Charmilles Technologies Facility at York Technical College Benefits the Southeast

ROCK HILL— A year ago, Eric Lambeth would have had to travel from Asheboro, N.C., to Chicago to train on Charmilles’ Roboform 35P machine. Now, thanks to a partnership between Charmilles Technologies and York Technical College’s Institute for Manufacturing Productivity, his trip is only two and a half hours instead of 12.

Lambeth is only one of the hundreds of people that the Charmilles facility located in York Technical College’s Institute for Manufacturing Productivity has helped since its inception in April 2002. Now that the facility has found its identity within the community as Charmilles Technologies’ application and demonstration center for the Southeast, people from throughout the 11 southeastern states interested in buying or training on Charmilles machines have visited the facility.

Used as a training center, the facility uses small classes and hands-on training so students walk away with more confidence in their ability to troubleshoot and operate the machines. Many students, such as Lambeth, receive one-on-one training. Industry is also able to either bring or send the facility a part to be made on the machine they are interested in purchasing, in other words, test the machine. When the facility isn’t being used for training or testing, customers can set-up appointments or walk in to see a demonstration of how the machines work.

Lambeth, owner of Jaeco Precision, a tool and die molding business, said he was very pleased when he heard there was a Charmilles training center here in the Southeast. Thursday, after just three days of one-on-one training with Bud Rushin, Regional Application Manager, Lambeth will be able to return to Asheboro and put the Roboform 35P machine into production. Lambeth said, “My experience has been more personal than most of the classes I’ve been in. It’s more hands on.” 

Rushin has been in the EDM business for eight years. Rushin handles much of the day-to-day happenings in the Charmilles facility. He spends as much as two weeks a month training individuals on York Technical College’s campus or on a job site. In addition to the four or five demonstrations a month Rushin does for industries, he also offers technical phone support for customers needing help operating Charmilles machines. “The partnership with York Technical College is working great,” said Rushin.

Charmilles Technologies is the world’s largest supplier of electrical discharge machining equipment, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and is a major partner in the Institute for Manufacturing Productivity. Charmilles machines are widely used in the plastics industry, injection molding and extrusion. The company’s North American operations are headquartered in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Charmilles also has application and demonstration centers in New Jersey and California.