For decades, Rathburn used two very reliable Hydmech automated saws to keep up with production, saving our customers the cost of having to outsource cutting the blanks, which can be very costly when done by the raw material supplier.

When a new customer wanted to supply short bar ends and excess materials as raw material for machined components, we took it as an opportunity to evaluate our saw-cutting operations. After evaluating the ROI of new saws across all parts, we decided to invest in two next-generation Hydmech saws with expanded capabilities to better support our customers.

Previously, we were creating devices to connect short ends together to feed through the saw, which required labor-intensive prep and monitoring. We were also wasting six inches or more of each bar end of material, which was costing up to $200 per linear foot.

With the new saws, Rathburn was able to process short bars without special adapters and additional labor. The new saws also made the rest of the process more efficient, including less machine tending, cutting multiple bars simultaneously, less waste in bar ends (1-inch vs. 6-inch bar ends), reduced raw material scrap (i.e., short cuts), reduced waste (oversized cuts), and required less tooling and machining for oversized cuts.

The investment led to several improvements that streamlined machining and created meaningful cost savings that can be shared with customers. The new saws increased throughput by 50–200%, reduced labor by 25–50%, and reduced saw scrap to zero—all of which enabled us to build savings into the process for our customers.

These results reinforce Rathburn’s commitment to partner closely, improve processes, and deliver longterm value for our customers.