Acampo Machine Works owner Craig Edwards grew up working in his father’s vineyard. He owns a vineyard himself. You could say that wine runs in his veins. “My father owned a vineyard and then a cannery. I was the mechanic of the family, working on tractors, then working in the processing plants,” Edwards says.
Until recently, Acampo had been outsourcing its laser cutting, but widening supplier lead times and rising costs prompted a look at bringing the process inhouse, where the company performs other fabrication processes including welding and painting. 
“Now we’re cutting our own flat parts and selling some to our former supplier,” says Edwards. Although most of the fabricator’s parts are dinner-plate-sized, Acampo bought the laser with a 5 by 10-ft. bed size to maximize nesting capacity. It delivered numerous capabilities.
Increased output. After a period of training on the laser, Acampo saw its output multiply by more than 10 times. “I can have a part kicked out in 5 min. vs. 5 weeks,” Edwards says.
Cuts 1-in.-thick material. The laser’s cutting capacity was critical. “If it says it cuts 1-in.-thick material, I need it to cut 1 in., and I need it now,” Edwards explains.
“We cut mild steel plate as thick as 1 in. all the time,” he continues. “That’s the break point. Typically, we have found that other lasers’ break point is ½ in.—everybody can cut ½ in.—and then the next break point is 1 in. That really narrowed the field.”
Cuts small holes. The fiber laser’s capability to cut holes smaller than the material thickness brings additional efficiencies. “The general rule of thumb is that you can laser a hole no smaller than the thickness of the plate,” says Edwards. “Now, we can cut a ¼-in.-dia. hole in a ½-in.-thick sheet,” Edwards says. “We’re cutting tap holes and tapping it right afterward.” He adds that this cannot be done on stainless steel because it work-hardens under heat.
Expanded capabilities. Not only did the cutting machine accelerate production and save costs, it opened new lanes. “As time goes on, we’re designing parts with the laser in mind. We’ve tailored our sales pitch based on the fiber laser’s quality of cut,” he says, adding that “laser cutting inhouse changed the world for us.”
Leaning In on the Training Curve
Having access to training and responsive service was critical in choosing a laser-machine OEM, Edwards says. “The biggest candle lit in Mazak’s favor was training. For a newbie like me who doesn’t know anything about lasers, the training offered was golden.”
Son Marcus Edwards heads up the laser cutting shop at Acampo. “I was very apprehensive about doing it,” Marcus relays. “I had never worked with G-code; I hadn’t worked much on computers. But after I completed the training course at Mazak’s training facility, I felt much better. Everything was so intuitive. It wasn’t this arduous task that I thought it was going to be and now, I can nest and cut parts here, inhouse.”
When laser cutting spring steel posed a challenge, Marcus was able to send a sample of the material to Mazak. The applications team ran the sample and created a program optimized for Acampo’s specific cutting application. “This is what a first-time buyer needs,” shares Edwards. “I need to be able to pick up the phone and say, ‘How do I do this?’” Edwards relays. “There were a lot of unknowns. We were looking for an OEM that could really walk us through this, and we found one.”
Environmentally Sound
Edwards says that one of the main draws to the Optiplex cutting machine is that it brought some environmental advantages. “Manufacturing in California is a tale of highs and lows. You have to be careful to be environmentally friendly at all turns of the road. The restrictions on what you do here are quite tremendous,” Edwards explains.
A state that depends on its agriculture industry depends on agriculturally friendly environmental conditions, such as clean air. The California Air Resources Board is well-known for placing restrictions on emissions—not only from vehicles, but from manufacturing plants as well. Edwards anticipated that the company might face restrictions on the use of nitrogen and its emissions down the road, so he chose a machine that will be on the right side of any future regulations.
High-pressure-air assist gas. “Lasers consume gas. Right now, gas is okay to use, but in the future, it may not be,” Edwards says. “One of the things that attracted us to the new laser is that it can operate on high-pressure air or straight oxygen, rather than nitrogen. And, it has all of the cutting parameters to perform most of our cutting using high-pressure air. Not having to buy nitrogen has resulted in cost savings as well.”
Stainless steel, low VOCs. Being able to cut stainless steel plate is important, too. “We cut a lot of stainless,” says Edwards. “One of the values of using stainless is that we don’t have to paint it. That’s important when dealing with food and agriculture. And again, with allowable VOC levels in California being the strictest in the nation, painting is becoming a very difficult operation for manufacturers. Certain things simply can’t be powder-coated. They’re either too big or have too many rubber components and can’t be put in an oven.”
Despite the challenges of manufacturing within the state’s stricter environmental rules, Edwards loves what he does and where he does it. “I get to try new pieces of equipment out in my own vineyard and troubleshoot them,” he continues. “When I was growing up, it was shovels and calloused hands; but I get to be a part of this renaissance with new equipment, which is right up my alley.”
Branching Out
Edwards intends to continue outsourcing some processes, such as machining, to trusted suppliers, but expand inhouse capabilities in other areas. Next on his horizon is a tube laser cutter. “We could manufacture specialty cylinders here,” he says.
Bringing laser cutting inhouse and expanding the forming area are part of Edwards’ plans to continue growing the family-owned company. In addition to Marcus, company family members include his wife Colleen, CFO; another son Troy, general manager; and son, Erik, purchasing manager.
“The company is getting larger,” Edwards says. “We’re branching out. In the future, the boys will want to increase their capabilities. There are children involved that are stepping up and taking their place in the company. So we’ve got to grow. We’ve got more mouths to feed.”
And, if Edwards has anything to say about it, the food will be harvested with Acampo Machine Works equipment. MF
View Glossary of Metalforming Terms
See also: Mazak Optonics Corporation
Technologies: Cutting
