On this Veteran's Day, 11/11/11, Wolverine Machine would like to take the opportunity to thank its veterans.
Founder - Charles O'Neill - United States Army - serving in World War I Vice-President - Bruce Walker - United States Army - serving in Vietnam Machine Operator - Aaron Ruff - United States Marine Corps - serving in Liberation Kosovo
Thank you for your service to this country and thank you to all veterans, past and present for all you have done and still do to maintain freedom for the United States of America.
Congratulations to the 2011 University of Michigan's Solar Car team! With their solar car, "Quantum", they placed 3rd in the World in the Veolia World Solar Challenge in Australia. Wolverine Machine was glad to be a part of the creation for the 2nd time and a proud sponsor.
For more on the team and the race, click here: Quantum
Check out our newest Newsletter for September 2011. Includes a note from our President, Ken Walker; features the Part of the Month from Birds Eye Media/DJIUSA; as well as some Industry Events and News.
Just go to our website: WolverineMachine and click on the Newsletters tab.
Wolverine Machine prides itself on the fact that it has been in business for over 88 years. We are also proud to have customers who help us to paint a picture of commitment, loyalty, business partnerships as well as friendships. Several companies, who are continued, active customers here at Wolverine, have been so for the better part of 20 years. While this field makes strides to take an older skilled trade and keep it new, it proves what a strong foundation and dedication can do.
So, thank you to our customers, clients and friends for helping to keep Wolverine Machine moving ahead and staying strong. We also look forward to meeting new people and extend an invitation for you to see what Wolverine Machine is all about.
Go to: WolverineMachine and click on the 'Our Customers' tab to read what they have to say. And take a minute to sign up for our E-Newsletter.
Part of the Month "Continental Interiors was faced with the difficult task of installing Nora Sheet Rubber flooring in very intricate patterns at the University of Michigan’s new C.S. Mott Children and Women’s Hospital in Ann Arbor. The best way to accomplish this was to have them water-jet cut. Wolverine Machine stepped up to this monumental task and excelled with flying colors. The layout of the patterns were made simple with easy to follow instructions and tight seams. And do to the time constraints on the project, Wolverine Machine was more than happy to bend over backwards to get the job complete ahead of schedule."
"Alongside creative recruitment efforts, the key to developing more skilled workers in the U.S. is the use of uniform, widely-recognized and industry-driven credentials to demonstrate competency in the specific industry skills needed by employers."
There is a push right now to provide college students the access to gain those skills and certifications needed to be successful in the Manufacturing field. With backers such as NTMA, PMA, NAM and President Obama, the goal is to bring Manufacturing in the U.S. back to the forefront. By increasing the opportunities in education, the goal is for more people to become certified in the skills that will allow Manufacturing in the U.S. to move ahead with the future and the new technologies available for new products. No longer would skilled trades be a thing of the past but the goal of the future.
Intricate in-lay for a backyard patio, colorful pattern to brighten up a hospital floor, custom-designed backsplash for a kitchen or that one-of-a-kind part on a custom built chopper.
With the ability to cut stone, rubber, ceramic tile and steel, all of these projects are possible with the process of water jet cutting. Water jet cutting can offer up precision cuts with no heat damage or change to the intrinsic property. We can produce one part or thousands of parts with a smaller amount of waste and a faster time.
Whether you are a landscaper, contractor or build choppers, Wolverine Machine can assist you with your project. From design to finished product, this family owned business for 88 years can help you. Send us your requests at: quotes@wolverinemachine.com
Did you know that Water jet cutting isn't just for metal, aluminum and stainless steel? Rubber, foam, plastics, composites, tile, marble, granite, safety and armored glass can easily be cut to exact specifications using the water jet cutting process. And because water jet cutting machines use water to mimic an actual erosion process as opposed to heat, like lasers or plasma cutters, materials maintain their original intrinsic properties and exhibit no "heat-affected" zones.
Wolverine Machine has 2 of the largest water jet cutting tables in the Midwest. From flooring to countertops to sign making, we can assist you in your next project. For questions or for more information contact us at:info@wolverinemachine.com. Or to request a quote: quotes@wolverinemachine.com
Clean and Green — Wolverine Machine not only filters and recycles 100% of the water used in our Waterjet cutting process, but also 100% of the garnet abrasive. The process does not involve any chemicals, gases, or noxious liquids which creates a very clean process, preferable to other methods in terms of environmental impact.
To support our commitment to exceptional customer service, we are ISO/TS 16949:2009 certified and use advanced, high tech processes and equipment to shorten production cycles, reduce waste and lower costs.
