Our headline story for the month - March 2001
'Hard Metal' Machining - We Have The Technology!
Shorter lead times, lower costs, better quality... pick any two of the three is normally a good rule of thumb, but as cutting tool and machining technology improve the ideal situation moves ever closer. The development of better, more accurate Machine Tools and the huge leaps and bounds made by Cutting Tool manufacturers are beginning to revolutionize the way people approach Mould Tool production.
The largest cost in engineering has always been, and probably
always will be, time. This is where real cost savings can be made with the
introduction of genuine 'High Speed' machining. There is, of course, always a
catch.
The initial investment in machinery and continual cost of the best
quality cutting tools is by and large prohibitive to all but the largest
Toolmaking companies, but this does not necessarily make them the best or
cheapest option. We have developed what the Prime Minister would probably call
a 'third way', using quality European CNC machine tools allied with spindle
increasers and cutting-edge CAD-CAM, not to mention our highly trained
staff.
These factors have brought us work from all sectors of
manufacturing, but large amounts from Consumer Plastics companies,
manufacturing fully-harderned tooling up to 2000Kg in weight, with individual
harderned plates weighing in excess of 800Kg. We hold the unofficial record for
the heaviest individual piece of steel ever harderned by our local heat
treatment facility, Wallworks (Bury) Heat Treatment Ltd!
The steel is then
generally machined on our Huron FX, at feed rates up to 2 metres/min.,
achieving good quality pre-polished finishes at hardness up to 56Rc. This would
have probably seemed nigh-on impossible not too many years ago, before the
advent of the high quality cutting tools we have come to accept as the
norm.
With the economic conditions not being perfect at the moment (as
many of you will have noticed!), a £100K plus investment would be a
mistake. Our long-term aim, however, is to have a first-class production
facility to rival any in Europe.
This will only be possible with the
continued support of our loyal customer base - you know who you are!
If you think this may be of benefit to your company, get in touch with us and give us a chance to quote - what have you got to lose?
This document maintained by
nick@celect-tools.co.uk.
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Copyright © 2000 Celect Tools