Progressive Turnings is a precision CNC machining job shop in Aurora, Illinois, machining turned parts to customer print from prototype through high volume production. The plant is at 1680 Mountain Street, Aurora, IL 60505, and the company has machined in Aurora since 1979. It is a machine shop Aurora IL engineers can drive to rather than ship to. Over 30 people run two shifts across 22,500 square feet of plant space. The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified. To start, call 630-898-3072.
A working day filmed inside the Aurora plant.
Machinists rather than buyers can go straight to current machinist openings.
Table of Contents
Inside the Aurora plant
Progressive Turnings is a job shop, which means it makes parts to customer prints rather than carrying a product line of its own. Larry and David Niels founded the company in 1979. Dave Niels is President and has held that role since February 2016. Luke Niels is Vice President.
Address: 1680 Mountain Street, Aurora, IL 60505
Phone: 630-898-3072
Email: sales@progressiveturnings.com and info@progressiveturnings.com
What we run
The shop runs over 20 CNC lathes, 7 Swiss automatics and an Okuma Genos machining center across two shifts. Turning is the core of the building. The Swiss automatics take small diameter work that would otherwise occupy a standard lathe, and the machining center covers the milled features that turned parts often carry. More equipment detail is on our machine list.
A walkthrough of the machines on the shop floor.
How we prove the part
Dimensional verification is done on site. A Zeiss Spectrum CMM handles coordinate measurement of features against the print, and Keyence image measurement covers optical measurement of features that are awkward to reach with a probe. Both sit in the same building as the machines, so a questionable feature does not leave the site to be checked.
Inspection also happens during the run rather than only at the end of it. In process inspection is what catches drift while there is still material and time to correct it, which is the difference between a corrected setup and a scrapped lot. The inspection program is described in more detail on cnc inspection.
What we machine
Parts are produced from barstock, cutoff stock, castings and forgings. The stock form changes the process, since a casting or a forging arrives with most of its shape already present and a bar does not.
Operations: inside and outside diameter turning, boring, tapping, knurling, milling, drilling, splining, broaching.
Threading: English, metric, right hand, left hand, acme, buttress and custom specifications.
Materials:
Steel: leaded and non leaded alloys
Stainless: 300 and 400 series
Aluminum: 5056, 6061, 7075 and others
Non ferrous: copper, brass and others
Plastics: all kinds
Specialty: exotic steel, nickel and aerospace alloys
Secondary and finishing: plating, anodizing, grinding, honing, tumbling, deburring, glass beading, media blasting and packaging.
The threading range matters where a print calls for something other than a standard profile. Acme and buttress forms turn up in valve and locking hardware, both of which appear in the part list below.
Part types produced include hydraulic valves, pump parts, furniture parts, locking systems and laboratory equipment parts. Further examples of precision turned parts are on the products page.
Prototype through production
Work runs from prototype through high volume production in the same building, so a part that proves out does not have to be re-sourced somewhere else in order to scale.
Kanban and stocking programs are available for customers who prefer parts released against a schedule instead of ordered one lot at a time. That turns repeat ordering into a release against an agreed schedule rather than a fresh purchase order each time.
Why a machine shop Aurora IL buyers can drive to changes the job
Proximity shortens three specific parts of the job. None of them is cost.
First article review: a first article can be examined with the print, the part and the person who ran it in the same room. An ambiguous callout gets settled in one conversation rather than across a week of email and photographs.
Problems on a running job: when something shifts mid production, a material substitution, a revised print, a feature that is not behaving, standing at the machine shortens the distance between finding the problem and fixing it.
Supplier qualification: qualification usually means seeing the plant, the process controls and the inspection equipment in person. Where that is a short drive rather than a flight, it costs a morning instead of a trip.
None of this substitutes for capability. It changes how quickly capability can be brought to bear once a job is live.
Send us your print
Send the print, the revision level, the material and the quantity, and the shop can tell you whether the part fits the equipment.
Progressive Turnings, Inc.
1680 Mountain Street, Aurora, IL 60505
630-898-3072
sales@progressiveturnings.com
info@progressiveturnings.com
You can also send us your print through the contact page.
Key Takeaways
- Progressive Turnings machines turned parts to print at 1680 Mountain Street, Aurora, IL 60505, and has machined in Aurora since 1979.
- Over 20 CNC lathes, 7 Swiss automatics and an Okuma Genos machining center run across two shifts with over 30 employees in 22,500 square feet.
- Dimensional verification is done on site with a Zeiss Spectrum CMM and Keyence image measurement, including in process inspection during the run.
- The company is ISO 9001:2015 certified.
- Proximity shortens first article review, mid job problem solving and supplier qualification travel.
- To be quoted, send the print, revision, material and quantity.
References
Quality standard and accreditation
[1] ISO 9000 family, quality management standards, from the International Organization for Standardization.
[2] Eagle Certification Group, the registrar that issued the certificate.
[3] ANSI National Accreditation Board, directory of accredited certification bodies.
[4] Certificate of registration 4008, ISO 9001:2015, valid to February 2027.