EVOLVING TOGETHER

The significance of change is nothing new. For centuries, artists, philosophers and scientists have pondered on, and spoken to, the inevitability of change and the effects it has upon us. While we all accept the concept's role in most aspects of our daily lives, a fundamental shift has occurred and the acceleration of technological progress has made change a constant, rather than an event. Because of this, companies in the manufacturing industry must evolve the very nature of their operations. More than ever before, partnerships hold the key to achieving success.

Traditionally, the relationship between cutting tool manufacturers and machine tool builders has resembled a high-tech game of leap frog. A new machine technology would be unveiled, but no available cutting tools would be able to take full advantage of its benefits. Or, conversely, a breakthrough would occur in tool design, but no existing machine tools would be capable of pushing it to its limits.

In both scenarios, the lack of communication and coordination would result in a technology being temporarily crippled by the lack of an adequate complement.

Recently, great strides have been made in cooperation between machine tool builders and cutting tool manufacturers. By working together and sharing information, the parties are developing complementary technologies in tandem. As a result, the window of lost potential has been greatly reduced or even outright eliminated.

In addition to partnerships between providers of interrelated metal-cutting products, the relationships between these companies and the endusers have become vitally important. The most obvious example of this occurs during the acquisition of a new machine. With such a broad variety of machine and tool technologies available, selecting the best solution for a particular application is an extremely daunting task. To guarantee an optimum system, a shop must consult with both machine tool builders and cutting tool providers. By bringing together the varied expertise of all three parties, the best package for the application can be determined.

To deliver solutions, together we must develop process knowledge, specific tooling and programming solutions – right from the start. For us, this includes working in collaboration with customers in our application centers where typically, cost reductions of more than 30% have been achieved when this partnership is formed at the beginning of a new process.

Manufacturers benefit most when suppliers act as partners and all parties exchange as much information as possible.

This concept is really starting to gain traction and resonate throughout American industry.

We have seen participation in our Original Tooling Services (OTS) program increase substantially on an annual basis. OTS applies a structured approach to the concept of partnership, benefiting the enduser by applying the expertise of a cutting tool supplier and machine tool builder to every step of the purchasing decision.

A similar trend has been seen with our Productivity Improvement Program (PIP) – where a team of Sandvik Coromant employees spend significant time on the shopfloor of a manufacturer's facility, gathering and analyzing an extensive amount of data.

Building partnerships within the industry grew again with the opening of another Productivity Center – this one located in Schaumburg, IL. Designed to provide training, application analysis and process improvement, the facility is equipped with machining centers from six major machine tool builders.

Offering a large assortment of dedicated tools and solutions to manufacture medical devices, our Productivity Centers help us to focus on process improvement, testing and technical support for the medical industry. Our objective is to increase productivity and reduce downtime for setups by supplying toolholders and couplings that are accurate and quick to change, as well as providing items such as tooling packages and solutions designed specifically for the production of medical components.

The U.S. medical industry continues to be strong and is expected to grow by approximately 8% in 2009. As the growth period continues, the most successful companies will be those that maximize productivity by using the latest in technological advances and that pursue initiatives for predictable and secure production processes known as 'Green Light' manufacturing. The end goal of this strategy is to increase output, reduce cycle times and reduce scrap rates. Manufacturers who embrace partnerships will maximize the amount of expertise and support at their disposal, positioning themselves to have a longterm competitive advantage.

Sandvik Coromant
Fair Lawn, NJ
cormant.sandvik.com/us