Save time and money with Minster’s Pattern Shop
From concept to design to finished product, get it all at Lawton Minster.
Our Minster location has an in-house pattern shop and plenty of pattern storage for all of your tooling needs.
Welcome to our Pattern Shop
“Minster has had an in-house pattern shop for many, many years,” said plant manager Steve Johnson.
The pattern shop offers customers a quick turnaround on their designs and tooling needs, as well as working with people who understand the castings themselves. “They can walk over to the foundry and see the castings,” said Johnson. “Some of the workers in the pattern shop have even worked in the foundry doing other jobs.”
At Minster, our pattern shop primarily produces wood and Styrofoam patterns with intricate designs and specifications.
The shop is filled with tools to help our expert patternmakers complete even the most intricate designs. A variety of saws, sanders, lathes and CNC machines help the pattern shop turn out high-quality patterns and tooling.
Another added bonus, when existing patterns are available, our skilled pattern makers can use our rerigging process and save you expensive pattern costs.
Pattern Shop Services and Staff
Minster’s pattern shop usually has five people working throughout the day.
Our pattern shop workers build new patterns, modify existing patterns and repair patterns and core boxes as needed.
Minster has a CNC operator that utilizes Siemens NX CAD software to operate our CNC router.
3 other workers mainly work on the building, repairing and modifying of tooling using planers, jointers, sanders, saws and much more.
“If there is any foam tooling, quick changes, quick tooling, we have those resources on site,” said Johnson. “For whatever reason there is damage to a tool, you can take care of it possibly even the same day versus having to send it off for repairs.”
Minster also has a full-time worker who we refer to as our “pattern hauler.” He transports patterns and tooling back and forth between the foundry and our pattern shop.
A Long History of Quality Castings
“We have a ton of experience here in Minster,” said Johnson. “We’ve been in the foundry industry for years and years, especially in the job shop-large casting world.”
The Minster location was founded in 1896.
Johnson credits Minster with having really tight controls on iron chemistry, sand quality, as well as high expectations of themselves.
“We have the team, we have the resources here to supply high-end castings, time and time again to our customers.”
Lawton Minster pours two grades of iron: gray iron and ductile iron. There are two production floors to handle the castings, one uses flask molding the other floor uses flaskless molds.
Minster can pour most gray or ductile iron from 200 pounds all the way up to 45,000 pounds.
Give us a call today to find out what Minster and Lawton Standard can do for you.