mostly used in the processing of materials with short cutting chips and low cutting resistance, such as cast iron, ductile cast iron and aluminum alloy. Three-flute drills are sometimes advertised to be suitable for steel materials such as carbon steel, alloy steel and mild steel. However, with a smaller chip room geometry than 2-flute drills, the cutting thrust resistance in 3-flute drills is also greater.

Due to constraints in workpiece configuration, equipment and setup, conventional 3-flute drills often are unable to maximize both speed and precision as advertised.

​Moreover, in steel processing, the strength of the work material and viscosity are high, making chip separation and stable processing a challenge. With high thrust force and poor chip evacuation, sudden machining troubles such as tool breakage and chipping are common headaches of 3-flute drills.

To help manufacturers maximize productivity, OSG has recently introduced a new revolutionary drilling innovation – the ADO-TRS – nicknamed as the ‘Triple Revolution’ drill, for ultra-machining efficiency and stability in steel materials.

There are three major features that enable the ADO-TRS to stably process steel applications. The most notable key feature is the newly engineered R gash geometry (pat. P) as illustrated in figure 1.

The optimized R shape geometry is designed to control chip flow direction to facilitate trouble-tree chip-evacuation. With this new feature, the ADO-TRS is able to significantly improve chip separation even in steel materials by breaking them into small pieces and consistent shape.

In addition, this new geometry can reduce cutting resistance (thrust resistance), by as much as 30 percent versus conventional tooling, enabling it to outperform even 2-flute drills in high-feed processing with minimal cutting resistance.

The second key feature of the ADO-TRS is its wide chip pocket configuration.

In 3-flute drills, chips are difficult to be discharged from the center of the drill. The ADO-TRS employs a wide chip room flute geometry to improve chip ejection. Combined with the R gash specification, chips are curled for greater separation capability, which leads to smooth and stable chip evacuation.

Last but not least, the ADO-TRS is coated with OSG’s original EgiAs coating for high durability. The EgiAs coating is consist of overlapping nano-periodical layers and wear-resistance layers, engineered to suppress the propagation of cracks that are likely to occur during drilling.

​The wear-resistance layer is composed of multiple hard layers; while the nano-periodical is a combination of hard and soft layers. With a mixture of hard and soft layers, internal stress can be relieved, allowing the EgiAs coating to achieve both high wear resistance and extreme toughness to ensure stable and consistent tool life under aggressive cutting conditions.

Moreover, in the processing of SS400 using water-soluble coolant, sudden tool damage and chipping caused by tangled chips are prone to occur.

The stability in chip formation and evacuation is a key factor for achieving stable processing in mild steel SS400, which is particularly prone to chip problems.

​As illustrated in figure 4 and figure 5, the ADO-TRS demonstrates overwhelming chip separation capability and long tool life even in the processing of SS400 in comparison to the conventional 3-flute drill and 2-flute drill.

Next, figure 6 illustrates a comparison of cutting resistance when processing under the cutting condition depicted in figure 2.

As shown in figure 6, the ADO-TRS is able to reduce thrust resistance by approximately 35 percent versus conventional 3-flute drills, and generated even less overall thrust resistance when compared to a standard 2-flute carbide drill, which has one less flute and larger chip rooms. Under identical cutting condition, the ADO-TRS is able to achieve the lowest thrust resistance.

Due to high cutting resistance inherent in conventional 3-flute drills and the various constraints present in processing environment, such as the machine, workpiece geometry, work fixture, etc., conventional 3-flute drills are often unable to maximize high-feed performance and precision. The ADO-TRS, on the other hand, excels in wide range of cutting conditions, truly reflecting its versatile capability.

Founded in 2002 with the vision to revolutionize precision tooling manufacturing in India, Tecnicrafts Industries has emerged as a pioneer in producing high-quality collets, honing mandrels, sleeves, holding tools, jigs, and fixtures.

Technicrafts is imported through Platinum Tooling for North America and represented by Next Generation Tooling in much of the West Coast.   ​

At the heart of Tecnicrafts' offerings are their meticulously crafted Dead Length Collets, also known as F-Type Collets. These collets serve as indispensable holding devices for tools, raw materials, or components during various machining operations. Widely utilized on main and rear spindles of turning machines such as cam-operated lathes and CNC Swiss automatic lathes, Tecnicrafts' Dead Length Collets have become instrumental in the precision machining industry. ​

Tecnicrafts' commitment to delivering high-quality precision tooling has positioned them as a trusted partner for machining industries globally. With a diverse product range catering to various machining needs, Tecnicrafts Industries continues to set new standards in the world of precision tooling, providing solutions that empower manufacturers to achieve unparalleled accuracy and efficiency in their operations.

