,” he says. “Then oneday the laser needed repair, and wedid not have a backup…talk about ascreeching halt.”

Perfection, priding itself on quickproduction of small parts in varyingvolumes, scrambled to fulfill its ordersand satisfy customers.

“When we were up and running

Waterjet Machine

Thrusts OhioFabricator Into NewHigh-Tech Territory

“From Stone Age to state-of-the-art” is howPerfection Fabricators’president describes theaddition of waterjettechnology. The newequipment has cut deliverytime, allowed fabrication ofdiverse materials andpositioned the company tobetter serve its customers.

BY LOUIS A KREN, SENIOR EDITOR

again, Jim said he didn’t know how wemade it without the laser for so manyyears,” Gerken says. “So in 2013 whenwe began to discuss adding a waterjetmachine, Jim was on board, making itan easier sale.”

Why a Waterjet Cutter?“There were materials that we just

could not cut with the laser,” saysGerken. “We knew nothing aboutwaterjet cutting, but we knew that wecould use that process to cut them. Wehad a market for it…always some oddjob requests using plastic or glass, andthicker than 0.5 in.”

As these requests increased, the com-pany performed its due diligence, anddecided on the Maxiem from Omax,which can cut parts from many materi-als, including metal alloys, plastic, glass,ceramics, stone and composites, direct-ly from CAD drawings or DXF files.

Installed in February 2014, the model1530 JetMachining Center has sinceprovided service from prototype to pro-duction. With its laser-cutting machineemploying a 4 by 8-ft. bed, Perfectionopted for a 12 by 6-ft. table size on itswaterjet cutter to increase the compa-ny’s cutting-area capabilities and allowextra flexibility in nesting parts.

The Maxiem 1530 has a one-pieceintegrated nozzle with consistent jetalignment that allows Perfection to cutaccurate parts of varying shapes andsizes within a 10 by 5-ft. x-y cuttingtravel area. The machine’s program-mable motorized z axis makes it easyfor operators to maintain proper noz-zle positioning throughout the cuttingprocess.

The waterjet-cutting machine pur-chased by Perfection also includesOmax Intelli-Trax drive technology,which utilizes brushless servo motors,integrated servo drives and digital lin-ear encoders to provide instant micron-level cutting head position feedbackto the machine’s controller.

The Maxiem 1530 comes standardwith the company’s Intelli-Max soft-ware suite. According to Omax offi-cials, the control software within Intel-li-Max calculates the precision of thevelocity of a tool path at more than1000 points/in., allowing for completecontrol over the motion of the abrasive-jet. Built-in programming tools andcutting models with the software auto-matically optimizethe 1530’s toolpaths when creat-ing 2D and 3Dparts, providingPerfection withprecise machinebehavior pre-dictability as to thecutting speeds,taper, jet lag andother abrasive-jetfactors for thosetool paths.

Perfection alsoadded an A-Jetcutting head andTerrain Follower,

accessories that work together toautomatically and accurately cut partsfrom materials with irregular orwarped surfaces without the need forspecial programming.

New Technology CutsMachining Workload, Enables More Assembly

“The laser machine probably took60 to 70 percent of the work from ourmachining operations, and what westill had been machining, the waterjetmachine took at least 20 percent,” saysGerken. “Using just standard cuttingand machining, we may only be able toproduce 10 parts/day, but with water-jet cutting, we can do 200. As themachining workload backs up, we arepressured to relieve that backup andimprove production. When this wouldhappen, we’d face fourth and 10. Do wepunt or go for the first down. With thewaterjet and laser machines combined,we get the first down.

“By using the laser and waterjetmachines on those secondary process-es,” he adds, “production goes up, costgoes down, and customers keep knock-ing on our door.”

Today’s fabricators must work witha variety of materials if they are tobecome preferred suppliers of assem-blies, which always is Perfection’s goal.The mix of inhouse technologies, keyedby the waterjet-cutting addition, allowsthe company to reach that goal.

The new waterjet-cutting Machine atPerfection Fabricators, Elyria, OH, allowsthe company to work with various mate-rials of varying thicknesses, greatlyincreasing productivity on current jobsand opening up business in assembly.Here, the third generation of the found-ing Ennes family, Parker, operates theequipment.

Waterjet Machine

Perforated metal is just one of the materials that Perfection Fabri-cators runs through its new waterjet-cutting machine. Besides met-als, the company uses the machine to cut glass, plastic and more.

For example, Perfection picked up alarge order where it had been shearingpolycarbonate, then taking it to a sep-arate drilling operation, using a tem-plate to place holes.

