The Automated Shop: Sanborn’s Secret Weapon for Part Quality and Cost Control

OEMs have many options when choosing a fabricator to make their parts, both domestically and internationally. Every parts shop knows their top priorities are quality, cost and speed – but only the best fabricators can provide all three.  

To achieve these goals for customers, Sanborn makes ongoing investments to update its automation, ensuring jobs get done accurately, on time and on budget.

Chad Schultz, general manager at Sanborn, stays on top of the latest automated equipment in the industry for tube and pipe cutting and bending, and he evaluates when it makes financial sense to upgrade older machines.

“Technology is always evolving, and so is Sanborn,” Schultz says. “If new automation can help us do our jobs faster, better and more cost-effectively, it’s worth our investment. When an automated system allows us to expanded capabilities and provide better services to our customers, we add it to our arsenal.”

The company updates its automation approximately every one to two years.  By using automated fabrication technology to make tubular parts, Sanborn provides reliable, high-quality, cost-effective parts to its customers. Skilled operators keep the machines running optimally. Here are a few of the newest production machines at Sanborn.

The fully automatic BLM LT8.20 Fiber Laser Tube Cutter, which was added in January 2024, handles a variety of materials that CO2 lasers are unable to cut. It provides high accuracy and tight tolerances for tubes up to 9 inches in diameter. The laser automatically and quickly changes over between jobs to keep production moving and reduce downtime. Sanborn has seen a 20% increase in throughput since adding the new fiber laser.

A BLM ELECT Tube Bending CNC Machine was added in August 2023. It bends small, medium or large parts. It automatically performs high-quality, accurate bends with an attractive appearance. 

The BLM TS72 Automatic Cold Tube Saw was added in 2017. It cuts tubes up to 116 inches long and 4 inches in diameter.  The system automatically optimizes the tube utilization to reduce waste and can be programmed to cut up to three different parts from one pipe. 

Sanborn added the Genmill 6333 Three-axis High-speed Vertical Machining Center in 2021 to handle the higher-volume jobs.  It can perform multiple processes (such as tapping and drilling) on a single part simultaneously, which eliminates the need to transfer the part to multiple machines, thus saving significant time and cost per part.

Added in November 2023, the Faro Quantum Max ScanArm is a portable coordinate measuring machine (CMM). It uses non-contact probes to perform 3D inspections on complex parts accurately and quickly, which reduces downtime and scrap. OEMs especially like the CMM’s automatic data capture and analysis abilities to pinpoint defects and ensure parts are produced to spec. 

“With so many fabrication abilities in-house, we don’t need to outsource processes, so we can get our jobs done much faster and for less overhead cost,” Schultz adds. “We can be more competitive in pricing while still providing the quality and speed we’re known for. It makes us a true asset to our customers.”

To learn more about Sanborn’s wide range of tube and pipe fabrication capabilities, contact us.