Tooling Technology Needs Full-Time Attention

The rapid rate of technological change has made it increasingly difficult to keep up with the latest advances in tooling technology. Merely keeping abreast of the sheer volume of products coming to market can prove a daunting task.

During the spring of 2005, Kerkau Manufacturing (Bay City,

"In the past, we would have several of our machinists bear the responsibility of suggesting tooling changes," explains Hal Baldauf, Kerkau president. "Because of the increasing rates of product introductions, coupled with increased sales and the training of new employees, we decided to create a full-time position. We view the addition of a full-time tooling engineer as an investment in productivity."

Kerkau has grown steadily since its founding in 1983. Sales in 2005 reached $17 million, adding to the complexity of the company's operations and challenging it to ensure that all machining processes achieve maximum efficiency. The majority of Kerkau's work consists of manufacturing flanges for the oil and gas, pulp and processing, and chemical industries.

"When I started in early 2005, we identified several key areas for improvement," says Breakey, Kerkau's tooling engineer. "Two top concerns were cutting times in drilling operations and chip control, both in boring and turning. We hadn't performed any real in-depth analysis of the tooling we were currently using, so that's where I began."

In reviewing Kerkau's drilling operations, Breakey came across a relatively new product that seemed to be achieving high performance relative to other drills in the shop. The tool was a 7/8'' (22.22-mm) diam CoroDrill 880 from Sandvik Coromant Co. (Fair Lawn, NJ). Extensive tests comparing it with three similar drills revealed that it was indeed providing much higher levels of efficiency. With these data in hand, Kerkau began testing the CoroDrill 880 on other applications.

One specific job involved a weld neck machined out of 316L stainless steel. The component required multiple holes 3/4'' (19.05-mm) in diam 1/2'' (12.7-mm) deep. Two parts at a time would be loaded into the machine on a pallet. With the previous drill, cycle time was 1 min 35 sec. By switching to the CoroDrill 880, Kerkau was able to increase feeds and speeds to reduce cycle time to 45 sec.

"On that specific job, we went from a situation where the operator spent a lot of time waiting on the machine to a situation where he really had to work to keep up with it," says Breakey. "We produce roughly 2000 of the components a week, so eliminating 50 sec from a process adds up really fast. In a single week, you're looking at saving almost 14 machine hours."

In addition to faster metal removal rates, Kerkau has discovered other benefits in the CoroDrill 880. With drills formerly used, the company found that as the tools wore down they would begin creating longer, stringier chips. With the CoroDrill 880, chip size remains consistent throughout the entire life of the tool. In addition, tool life has been increased with the new product.

"We're now using the CoroDrill 880 in the majority of our drilling applications," says Breakey. "As we've switched over, cycle times have consistently dropped, usually by between 30% and 50%. On top of that, we've seen tool life increase anywhere from 50 to 150%. The drill has increased our productivity and decreased our costs significantly."

Based on its successes, Kerkau turned to Sandvik Coromant for help in other areas. Local Sandvik Coromant representative Bob Hart and Breakey worked together to identify and capitalize on areas displaying a potential for improvement, relying on reports generated from Sandvik Coromant's Productivity Analyzer software to estimate possible time and cost savings.

On one occasion, Sandvik and Kerkau worked together to eliminate problems with chip control. Kerkau frequently works with grades 304L and 316L stainless steel, materials with high elasticity and ductility. In boring applications, operators typically had to stop the machine on every part to clear chips.

"Poor chip control was having a negative effect on our productivity," says Breakey. "We began implementing Sandvik Coromant's chipbreaker inserts and saw an immediate improvement. They have eliminated the need for our machinists to manually clear chip buildup around the part or tool, removing a significant amount of inefficiency from our boring operations."

New inserts have also increased productivity in turning operations. Kerkau was experiencing problems with a component produced out of pearlitic malleable iron for General Motors. The part was run dry, creating a harsh environment with high levels of heat. Insert edges would wear down quickly, creating problems with quality and chip control. To combat these issues, Kerkau implemented Sandvik Coromant's new 4225 grade insert for turning applications.

"With the 4225 insert, we've doubled our tool life and experienced a much higher level of performance from the tool," says Breakey. "That job runs on two machines. The success with that job has us looking at other areas where we might integrate the 4225 grade."

"The effects of having a dedicated tooling engineer can be felt throughout the whole of our operations," says Baldauf. "Over the past year, we have become a more efficient and more productive manufacturer. In today's global market, that level of constant improvement is an absolute imperative." He expects to continue its positive momentum over the coming year. Based on work accomplished so far and orders on-hand, annual sales are forecasted to increase by 30% in 2006. * Circle 225