WOLVERINE'S COMMITMENT TO QUALITY MEANS...
Detailed consideration to lots as small as 10 pieces or as large as 1,000,000, or more.
Quality control accountability from all personnel at every stage of the process.
An exceptionally knowledgeable staff.
Third generation family management spanning more than 75 years of production excellence.
Wolverine Promises to deliver quality products, on time at competitive prices.
WOLVERINE'S COMMITMENT TO QUALITY INCLUDES...
Twenty-three 6-spindle automatic bar machines capable of fabricating superior products from 1/8" to 4" diameter.
Precision in-house operations for drilling, tapping, automatic tapping, bending, broaching, countersinking, milling, reaming, threading, and knurling.
Reliable outside sources for plating, heat treating, centerless grinding, brazing, nylocking, and specialized packaging.
Tools and procedures for extraordinary quality control, especially Wolverine's "Statistical Process Control" which insures exact conformance to our customers' specifications.
In May of 1923, Charles J. O’Neill incorporated Wolverine Machine Products in Holly, Mich. Moving equipment into a building with less than 8,000 square feet, the company produced fasteners and other screw machine products. With early customers including Chevrolet/General Motors, to producing products for World War II, surviving the Great Depression and a fire in 1953, Wolverine Machine Products stands strong. Now into it’s 88th year and 4th generation, Wolverine Machine Products continues the tradition of excellent quality and exceptional customer service.
Waterjet cutting is exciting to us at Wolverine Machine, and we want to make it exciting for you. From today until March 31st, Wolverine Machine will be holding a weekly drawing for all customers who send in RFQ’s (Request for Quotes) for Wolverine Machine’s Waterjet cutting service. On Friday, February 25th and every Friday in March, a lucky winner will be drawn from that week’s entries to receive a $25 gift certificate to their favorite local area businesses, i.e. restaurant, fuel station or charity**.
Terms and Conditions: **Material must be at least ¾” in thickness and/or require heat free cutting in order to be entered into the promotional drawing. Each customer is limited to receiving one entry per business day. The lucky winning customer will be notified via email on each Friday and a suggestion for their gift certificate will be requested. Should a gift certificate from the customers suggested business not be available a secondary choice will be considered. Every Monday, the prior week’s entries will be discarded. Should you be interested in participating in this promotion, please send your part print and quantities desired for Waterjet cutting to Quotes. For additional questions on this promotion, feel free to contact Rachel.
Equipped with enhanced stability, superior ease of operation and increased safety measures, the Mazak – Nexus 250-ll Lathe with 3” Bar Capacity is an essential device within Wolverine Machine’s CNC turning sector. Making Mazak’s lathe unique from others is its 3” thru spindle capacity and the ability to chuck large parts. This machine has a maximum machining diameter of 13.78”, a maximum stock length of 18.733” and a maximum chuck size of 10”. This spectacular machine is also capable of a feed rate of 108 ft/min with a maximum spindle speed of 4000 rpm with a 35 HP motor.
Exceptional accuracy is achieved through superior design and modern features which include rigid construction and an exceptional response system. The spindle motor is comprised of an advanced design that provides a maximum torque of 90N·m, along with unparalleled turning speed performance. The turret drum has highly efficient machining capabilities and an index time of 0.2 sec/1 step. By turning a single bolt the quick change tool holders can easily be unloaded and loaded. The conversational controls reduce the set up time and lower production costs making the Mazak ideal for small prototype quantities. The Mazak also has the ability to convert conversational CNC programs into traditional G-Code format that may easily be transferred to other Wolverine Machine CNC lathes. The ability to convert and transfer programs results in short set-up times further adding to economical costs for high and low volume jobs.
Due to the innovative linear guide, the Mazak can achieve higher accuracy than other lathes equipped with conventional hardened and ground sideways guides. The linear guide also produces a lower amount of friction and a smaller amount of heat is produced. Should you be interested in receiving a quote for this high-tech process, please contact us.
In the current struggling economy, manufacturing companies are looking for a way to increase productivity, decrease production cuts and still maintain top quality products. Some manufacturing companies choose to outsource some of their work to foreign countries to save money, though this makes it very difficult to maintain a high level of quality in their products and only adds to the damaged American economy.