“If needed, with the waterjet-cut-ting machine, we can cut any type ofmaterial that won’t dissolve in thebed,” Gerken says. “So with the poly-carbonate, we just program the joband everything is done there. It cutsout transport and added machinetime, and frees that machinery forother work.”

Perfection’s new ability to fabricatevarying materials also helps it withassembly, a value-added process thatfinds great favor with customers look-ing for a one-stop provider.

For example, the company suppliesone customer with high-pressure tanksfor valve testing. Perfection can fabri-cate the metal tanks, then insert sightglass, cut on the waterjet machine, intotank holes, thus providing a finishedtank. That capability keeps this busi-ness with Perfection, claims Gerken.

“Now we can perform jobs from A toZ,” he says, “not just welding and ship-ping, but actually supplying completeassemblies finished and painted andready for use by the customer right outof the box.”

Up and Running Quickly and Efficiently

Once Perfection purchased the water-jet-cutting machine, fitting it into thecompany’s production environment wasa somewhat simple affair, according toGerken. Power for the new equipmentposed no challenge, since the companyhad already upgraded that service tobring in the laser cutter. Crews simply cuta 4 by 4-ft. slab of concrete out to installa ¾-in. water line, and leveling requiredonly a digital level, two technicians and20 min.

After brief introductory training, Per-fection unleashed operators on it to per-form regular duties and test new param-eters and capabilities, aided by thecompany’s experienced laser technician.

“Besides production, we employ thewaterjet machine for fixtures and other

Perfection Fabricators uses its capabilitiesin laser and waterjet cutting, machining,bending and painting to produce finishedparts for automotive, industrial and othercustomers. The addition of waterjet andlaser technology has cut the use of time-and cost-intensive machining and othersecondary processes.

items we use inhouse all of the time,”Gerken says. “If a cutting job takes 3 hr.,our operator can be creative and figureout ways to increase production.”

That creativity has paid off in manyways. For example, to reduce cutting time,if an outside part edge is slated for weld-ing, the machine is set to cut quicklyeven though doing so diminishes edgequality. Then again, for precision, say ahole must hold a 0.005-in. tolerance,the waterjet machine can do the job.

Complementary Technologiesfor Perfection

Once running, the waterjet- andlaser-cutting machines formed perfectcomplements for Perfection.

“If your goal is simply productionwith the right materials, a laser cutter isthe way to go,” Gerken reasons. “But wehave one laser, and are limited to metalalloys of a certain thickness. With thewaterjet machine, we can cut any mate-rial in any thickness…we’ve already cut2.75-in.-thick steel. But we don’t want tomake that a habit due to the time ittakes. We want to max out at 1.5 in. Sonot only does the waterjet machinecomplement our laser-cutting capabil-ity, it serves as our backup system. Ifthe laser goes down, we keep working.”

Perfection also has found ways touse the two machines in tandem. Priorto 2011, Perfection might have had tomachine a certain part profile, resultingin a part cost of $125.

“Now, with our laser- and waterjet-cutting capability, we can load a pro-gram and produce that same part for$12,” explains Gerken, showing Met-alForming a part that Perfection oncehad machined and now produces sole-ly on the waterjet machine. “Thatbrings customers back. Tell your cus-tomers that their parts cost morebecause we have to load a part, shear it,take it to a mill and machine it, thenext thing you know they are down theroad talking to the guy with laser- and

Installation of the new waterjet-cutting machine was somewhat simple. Crews at Per-fection Fabricators simply cut out a 4 by 4-ft. slab of concrete to install a ¾-in. waterline, and leveling required only a digital level, two technicians and 20 min.

waterjet-cutting machines.”The addition of waterjet cutting keeps

Perfection busy, mixing multinationalautomotive and industrial customerswith locals looking to repair a lawn chair.

“We pride ourselves on the fact thatsince we’ve opened in 1973, we’ve neverhad a salesperson,” says Gerken. “Wegain all of our business through word-of-mouth and repeat work.”

The company is looking to add to itslaser- and waterjet-cutting capabili-

ties and may take new directions in 15years or so when the third Ennes gen-eration, Parker, who currently oper-ates the Omax, takes the reins. Withlessons learned in adopting new tech-nology, Perfection is not afraid to con-tinue along that route.

“If we didn’t bring in technologysuch as this waterjet-cutting machine,”says Gerken, “we would be at sixemployees and performing the sameold work for customers that are okay

with doing things the old way. Now wedo work for customers such as the U.S.Air Force and NASA because we can.But we still work with Joe from downthe street who wanted us to build 30lantern holders for his rowboat...wedon’t turn much away.

“We’ve gone from the Stone Age tostate-of-the-art,” he concludes. “Wewant the work and we have to keep upwith this industry.” MF

Waterjet Machine