For personalized assistance and to explore the perfect tooling solution for your specific requirements, contact Next Generation Tooling today. Unlock the full potential of precision machining with Tecnicrafts and take your production to new heights.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

October 1 2024 – Next Generation Tooling is proud to announce its appointment as the exclusive agent for Achteck America Inc., marking the company’s official entry into the North American market. Achteck America, a leading global manufacturer of cutting tools, is known for its full range of high-performance products, including indexable and solid carbide solutions for turning, milling, drilling, and grooving.

This partnership brings Achteck America's advanced cutting tools to the Western United States, offering a new level of precision, durability, and competitive pricing to the region’s metalcutting industry.

Achteck America Inc. stands out in the market for its unique vertical integration process, where they not only source the raw materials but also develop and press all of their own carbide grades. Their Michigan-based inventory ensures fast delivery and availability across a variety of sectors.

The company’s product lineup is tailored for different materials such as steel, stainless steel, heat-resistant alloys, and aluminum, with tools optimized for general machining, Swiss-style turning, heavy-duty turning, and specialized applications like railway wheel turning.

Chris Savolainen, President of Next Generation Tooling, expressed his enthusiasm for this partnership, stating,

“These folks not only mine the raw materials but also develop and press all of their own carbide grades, which really makes them unique in our metalcutting industry. We are really excited to be a part of the launch of this product in the Western United States.”

Achteck America's cutting tool offerings include:

• Indexable turning tools for a wide range of applications, ranging from heavy-duty rail turning to aerospace materials.
• Milling inserts and cutters designed for face, shoulder, and high-feed milling with advanced insert geometries.
• Drilling solutions, featuring indexable and solid carbide drills for short and deep-hole applications.
• Grooving tools for external, internal, and face grooving across a variety of materials.

Next Generation Tooling is excited to introduce this innovative product line to manufacturers in the Western United States and looks forward to expanding Achteck America's reach in the North American market.
For more information on Achteck America’s cutting tools or Next Generation Tooling’s exclusive offerings, visit [website link].

About Achteck America Inc.
Achteck America Inc. is a global leader in the design and manufacture of cutting tools for turning, milling, drilling, and grooving applications. Their product range includes both indexable and solid carbide tools, developed for a wide array of materials and industries. Based in Michigan, Achteck America ensures fast delivery and reliable solutions tailored to the needs of North American manufacturers.

About Next Generation Tooling
Next Generation Tooling is a leading manufactures agent of advanced cutting tools and metalworking solutions, providing innovative products and services to manufacturers across the Western United States. With a focus on precision, quality, and customer service, Next Generation Tooling brings the best in cutting-edge technology to the metalworking industry.

The STP ESSENTIA provides a cost-effective solution without compromising on essential functionalities.

​For those seeking a balance between performance and budget, the ESSENTIA is a compelling choice. However, for companies with a more flexible budget, the STP MAGIS and STP FUTURA offer advanced features, with the FUTURA standing out as a top-tier solution.  

​Although the FUTURA is a step up in price, keep in mind that it's really two machines in one: a presetter and a shrink fit machine.

There are certainly other considerations that you will need to make your decision such as location of the presenter in your shop. The ESSENTIA is ideally suited to be right next to the CNC machine while the MAGIS and FUTURA are deigned for shops with tool cribs.  

Finally, how soon do you need it?  The ESSENTIA and MAGIS can ship off the shelf while the FUTURA is a special order.

At then end of the day, the choice of a SPERONI rotary toolholder presetter ultimately boils down to your unique requirements and preferences. Whether you prioritize budget-friendly efficiency, intuitive usability, or cutting-edge precision, SPERONI has a solution crafted just for you. Contact Next Generation Tooling today to explore these options further and elevate your machining precision to unprecedented heights.

Discover the latest innovations in manufacturing technology at IMTS 2024. Next Generation Tooling proudly represents industry-leading companies like ARNO, BIG DAISHOWA, Platinum Tooling Technologies, Jergens Inc., and mPower by Modern Industries.

Each of these exhibitors will showcase groundbreaking products designed to enhance precision, efficiency, and productivity in machining and manufacturing.