There is another option that these manufacturing companies should consider which will assist in keeping jobs within the U.S, increase productivity and decrease production time. This option is to obtain innovative machinery which is equipped with live tooling capabilities. Wolverine Machine did just that when it purchased its Miyano BNE 51S with live tooling and sub-spindle. This combination of live tooling and a sub-spindle makes the BNE 51S capable of performing milling, drilling and machining on both sides of a part in one operation. Live tooling and a sub-spindle can eliminate secondary operations, manual part flipping, and the need to use more pieces of machinery to complete the part. In addition, live tooling allows us to manufacture a part with increased accuracy and repeatability due to the elimination of hand loading secondary operations.
This incredible machine can cut almost any material on planet Earth up to 12” thick, with the exception of Diamonds, Carbide and Tempered Glass. Three heads on our Z-813 allows us to cut up to three 4' x 8' sheets simultaneously – allowing our customers to receive 3 times the product in the time it takes most companies to produce one. The Z-813 offers exceptional accuracy of +/- .005”, repeatability of +/- .001” and exhibits no “heat-affected zones”. The water jet cutting process utilizes a combination of water and abrasive forced through a cutting nozzle at up to 2200 mph and 60,000 psi and cuts at speeds of 0.01ipm to 250ipm.
Hydraulic coal mining in New Zealand and the Soviet Union is believed to be the beginning of water jet cutting. Water was gathered from brooks and streams and directed to wash over a rock face to carry away the free rock and coal. Through 1853-1886, in the Gold Country of California, water was pressurized and used to move soft gold rock from the mining locations. This allowed miners to stand a distance away while the soft gold rock was being washed, which created a safer work environment for the miners because there was less of a chance of collapsing walls of blasted rock.
In the early 1900’s, Russia and Prussia had gained the knowledge of using pressurized water; they used this knowledge to wash away blasted coal. Approximately 30 years later, Russia evolved this idea and used a water cannon in the first recorded attempt to cut rock with water. Norman Franz, a forestry engineer from Michigan, experimented using water to cut lumber in the early 1950’s and installed the first industrial water jet machine. In the 1970’s there was a breakthrough in water jet technology when Mohamed Hashish created an abrasive which when added to pressurized water created the water jet technique.
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Water jet cutting is an environmentally friendly way to create your parts but to make this machine even more “Green” we have installed a state-of-the-art water recycling system which filters and reuses all water that is used in the cutting process. Not only is this great for the environment, but also helps you by cutting the cost of production. Should you be interested in receiving a quote for this high-tech process, please contact us.
Kenneth Walker – President Ken graduated from Albion College with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administrations. While in school, Ken cam home during the summers and worked on the shop floor of Wolverine Machine. After Albion, Ken was employed at AC Spark Plug as a foreman. Ken eventually left AC Spark Plug and continued gaining work experience and knowledge of the automotive industry. He then decided to continue his education at the University of Illinois, earning his Master’s Degree in Labor Relations. In 1972, Ken began working full-time at Wolverine Machine quoting prospective jobs. His responsibilities grew over the years and Ken was delegated the tasks of scheduling production, inventory control, writing quality procedures and manuals, purchasing raw materials and much more. Seven years later, in 1979, Ken became President of Wolverine Machine when he and his brother, Bruce Walker, purchased Wolverine Machine Products.
Bruce Walker – Vice President Bruce graduated from Ferris State University in 1966 with a degree in Applied Science. One year later, Bruce was drafted into the Army and was sent overseas to Vietnam to serve and protect our country. Following his two years of Military service Bruce rejoined his family and began working on the shop floor of Wolverine Machine as a Machine Operator- setting up automatic bar machines, manual mills and lathes. His responsibilities grew over the years and Bruce began purchasing, programming and setting up multi-axis CNC lathes and expanding Wolverine Machine’s capabilities. Bruce stocked Wolverine Machine with a variety of CNC machines in order to ensure he would be able to fulfill customer needs. Bruce then moved to the front office and began work as an estimator - determining part processes. Shortly after, Bruce and Ken purchased Wolverine Machine together from their father, Charles Walker, and have been running the company concurrently for over 30 years.
Blaine Walker – Special Projects Manager Blaine Walker, son of Bruce Walker, attended Milwaukee School of Engineering for two years and transferred to Walla Walla University to complete his Bachelors in Civil Engineering in 1998. Between his junior and senior year of college, Blaine received an internship at Lopez Engineering in Davisburg, Michigan. After the completion of his education, Blaine moved back to Michigan and accepted a permanent position at Lopez Engineering, where he continued to work for 9 years. In 2007, Blaine joined his father and uncle to help run the family business. Blaine began with upgrading the computer systems at Wolverine Machine and helping with human resources by expanding Wolverine’s hiring resources, reviewing resumes and conducting interviews. Blaine now handles all IT and computer hardware and software related issues at Wolverine Machine. Blaine also is responsible for all waterjet quotes as well as assisting with Wolverine’s sales and marketing efforts. Blaine’s waterjet cutting knowledge is extensive – contact him today for your waterjet cutting needs.
