A leading automotive manufacturer was facing significant productivity and cost challenges while machining a steel ring gear, a critical component in automotive transmissions. The existing tooling setup is a replaceable drill head with indexable chamfer inserts and a separate indexable back chamfer tool. It was falling short in both performance and cost-efficiency. They were only able to produce 500 parts with their current tool, totaling almost $88k annually. At 104 seconds per part, this tool was running for a total of 9,706 hours annually, a whopping $776,480 in production cost yearly. The manufacturer urgently needed a solution to extend tool life, reduce cycle time, and lower overall production costs. 

After working with our GWS Tool Group Sales and Engineering teams, this automotive manufacturer was able to find the perfect solution for their problems, a custom step drill with top and back chamfer. This new tool doubled tool life, producing 1,000 parts per tool versus the previous 500 parts per tool. In addition to the extended tool life, they were able to cut cycle time by 8 seconds, cutting off almost 750 hours in cycle time annually, from 9,706 hours to the new 8,960 hours. By shaving these hours off production, the manufacturer saved almost $60k in machining time alone. In addition to these major savings, we were also able to reduce annual tool cost from almost $88k to just above $74k, saving 15% in tool costs annually! Between the machine time, cycle costs, and annual tooling costs, we saved this manufacturer $73,103 annually! They were so impressed by the cost savings and overall experience with GWS Tool Group, they examined their other operations to see if GWS could supply more custom solutions. 

If you’re facing similar challenges with tool life, cost, or efficiency, GWS Tool Group is ready to help. Let’s talk about how our custom solutions can unlock savings and performance for your operation. Just send us an email at sales@gwstoolgroup.com to get started!