Irvine, CA--Crenshaw Die & Manufacturing Corp., a full-service job shop specializing in precision metal stamping, die making, and waterjet cutting, is celebrating its 40th year in business. Since beginning as a contract stamper in 1962, Crenshaw has grown into a 40,000-sq-ft operation, employing a staff of 70 professionals who collectively provide a turn-key service that includes design support, in-house tooling, close-tolerance metal stampings, and finishes. The firm's current customers include manufacturers of industrial, commercial, electronic, and medical products.

A value engineering approach has enabled the firm to solve problems by converting a variety of cast parts and sheet-metal fabricated parts to metal stampings, thus lowering costs while maintaining high quality. Using progressive dies and high-speed presses up to 400 tons, Crenshaw stamps a variety of close-tolerance parts, many of them in complex forms and shapes. The company utilizes its Class-A tooling to perform deep drawing (up to 4 inches), blanking and piercing, coining, and compound forming. Typical stamped parts range in thickness from 0.005 inch to 0.375 inch.

Recently, Crenshaw increased its waterjet capability by adding a 6-ft x 12-ft waterjet machining center that provides flat, 2-axis machining with a dual cutting head. The company employs waterjet cutting as a quick and accurate alternative to laser or flame cutting, for low-cost prototypes and short-run production.

"We're able to cut metals and non-metallic materials 0.015 inch to 4 inches thick, with machining accuracy of 0.005 inch," says Dan Congelliere, CEO. "We provide simultaneous design and construction of Class-A, production tooling, while running waterjet-cut parts for pre-production runs."