IMTS 2024 is set to be a showcase of innovation and technological advancements in the manufacturing industry. If you're attending, be sure to visit the booths of the companies represented by Next Generation Tooling.

These industry leaders will be displaying their latest products, offering insights and solutions that can help your operations reach new heights. Here’s what you can expect from each of these key exhibitors:

ARNO Werkzeuge USA, LLC - Visit Booth
ARNO will showcase the latest in toolholding, turning, and milling solutions. One of the highlights will be their ACS cooling system, the patented cooling system for efficient parting off, grooving and groove turning with the SA and SE grooving systems. ARNO’s products are designed to deliver precision and reliability, making them an essential addition to any shop floor looking to improve performance and reduce downtime.

BIG DAISHOWA - Visit Booth
BIG DAISHOWA is set to impress with its range of high-precision tooling solutions, including the latest in tool holders, boring tools, and measuring systems. At IMTS 2024, they will introduce new innovations in tool holder technology, designed to enhance rigidity and precision in high-speed machining. BIG DAISHOWA's products are known for their exceptional quality and durability, making their booth a must-visit for those looking to optimize their manufacturing processes.

Platinum Tooling Technologies, Inc. - Visit Booth
Platinum Tooling Technologies will be showcasing their latest advancements in live tools, angle heads, and custom tooling solutions. Their offerings are engineered to meet the most demanding applications, providing high-performance solutions that can greatly improve efficiency and productivity. At IMTS 2024, attendees can expect to see demonstrations of their latest products in action, highlighting how these tools can help reduce cycle times and increase machine flexibility.

Jergens Inc. - Visit Booth
Jergens Inc. will be exhibiting their innovative workholding and lifting solutions, including the groundbreaking Fixture-Pro® 5-Axis Quick-Change System. This system allows for faster setups and changeovers, significantly improving machine utilization and throughput. Jergens’ focus on modularity and flexibility makes their products ideal for manufacturers looking to streamline operations and enhance productivity. Be sure to explore their latest offerings at IMTS 2024.

mPower by Modern Industries - Visit Booth
mPower by Modern Industries will be presenting their latest solutions in manufacturing tooling and components. Known for their high-quality production and custom solutions, mPower is focused on delivering products that meet the exacting demands of today’s manufacturing environments. At IMTS 2024, visitors can learn about their new advancements in tool design and material technology, which are aimed at improving tool life and machining efficiency.

These companies are at the forefront of manufacturing technology, and their exhibits at IMTS 2024 will provide valuable insights and solutions for anyone looking to improve their operations. Be sure to add these booths to your show planner and take advantage of the opportunity to see these cutting-edge technologies in person.

Whether you're looking for advanced toolholding systems, workholding solutions, or custom tooling options, these companies offer the solutions you need. Visit their booths at IMTS 2024 to see these technologies in action and learn how they can transform your operations. Add these must-see exhibitors to your IMTS show planner today

by Doug Sumner, BIG DAISHOWA—Americas

Successful shops always look for ways to differentiate and innovate for competitive advantage. Cashing in on the entirety of a tool’s life with an advanced tool management system is perhaps the most effective way to do that right now.

Go with me for a minute. Think of a single tooling component’s trip through a shop in terms of a life: it’s conceived when it’s ordered from a supplier and born and finds its way to the tool crib; it grows up in the bin and finds its perfect mate when it’s assembled; it does good work on the job, cutting metal and eventually rides off into the sunset, aka the scrap bin.
RIP tool. You lived a good life.

All kidding aside, notice how little of the tool’s journey through the shop is spent actually cutting metal? As in life, one’s career is just one of many factors in a happy life. In this case, the actual time the tool is cutting accounts for a fraction of its impact on the shop.

Acquisition, inventory management, assembly, travel across the floor, wear and dispensing of a tooling component, they all happen with a certain efficiency – or inefficiency – and have a value. Shops know how much of their purchasing budget goes to tooling, but few know how much value is gained or lost while it’s in the shop.

This is where tool management systems (TMS) come in. Every company has a TMS of some sort, whether it’s the tool room manager’s chicken scratch on a printed excel sheet or wirelessly tracking components as they move across a shop and automatically managing inventory based on their usage.