The Acme-Gridley multi-spindle bar machine was designed by George Gridley and the Windsor Manufacturing Company which was based in Vermont. Windsor Manufacturing Company was acquired by National Acme in 1915 and the Acme-Gridley brand of automatic multi-spindle bar machines was born.
The machine's operation begins by loading six bars of raw material stock, one in each spindle. The bar is fed to a stock stop, which is adjusted to a predetermined length. The machine cycle continues as the cross slide tools and the end slide tools simultaneously perform their assigned machine functions on all six bars. This cuts the amount of time to produce a part to approximately one sixth of the time that it would take on a single-spindle machine. The cycle time is determined by the time period taken for the longest operation. Because of the automatic operation of the bar feed and automated tooling movements the skilled operator is able to control multiple machines and produce parts efficiently.
Our machines produce parts up to 4" in diameter and up to 10" in length. Wolverine Machine's Acme-Gridley's are configured to process 16 foot long bars which allows a more cost effective use of material compared to machines processing standard 12 foot long bars. There are also a wide variety of attachments for the Acme-Gridley multi-spindle bar machine, which allows Accelerated Reaming, OD and ID Threading, High Speed Drilling, Flat Milling, Broaching, Internal Recessing, Burnishing, and Back Finishing.
It is often found that the multi-spindle bar machines are very cost effective for medium to high volume production parts due to the possibility of short cycle times. This is a product of the simultaneous and progressive machining of material on all of the spindles. Many times as a result of the accuracy, short cycle times, and the ability to perform concurrent functions, multi-spindle bar machines are able to eliminate secondary functions dramatically lowering costs. To see a short video of our facility click here.
Equipped with enhanced stability, superior ease of operation and increased safety measures, the Mazak – Nexus 250-ll Lathe with 3” Bar Capacity is an essential device within Wolverine Machine’s CNC turning sector. Making Mazak’s lathe unique from others is its 3” thru spindle capacity and the ability to chuck large parts. This machine has a maximum machining diameter of 13.78”, a maximum stock length of 18.733” and a maximum chuck size of 10”. This spectacular machine is also capable of a feed rate of 108 ft/min with a maximum spindle speed of 4000 rpm with a 35 HP motor.
Exceptional accuracy is achieved through superior design and modern features which include rigid construction and an exceptional response system. The spindle motor is comprised of an advanced design that provides a maximum torque of 90N·m, along with unparalleled turning speed performance. The turret drum has highly efficient machining capabilities and an index time of 0.2 sec/1 step. By turning a single bolt the quick change tool holders can easily be unloaded and loaded. The conversational controls reduce the set up time and lower production costs making the Mazak ideal for small prototype quantities. The Mazak also has the ability to convert conversational CNC programs into traditional G-Code format that may easily be transferred to other Wolverine Machine CNC lathes. The ability to convert and transfer programs results in short set-up times further adding to economical costs for high and low volume jobs.
This incredible machine can cut almost any material on planet Earth up to 12” thick, with the exception of Diamonds, Carbide and Tempered Glass. Three heads on our Z-813 allows us to cut up to three 4' x 8' sheets simultaneously – allowing our customers to receive 3 times the product in the time it takes most companies to produce one. The Z-813 offers exceptional accuracy of +/- .005”, repeatability of +/- .001” and exhibits no “heat-affected zones”. The water jet cutting process utilizes a combination of water and abrasive forced through a cutting nozzle at up to 2200 mph and 60,000 psi and cuts at speeds of 0.01ipm to 250ipm.
Kenneth Walker – President 
Bruce Walker – Vice President
Blaine Walker – Special Projects Manager
The Acme-Gridley multi-spindle bar machine was designed by George Gridley and the Windsor Manufacturing Company which was based in Vermont. Windsor Manufacturing Company was acquired by National Acme in 1915 and the Acme-Gridley brand of automatic multi-spindle bar machines was born. 
Our machines produce parts up to 4" in diameter and up to 10" in length. Wolverine Machine's Acme-Gridley's are configured to process 16 foot long bars which allows a more cost effective use of material compared to machines processing standard 12 foot long bars. There are also a wide variety of attachments for the Acme-Gridley multi-spindle bar machine, which allows Accelerated Reaming, OD and ID Threading, High Speed Drilling, Flat Milling, Broaching, Internal Recessing, Burnishing, and Back Finishing. 