Traceamatic

Experienced mill machinists, Trace-A-Matic is hiring in Houston.

We’re looking for CNC Mill Machinists for both 1st and 2nd shifts.

This is hands-on machining work involving CNC mills, including horizontal boring mills and vertical mills. Set up repeat jobs, run first pieces to print, make program adjustments, inspect your work, interpret prints and GD&T, and take ownership of quality.

$26–$33/hour
1st and 2nd shift openings

Benefits include gainsharing, health/dental/vision coverage, 401(k), tuition reimbursement, 10 paid holidays, PTO, and safety shoe/glasses reimbursement.

Apply: https://traceamatic.com/careers/

CNC experience? We have openings in Brookfield, and these positions come with a sign-on bonus.

Trace-A-Matic is hiring:
• CNC Operators, 2nd shift
• CNC Machinists, 1st and 2nd shifts

Work on complex precision-machined components in a climate-controlled facility with weekly pay, gainsharing, an on-site medical clinic, paid holidays, and more.

CNC Operators should bring machining experience, mechanical aptitude, measuring-tool skills, and a willingness to keep learning. Experienced CNC Machinists will handle setups, first pieces, programming and edits, print/GD&T interpretation, and inspection.

Apply today: https://traceamatic.com/careers/

Titanium is unforgiving in a turning operation. The material work-hardens quickly, generates concentrated heat at the cutting edge, and produces long stringy chips that can wrap around tooling and damage a finished surface if chip control is not built into the process from the start.

For oil and gas components machined from titanium bar stock, that problem compounds fast. Wall sections are often thin relative to part length, and any heat buildup that causes even slight deflection can push a part out of tolerance before the operator catches it. Feeds and speeds have to be dialed in carefully, and high-pressure coolant is not optional.

Trace-A-Matic runs horizontal turning up to 160 in long and 35 in diameter, handling parts across a weight range from 1 lb to 15,000 lb. More on capabilities at traceamatic.com. The process knowledge around titanium, particularly tool selection and pass depth, is what keeps scrap rates from climbing on long-run parts.

How does your team approach chip control on titanium turning jobs?

The airfoil is only part of the machining problem.

Root forms, platforms, shrouds, seal features, material condition, tool access, datum strategy, and inspection requirements all have to work together.

Trace-A-Matic brings 5-axis machining, difficult-material capability, CMM inspection, and engineering support to programs where those details matter.

See the blade and vane capabilities we are equipped to evaluate:

https://www.traceamatic.com/electric-generator-parts/gas-turbine-blades/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=tam_gas_turbine_airfoils&utm_content=engineering

Hastelloy is specified for mining applications because it holds up under corrosive, high-stress conditions. That same material toughness that makes it valuable also makes it difficult to machine. It generates substantial heat at the cutting edge, and when heat builds unevenly in a part, you get movement that compounds across every subsequent pass. In vertical milling, that movement can translate into dimensional error that is hard to recover without scrapping the part or adding operations you did not plan for. Controlling heat from the start is the real work. Tool selection, pass depth, feeds and speeds, and high-pressure coolant all factor into keeping the cut stable. Trace-A-Matic operates 140-plus precision machining centers across 300,000-plus sq ft of climate-controlled space, details at traceamatic.com, and machines superalloys including Hastelloy as part of routine production. The climate-controlled environment matters more than people expect when you are holding tight tolerances on a material that wants to move. What strategies have you found most effective when machining superalloys in a production environment?

Complex airfoil work gets expensive fast when machining strategy, material behavior, inspection, and outside processes are treated as separate problems.

Trace-A-Matic is equipped to evaluate compressor blades and vanes, turbine blades or buckets, vanes or nozzles, and related airfoil components for land-based power generation.

We lay out the relevant 5-axis machining, difficult-material, CMM inspection, and program-support capabilities in one place.

If you have a drawing that needs a serious manufacturability review, start here:

https://www.traceamatic.com/electric-generator-parts/gas-turbine-blades/?utm_source=social&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=tam_gas_turbine_airfoils&utm_content=launch

Finding a shop that can actually machine a 15,000-pound forging is hard enough. Finding one that can hold tight tolerances on it, inspect it with CMM equipment, and manage the downstream special processes without handing it off to three subcontractors is a different problem entirely.

Most shops tap out on large weldments and forgings at the weight limit or the floor space. The fixturing alone eliminates a lot of candidates. What gets overlooked is that size and precision rarely travel together in the same building.

Trace-A-Matic operates 140+ machining centers across 300,000+ sq ft of climate-controlled space (traceamatic.com), which matters when you are holding geometry on a casting that weighs more than some trucks. Climate control is not incidental on large parts. Thermal variation moves metal.

Managed special processes and in-house CMM inspection mean the part does not leave the quality chain between operations.

How are you currently vetting shops for large-format work? What is the qualification step that eliminates the most candidates?

Precision manufacturing depends on people who care about doing the work right.

This Labor Day, Trace-A-Matic recognizes the machinists, engineers, technicians, inspectors, skilled tradespeople, and countless others across America whose work supports the industries our country depends on every day.

Here’s to the people who keep making, improving, and moving American manufacturing forward.

Happy Labor Day.

Finding a machine shop that can handle a 15,000-pound casting is one thing. Finding one with the floor space, lifting capacity, fixturing capability, and process controls to machine it accurately is a different problem entirely.

A lot of procurement teams learn this the hard way after a part gets quoted and then bounced back because the shop can't actually run it. Trace-A-Matic operates 140+ precision machining centers across 300,000+ square feet of climate-controlled space in Brookfield, WI and Houston, TX (traceamatic.com), specifically built around parts that exceed what most job shops can physically accommodate.

ISO 9001:2015 certification and in-house CMM inspection mean the size of the part does not change the quality expectations. Large does not have to mean loosely toleranced.

What has been your biggest challenge getting a high-mass or oversized part sourced to print?