It’s interesting how some words have more than one meaning. For example, in the field of architecture, a turret is a small tower usually positioned at the top of a medieval castle. In the manufacturing industry, however, a turret punch press is a machine that punches through metal with enough force to produce pre-programmed shapes.

The turret machines at MILTON MANUFACTURING are operated primarily by Rick Goga and C.J. Millender aka the MILTON “Motor City” Turret Team!

Rick has operated the turret punch press for the past 14 years. He landed employment at MILTON 40 years ago – that was two days before his 21^st birthday and just after his return from serving in Vietnam.  Rick sets up and operates the turret punch press.

Turret operator C.J. Millender has worked on the turret for four years. C.J. was educated in and graduated from the Detroit Public School System. He is the older brother of our laser operator, Akbar Millender. (Akbar was introduced in the Two Men and a Robot – Blog Article of 2/18/10) C.J. began as a utility person and earned a classification change to become a Turret Operator.

Historically, the development of the turret punch press is of great significance to manufacturers because, prior to the mid-1900s, tools and parts were only produced manually by highly skilled toolmakers and craftsmen. When the turret machine became available, manufacturers could produce quality parts faster and at a lower cost.

Today, in modern times, the skilled operator (engineer or toolmaker) programs the computer numerically-controlled (CNC) application in the machine to produce the same part repeatedly, while meeting specifications and tolerances with the same accuracy for each part. Then the actual operation is carried out by a general worker. This process opened the door of opportunity for unskilled workers to gain entry into the industry as trainees or general workers, resulting in reduced labor costs for the manufacturer.

The turret comes with various components, such as a motor, frame, ram and bed. The CNC turret punch press is used on sheets of metal (aluminum, steel, copper, hardened steel, stainless steel, & brass) to produce items such as brackets for doors and shelves, washers, tools, and much more. To achieve these operations, the machine uses electrical, hydraulic, or pneumatic power to punch out the desired shaped with enough force to shear (cut) the metal.

MILTON has computer numerical controlled (CNC) turret punch presses. The equipment is ideal for producing medium to high volume jobs.