Based on my travels, the chicken scratch method, or some slight variation of it, is far more common today. But things are changing. The rise of Smart Manufacturing is exposing the immense savings available while the more connected floor is making them more accessible. It’s drawing a stark distinction between reactionary chicken scratch- and proactive hyper traceability-TMS. The risk of a reactionary system is finding out the value of the tool’s journey the hard way.

Consider the following scenarios. A job makes its way from engineering and planning to the tool room. They discover they don’t have a certain insert or have just enough to start, but not to finish, and the stock sits until the insert arrives.

​That’s wasted spindle time, perhaps delayed delivery – maybe even paychecks – because of a missing insert that costs a few bucks. The other side of that coin is ordering more cutters just because the bin looks low and not having a job in the pipeline that requires them. That’s cash burning a hole in the tool shelves.

If you have an offline tool measuring system, you’ve already taken the first steps toward more efficient tool management. Sure, tool presetters reduce setup time and tooling costs by eliminating error and adding precision, but now they can also act as a shop communication hub.

Our most sophisticated, and frankly most consistently successful customers, use Speroni tool presetters equipped with software that communicates with the engineer’s CAM software to verify length, diameter, create a G-Code and post process with the exact tooling values.

​This type of arrangement is just scratching the surface. And believe it or not, suppliers have been working to get us to where we are for decades. Our Italian partner, Speroni, started working with Fiat automotive manufacturing more than 30 years ago, connecting tool rooms to the rest of the manufacturing facility.

Today, most solutions are optimized for management, often without much flexibility to adapt to what’s happening on the floor or what may happen there next year.

​Having made our name in tooling – as far down in the weeds as you can get in a metalworking operation – we’ve worked with Speroni to apply a different philosophy to connectivity and traceability to our North American customers.

Our solution, Intelligo, focuses on where everything is happening: the shop floor. Its processes are fed by using devices that recognize components, cutting edges, tool assembly, carts, baskets, etc. through wireless systems (i.e. RFID or QR/barcode) as they travel the shop.

SPERONI INTELLIGO Tool Management Solution software allows you to comprehensively organize your tool assemblies, your individual components, plus your tool jobs and kits in a central knowledge database avoiding redundant data. 

Using a scalable software structure and local workstations, Intelligo links a company’s entire tool library, active or inactive, with the CAM, planning and measuring software and displays it in a 3D graphic interface for visual reference in real time. Visibility and tracking of the floor’s activity allows a shop to proactively manage consumable inventory, consumption and assembly, preventing downtime and enhancing profitability.

You can monitor how tools wear on certain jobs and adjust. Or, if duplicate machines deliver different productivity on the same job, you can easily identify the exact tools used and find out what’s causing the discrepancy and diagnose machine or spindle issues. It’s even possible to determine a machine tool’s consumption in terms of discarded components following a particular production process. That’s not to mention the opportunity floor-up tracking and data provides to optimize tool regrinds, QA, raw material, fixturing – even the scrap bin, since it’s a profit center.

​This level of TMS may be a world away from how most manufacturers operate today, but for most it’s not that far out of reach. Installation is hands-on and cooperative, and most shops do have the fundamental infrastructure to support it.

This train isn’t stopping. The technology is here, readily available and quickly making excuses like “it costs money and doesn’t make chips” or “this is the way we’ve always done it” obsolete. Shop and process connectivity is the direction metalworking is headed and I believe a floor-up approach is the best approach.
​
Now is the most profitable time to get on board, before everyone else is. Successful shops are always looking for ways to differentiate and innovate, and cashing in on the entirety of a tool’s life with advanced TMS is perhaps the most effective way to do that right now.

Next Generation Tooling, a leader in innovative machining solutions, is pleased to announce a new partnership with ARNO USA. Under this partnership, Next Generation Tooling will represent ARNO USA’s advanced cutting tools and machining solutions in California and Nevada.

This strategic alliance is set to enhance the availability and support for ARNO USA’s high-quality products across key industrial markets in these states. Customers in California and Nevada can now benefit from the local expertise and support provided by Next Generation Tooling, ensuring they receive the most effective and latest technological advancements in tooling systems.

“Partnering with ARNO USA aligns with our commitment to providing the best machining tools and support in the industry,” said Chris Savoliainen of Next Generation Tooling. “This collaboration not only expands our product range but also strengthens our service capabilities across California and Nevada.”

ARNO USA is known for its innovation and excellence in the manufacturing of cutting tools. 

Next Generation Tooling will be organizing demonstrations across California and Nevada to showcase the comprehensive range of ARNO USA products.