R.A. Miller Industries (Grand Haven, MI) manufactures communication and navigational antennas, as well as communication systems targeting the military, heavy truck and aviation industries. These industries are large markets that require stringent quality standards and outstanding performance. Therefore, when it comes to designing and producing the antennas, the company settles for nothing less than 100 percent precision.

When Miller needed help processing coaxial cable, it turned to Schleuniger (Manchester, NH) for a solution. Processing the cable manually was slowing down production. Miller needed a machine that could produce large quantities of cable quickly and efficiently, and eliminate inconsistencies.

Schleuniger presented Miller with options for processing its coaxial cable. The first machine that the company purchased was the MP 8015 fully programmable cable stripper.

The MP 8015 strips a variety of coaxial cable, triaxial cable and single conductor wire up to 0.59 inch in diameter. With this benchtop unit, the operator manually inserts the cable to be processed. It is still being used.

After a short period of time, the company decided to further enhance production. It looked into a machine that could automatically cut and strip coaxial cable without manual insertion. The company purchased the PowerStrip 9500 RS.

The automatic cut and strip machine with rotary stripping capabilities can produce quality results on wire and cable, including coaxial cable. This benchtop unit processes cable from 7 to 12 millimeters O.D. Controlled by a display panel, the rotary stripping unit can make incisions at any position and depth along the cable.

Before purchasing the unit, the company hand-cut and stripped its cables using utility knives, which made for a tedious, timely and inconsistent process. On some smaller cables, it also used heated strippers to cut wire and cables.

Because the company cuts various sizes of coaxial cable ranging from RG 174 to RG59, it required a machine that was able to cut and strip coaxial cable while ensuring quality and consistent results.

Paul Bogdans, product engineer, didn’t hesitate at the purchase of the PowerStrip 9500 RS, when he realized the benefits from running this machine, such as alleviating some manual labor. "The 9500 RS has reduced the manual labor and inconsistencies of cutting our cable by hand. The speed and precision of the RS has allowed us to become competitive within our market, which was difficult to uphold prior to the purchase of this machine," says Bogdans.

The unit has allowed the company to increase its annual sales and productivity.

For more information on wire processing, call 603-668-8117, visit www.schleuniger.com or Reply 3.