One for the road

Seco Tools has spent the last few months on the road with its Cost Reduction Roadshow, helping customers navigate through the manufacturing downturn.

Key to a manufacturing company's survival during an economic downturn is making the most of available resources. Global tooling solutions provider Seco has recognised this fact and has spent the last few months on the road with its Cost Reduction Roadshow, helping customers navigate through the manufacturing downturn. Dave Tudor reports. “The main reasons behind launching a roadshow campaign were twofold,” announces Seco Tools' marketing services manager, Justin Kite. “Firstly, we wanted to unveil Square 6 – our new six sided milling insert available in three pitches and three different insert geometries for cost-effective cutting and excellent surface finishes, and secondly to show customers just how our products can be used to enhance productivity and ultimately save money.” And the company did just that. The ‘Economy Drive' hit the road in August through to October and took in over 200 visitors along the way. Comprising a 7.5 tonne truck that opened out into a mini exhibition, the truck visited 22 locations up and down the country. “We're very pleased with the results,” affirms Mr Kite. “We had a number of interactive displays on board, along with a SmartDrawer tool storage and dispensing system, a Shrinkfit machine and a team of Seco engineers and I have to say the response was very positive. We'd certainly consider doing something similar in the future.” Two's complement Seco Tools is headquartered in Fagersta, Sweden with manufacturing sites in Sweden, Germany, France, the UK, the Czech Republic, the USA and Italy. It markets its products globally through a comprehensive subsidiary and distributor network. The UK subsidiary, based in Alcester, Warwickshire, employs around 100 members of staff and has a fully functional machine shop and technology centre where it designs and manufactures customised toolholders from scratch as well as undertaking insert regrinding for specialised applications across a number of market sectors. Not surprising therefore is the fact that a large number of the people employed at the Alcester site are engineering-based product managers and applications engineers. “The business here is essentially divided into two parts that complement each other operationally,” Mr Kite enthuses. “Our bread and butter work is centred mainly around providing off the shelf tooling solutions from our extensive range of milling, turning and holemaking products, but an additional service we offer is the design and manufacture of customised toolholders for customised applications. As well as a dedicated manufacturing area, we also have three machining centres dedicated to development work and trialling new products. This provides peace of mind to the customer that the ideas on paper actually work in real life situations. “The focus however is always on enhancing productivity, quality and service,” he emphasises. “Often, for example, we can manufacture a single tool that will carry out multiple operations, providing the customer with valuable cycle time reductions. Alternatively, we can help to remove costs from existing processes and often the best solution to a particular problem is achieved through three way involvement from ourselves, the end user and the machine tool manufacturer which is why we have strong working relationships with all the major machine tool companies. Life skills With the establishment of new subsidiaries globally and the acquisition of companies such as Jabro, specialising in the manufacture of solid carbide end mills, it can be a challenging task for companies such as Seco to impose some kind of company quality ethic across the board. With this in mind, the LIFE programme (Little Improvement from Everyone) was introduced in 2008 with the goal of creating a synergy between companies within the Group. “This certainly isn't a new concept,” explains Mr Kite, “and in fact the principles are similar to the TQM programmes that were rolled out as far back as the 1980s, but for a company such as ours that is multi-faceted, it's important to ensure that everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet in terms of products, service, support and technology. “To this end, all employees have undertaken and completed LIFE training programmes that essentially focus on the ‘nuts and bolts' of sound business practice,” he says. “We encourage all employees to become actively involved in improving processes and products and again the focus is on the customer – whether internal or external.
(X Head) No compromise Spanning some 30,000 products, the Seco portfolio covers just about every aspect of the machining spectrum from milling, turning and holemaking through to the cutting of hardened materials using PCBN and PCD grade inserts. The product range certainly is diverse - Seco's range of coated and uncoated turning inserts for example comprises more than 4,000 standard inserts and over 2,000 toolholders. It's impossible to talk about Seco's insert coating technologies without mentioning Duratomic. Essentially, this is a patented coating used universally across Seco's insert range that comprises a basic aluminium oxide structure manipulated on an atomic, molecular level to provide improved mechanical and thermal properties and enhanced toughness. “Duratomic was developed to combat the compromise that machine tool operators always have to endure between cutting performance and tool life,” Mr Kite reveals. “We believe that it's possible to have both and Duratomic was developed with this in mind.” With a wide range of inserts for a myriad of applications and materials taking care of the front end, the toolholder is the vital link between spindle and the cutting tool and here Seco has its bases well and truly covered with Steadyline vibration damping shell mill holders; Monobloc solid HSK toolholders; Combimaster two piece milling cutter systems with a wide range of shank types, lengths and interchangeable cutter heads; Graflex modular toolholders; and the modular Easyshrink 20 system that achieves fast and economical shrink grip and shrink release options for all shank material types.

Industry calls With so much tooling expertise at its disposal, it's not surprising that Seco has introduced a number of complementary products to enhance its product range. Answering a call from the aerospace industry to improve the machining of difficult-to-machine alloys, the company developed Jetstream Tooling - a coolant system that delivers coolant to the optimum position close to the cutting edge, lifting the chip away from the rake face, improving chip control and tool life and enabling increased cutting data to be applied. “For coolant to be really effective it needs to remove heat quickly from the cutting zone,” Mr Kite adds. “A directed coolant flow which puts coolant precisely where it is required is much more efficient and Jetstream Tooling is so effective at removing heat from the cutting zone that the chip rapidly cools, which hardens the chip making it brittle.” Automated tool dispensing is something of a recent innovation, but Seco's SecoPoint system was originally developed back in the 1990s – probably ahead of its time. Traditionally, the management and control of tooling inventory was an absolute nightmare with as much product hidden away in the operator's toolbox as there was in the stores itself. Today, optimum productivity with minimum inventory cost is the order of the day and effective tooling management is the key to success. “Effectively, SecoPoint is an automated supply chain,” Mr Kite explains. “It can be linked to a number of cabinet systems, but probably the most popular is SmartDrawer which is simple to use yet very cost-effective. “Basically, it's a locking cabinet system linked to a controller and accessed via a swipe card or a pin number,” he elaborates. “When the operator enters the part number, the relevant drawer and compartment lights up and unlocks, allowing access to the tool or insert. The transaction is recorded, along with the operator ID, job number and machine tool so that analysis reports can be produced. When stocks get low, re-ordering can be automated via an email sent directly to the supplier or to the company buyer and this is something we can manage here on the customer's behalf if necessary.” Mr Kite is keen to point out the additional benefits of using such a system. “SecoPoint becomes invaluable when quoting for work because tooling costs can be controlled,” he points out. “Also, tools can be reground and returned to the cabinet and given priority over new tools. We've even known instances where company vehicle keys are placed in the cabinet so that issuing can be controlled.” Seco's website is also worth of mention, containing a number of useful online guides and software downloads to aid correct tool selection. Seco Tools
www.secotools.com
 

Related Articles

Steel Turning Endurance (GC4325)

Edges to rely on - In a small country in the northern hemisphere, a team of experts at Sandvik Coromant was facing the challenge of creating a grade that would last longer than ever before in the broadest possible range of steel turning applications.
9 years ago Literature
Most recent Articles

Renishaw highlights career pathways in engineering

There is not one singular blueprint that can lead to a career in the engineering industry. It offers a variety of roles, open to people from diverse backgrounds. To highlight the diversity of skills and experiences in engineering, global engineering technologies company, Renishaw, has created the ‘Employee perspectives’ series.
13 hours ago News

Login / Sign up