Thanks to increasingly capable CNC tool and cutter grinders, and software systems that streamline toolmaking while providing more predictable results, custom cutting tools arrive more quickly and are less expensive than ever before. This typically puts “custom engineered tooling solutions” squarely and almost exclusively in the domain of automotive and other high-volume manufacturers, where targets for the lowest possible tooling cost per part are second only to reducing cycle times. In these days of ever-shorter lead times and dwindling production quantities, the custom road is one that few job shops care to travel. profiling it produces big dividends in cycle time.Īnyone who’s used a custom tool will tell you that all this and more are possible, but in the same breath warn that you may need to wait weeks or even months for it to arrive, and that you should have a generous tooling budget to boot. And as any multispindle screw machine operator can attest, forming a part feature in one shot vs. In those cases where tool stations are limited, a custom tool can make the difference between completing the part in a single operation or not. Stubbing up an end mill or modifying its geometry slightly may make a machining operation more productive and predictable. Combining a center drill, drill, and counterbore into a single cutter, for example, means less time is wasted on tool changes. There are many good reasons for a shop to invest in a custom cutting tool. Here’s how to increase productivity, reduce costs, and improve part quality with a custom cutting tool solution. Photo courtesy OSG USAįor certain machining applications, off-the-shelf cutters come up short.

This step-drill from OSG is just one example of a time-saving, productivity-increasing custom cutting tool.

Cost cutters jackson township