A commercial product manufacturer faced challenges while producing steel fasteners for general manufacturing applications. They were using a 1mm micro end mill to machine the fasteners but struggled to achieve the required square interior corner. To accommodate the tool’s limitations, they had to modify the original part design, which led to part quality issues and significantly extended cycle times. Seeking a solution, the manufacturer reached out to GWS with a request to develop a strategy that would enable them to meet the original design specifications.

When reviewing this custom tooling challenge, it was clear to us that we needed to use a completely different approach from a micro end mill. Instead of continuing with the micro end mill, we introduced a custom insertable broach with a custom tool holder that allowed for multiple cutting angles, enabling the precise square interior corner to be achieved per the original design. This new process streamlined machining, reducing tool change time from 10 minutes to just 1.5 minutes and cutting cycle time by 86%, from 14 minutes to only 2 minutes. As a result, tool change costs dropped by $25,000 annually, while the reduced cycle time lowered machining costs by $250,000. Not only did these improvements meet the customer’s original request, but they also increased production capacity. Additionally, the use of replaceable inserts on the custom tool holder led to further savings in annual tooling costs. The customer was extremely satisfied with GWS Tool Group’s ability to deliver a fully customized tooling solution tailored to their needs.

Interested in finding out more information about our standard and custom tools? Consider contacting the experts who make Custom Come Standard, and let us find the perfect cutting tool for you. Just send us an email at sales@gwstoolgroup.com to get started!