Case Study: High Tech Components achieves production increase from 6 to over 20 universal casing elevator slips per day with 3D Systems (GibbsCAM)

GibbsCAM Takes the Risk Out of Oil Industry Machining

High Tech Components, a Broussard, LA job shop founded by Joey LeRouge, faced a growth and cash‑flow challenge when a major oil‑industry customer asked them to produce a complex universal casing elevator slip. The part’s tapered internal radii, irregular stock and dovetail supports made traditional 2.5‑axis methods fragile and slow, CNC programming was cumbersome, and unfinished multi‑setup production left the shop with inventory but no finished parts or timely payment.

The shop adopted GibbsCAM (Basic Milling, then SolidSurfacer and Advanced Mill), modeled exact stock and tooling, and moved to four‑axis and four‑axis horizontal machining with validated toolpath simulation and collision detection. That single‑cycle, software‑driven approach turned a risky job into a repeatable process, boosting output from about six finished slips per day to over 20, shortening prove‑out time, improving cash flow, and supporting rapid company growth, new customers and expanded machining capacity.

High Tech Components

Joey LeRouge

High Tech Components