It’s a new year. At Hoosier Pattern, big things are already happening, and yes, we mean BIG. On Wednesday, January 6th, we were prepared for the arrival of a new Doosan NHP 8000, and even though it is the largest machine in the NHP line, many of our employees were still shocked by the size of this large delivery.
Above: The tool changer for the Doosan NHP 8000 arrives at Hoosier Pattern
Later in the morning, the rest of the machine arrived in one of the largest crates we have ever unloaded on our loading dock. This crate took extra-large forklifts, and a team of trained individuals that knew how to properly move these types of large machines began offloading our newest addition.
Left: a forklift finishes unloading the second crate containing the tool changer for the Doosan NHP 8000. Right: the machine arrives in a very large crate. This delivery was so large that it could only be on the road during daylight hours to keep other drivers safe.
The Doosan NHP 8000 has X travel 55”, Y travel 47”, and Z travel 53”. This machine is now our largest horizontal machining center in the shop. Hoosier Pattern made this purchase to upgrade an older horizontal machine that served us well over the years. The new Doosan will give us more options to machine foundry plates and 3D machining of foundry tooling.
Left: taking the walls from the crate surrounded by the Doosan machine requires multiple people and a lift to unscrew the bolts at the top of the crate. Right: the old machine being moved out of the shop to make room for the new addition
The Doosan NHP 8000 will be kept in a temporary location while its new concrete foundation is poured and cured. We are also adding a Renshaw inspection package that will allow us to inspect parts before removal to mitigate extra-unneeded setups, helping to improve our bottom line.
Above: the new Doosan NHP 8000 unwrapped and ready to be moved into Hoosier Pattern
Hoosier Pattern prides itself on continually being on the cutting edge of technology, and the addition of the Doosan NHP 8000 is no exception. We are very excited about this new addition to our shop floor. We project this machine will be ready to take jobs in February of 2021.