Manufacturers often talk about a desire to take their production to the next level. But what exactly does the ‘next level’ look like?
It would most likely involve making some measurable efficiency savings, without any sacrifice on quality – the sort of environment where wastage is minimal, parts are consistently made right first time and those benefits can be passed on to the customer, leading to an expansion of the order book.
It sounds straightforward and, with an investment in the right technology, it can be.
At ZOLLER UK, we are driven by a desire to help our customers turn their good operations into great ones, setting them on the path to sustainable and long-term profitability.
We don’t have a magic wand, but we do have the most intuitive range of offline tool presetting and inspection technologies on the market – and more and more businesses are discovering the immediate and wide-reaching benefits.
Though setting tools is an essential part of any CNC machining operation, the belief that the best and most cost-effective way of doing so is via an on-machine system is a myth.
Consider this scenario: you have a high-value machine tool on the factory floor that utilises a state-of-the art laser to perform setting duties prior to cutting. No matter how accurate that setting operation is, your machine tool may not actually be cutting for 30 minutes of the day, or around 10 hours per month.
Incredibly, that’s more than 120 hours of machine tool down time each and every year.
Can you really afford for that to happen?
As well as the lost productivity issue, on-machine laser setting tends to be unreliable as it cannot validate critical tool features such as diameters, corner radii, step lengths and run-out, significantly increasing the risk of machine crashes and failures.
Time is money and, when a spindle stops turning, every lost minute has a negative impact on your bottom line. While you’re not making, you’re not selling.
ZOLLER’s offline tool presetting solutions eradicate these issues on the spot, facilitating rapid tool changeovers and ensuring there’s no need for your machines to stop working.
When tools are inspected and measured with micron precision they work to their optimum level, meaning they not only last longer but also lower maintenance costs, drive up surface finish quality and dramatically reduce non-conforming and rejected parts.
It’s not difficult to see how offline tool presetting can start saving a business money from day one, offering a return on investment in a very short period of time.
Validating production routines and having parts consistently reproduced to exact specifications allows you to focus on other aspects of your operations, giving a clear economic advantage over the competition.
As the only company in the UK dedicated exclusively to supplying tool presetting and inspection equipment, ZOLLER is unique in its ability to offer impartial, unrivalled know-how and support for every application, regardless of the size or nature of a business.
In today’s world of modern manufacturing, offline tool presetting capabilities are a must– just challenge us to prove it.