Rachel Baker, Chicago Gear's IT Director, responsible for the DNC implementation. (video link)

With this machine the memory only holds four programs and would lose them all in a power failure.  Also, all parts had to be manually G-code programmed at the machine.  Now with CIMCO DNC the programs are downloaded as needed and always backed up.


The Old Way: The "old" laptop had to be located and carried to each machine.  Machines sometimes had to wait until the laptop was free.

The New Way:  CIMCO wireless DNC (receiver circled in red) speeds machining throughput by increasing the number of hours the machines are available to cut parts.  There is less down time because the shop laptop doesn't have to be located and hooked up.  Programs are downloaded immediately.


The Dell server supporting the wireless transponder (circled in red). Wireless DNC installation is painless and very cost effective.

by Joe Romanowski
Chairman & CEO

Chicago Gear – D.O. James Corporation, www.cgdoj.com, located on the north side of Chicago, has been in the business of designing and producing gear boxes and gears since 1888.  Their primary differentiation is the ability to produce very small (˝”) to very large (12’) gears and gear boxes to accommodate them.

I wanted to better understand why Chicago Gear decided to purchase a DNC system and why they bought it from us.  Rachel Baker, (video link) Chicago Gear’s IT Director, began answering by stating that, “to speed up our throughput and stay competitive we have to embrace technology of this type.  We have some older technology CNC machine tools that possess limited program storage.  One machine, in particular, has memory capacity for only four programs.  We have several operators that run that machine over multiple shifts, and many times one operator would make a decision to delete a program (to add a new program) that the next shift needed.  Also, any program entered into that machine has to be manually programmed at the machine.  Finally, there is no way to back up memory on the machine.   We were always in jeopardy of losing all the programs anytime we had a power failure.”  Rachel continued, “Now with our wireless DNC system the programs are downloaded electronically any time we need them and always backed up.  We were able to increase machining time 4-6 hours a week on that old machine because of all the things we don’t have to do any more.”

“Even with the machines that have large memory we had to load programs with a laptop. This was not very efficient.  There is one old shop laptop.  While the laptop was always expected to be in one place, if it was being used it could be any where in the plant. Someone would have to take time to locate it and if it was being used, wait until the person was finished.  Then, there were little things, like finding a flat surface next to the machine to use the computer mouse effectively.  There were many delays like this that kept us from cutting parts.”

Rachel is very pleased about a second benefit that came with implementation of their CIMCO DNC system.  She believes that as technology continues to move forward computer literacy will become even more important on Chicago Gear’s shop floor.  As she said, “This was a great opportunity for us to work directly with our machine operators to help them increase their computer skills."

So, why did Rachel recommend our CIMCO DNC wireless system to her management?   “It was easy to get the information I needed from Jody” (editor’s note:  Manager of Machinery Systems’ Software Division).   Rachel mentioned that a competitor required the purchase of a proprietary server with their system.  With our CIMCO system, Chicago Gear was able to purchase a Dell server for a lot less money.  Although the competitor's DNC software initially looked slightly cheaper, when she compared our total cost with the competitor, we were less and provided better functionality.  Also, the Chicago Gear/Machinery Systems long time relationship streamlined the approval process.

I asked Rachel if there were any other benefits.  “Two big ones, she said, we were able to create a standard program naming system in a central database.  Previously, everyone was picking their own program names, which made it impossible for someone else to find and identify the latest revision of a program.  Also, a huge benefit is that all programs are now always backed up. There’s no risk of losing a program.  All of these benefits contributed to speeding our throughput and reducing the labor content in our machining operations.”

I was really happy to visit with Rachel.  I was once again reinforced that if we help our customers recognize their invisible costs on the shop floor, we have a tremendous opportunity to help them get their products out the door faster.