The pressure for manufacturing to increase productivity has never been greater as the industry recovers from the effects of the pandemic and the welcome ramp up of output starts in earnest. The problem in finding solutions to the constant demands to reduce cost and speed up production is often governed by access to machining time and limitations of engineering capacity.
So, how helpful would it be if you could call in Application Engineering Support with knowhow in your specific industry to take on the task of cost reduction for you?
Tyrolit believe this is an invaluable extension to their service. From simply trying to make improvements to grinding tool specifications to looking at total process costs, from optimisation of existing grinding operations to complete new part introduction; including defining tool paths, cut strategies, dresser design, as well as programming of CNC machines and first part pass off.
Tyrolit have long been advocates of having highly experienced sales and engineering staff with knowledge of the industries in which they serve but have come to realise that the constraints on freeing up machine time and engineering support in their customers, means that despite a need to make improvements there is rarely the capacity to do so.
Pete Dufty, Tyrolit Sales Director explains “We realised that finding qualified people with the expertise and experience we needed has become increasingly difficult, but equally we could see our customers were also struggling to do everything that was required of them.” Tyrolit decided to expand their Application Engineering Team with additions of individuals within both medical and aerospace, that had real hands-on experience and knowhow at the highest level.
When combined with the right software and the latest tools Tyrolit were able to offer practical help going far beyond expert advice. Dufty explains “Customers were not only struggling to give us the time we needed on the machines they were being swallowed up with new part introduction. We made an offer to assist which was welcomed and the results were outstanding for both parties.”
Tyrolit offered to take on the task of introducing a new part which included approach angles, dresser stack design, method and cut strategy, CNC programming and on machine prove out. The result was a “right first-time” part with a cycle time significantly faster than existing processes. Application Engineer Jim Kelsey highlighted that, “Knowing the grinding tools exact capabilities allowed us to fully optimise the process whilst always staying in a safe zone with regard to part quality and wheel wear.” Additionally, in an effort to save time, Kelsey explained “New parts are often introduced by replicating existing processes with little opportunity to revisit and make necessary changes or improvements.” The danger with this approach is clear – the potential for repeating errors or failing to take advantage of improved specifications
Another recent project in Aerospace involved using Tyrolit’s Power monitoring equipment, Kelsey explained that “Over a period of weeks we were able to evaluate total process times, including the non-cut times. By effectively taking a fingerprint of the process we realised that we could programme out wasted time and make a big reduction in cycle time”. The result – a saving over a group of very expensive machines of 1200 hours per year. The added bonus, as no changes were made to the grinding parameters there was no need to requalify the part, so no lab time and no risk to part quality.
Further examples can be found in recent developments with Tyrolit’s vitrified CBN tools for the medical industry combined with recent additions to their application engineering team, which enabled a doubling of parts per wheel and a reduction in cycle of 14% giving a total saving to the customer in excess of £400,000.
Tyrolit’s intentions are clear: increased capability, increased engineering capacity and increased services, creating a closer cooperation and support to customers across the manufacturing Industry.
Tyrolit is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of bonded grinding, cutting, and dressing tools, producing 80,000 variant products. The family-owned business company founded in 1919 and a member of the Swarovski Group, has over 4500 employees and 29 production locations across the World.
