Flatley Engineering are a company that designs, simulates and manufactures bespoke tooling. Using an impressive array of seven-axis CNC tool and cutter grinders, Flatley Engineering can produce everything from 1-off cutters to volume batches in competitively short lead-times.
Flatley Engineering invested in the Genius tool measurement system from ZOLLER UK. This has allowed them to enhance the precision, quality and consistency of their products by ensuring the accuracy of their tooling.
ZOLLER UK delivers world-leading precision of tool-setting, inspection, storage and management solutions, adding improved efficiency and value to any manufacturing process.
Project Brief:
Flatley Engineering manufacture premium tooling with the highest-level precision. They needed to ensure that their tool measurement technology matched this premium standard to ensure the accuracy and intricate detail of their products.
Flatley Engineering were looking to upgrade their tool measurement technology, and made contact with ZOLLER UK to explore their tool measurement solutions.
CEO of Flatley Engineering, Vincent O’Regan said:
“We would have traditionally used a shadowgraph to measure the tools. For its time, it was adequate but the requirements of the industries we serve have changed over the years and now require a much higher level of precision. Flatley Engineering has recently been acquired by a large OEM who are bringing in new technology so we looked into the marketplace to see if we could improve our tool measurement technology.”
The Solution:
Flatley Engineering invested in the Genius tool measurement machine from ZOLLER UK to expand and upgrade their tool measurement capabilities to achieve greater control of their product quality and accuracy.
The Genius tool measurement machine is the universal measuring machine for cutting tools. From testing of individual criteria to complete, fully automatic and operator-independent checks, it inspects parts quickly, simply and with maximum precision. With measurement results that are documented in detail and transferred to grinding machines at the click of a button, the genius saves valuable time during planning, programming and production while ensuring optimum performance and quality first-time results.
“We based our decision on a lot of factors including; ease of use, programming perspective and the capability of a machine to deliver quality products for our customers, all of which is very important. We looked at a number of different manufacturers and decided to invest with ZOLLER UK. With the ZOLLER Genius, we can not only monitor the consistency of our own tools and machines but the customer is also getting certified tooling as a result,” said Vincent.
The Benefits:
Investing in Genius tool measurement machine from ZOLLER UK has allowed Flatley Engineering to advance their product accuracy and upgrade their old machines to the latest technologies. Flatley Engineering is now able to ensure full quality, accuracy and traceability of their tooling.
Vincent explained the benefits of Flatley Engineering’s latest investments with ZOLLER UK:
“The ZOLLER Genius tool measurement machine is a key part of our manufacturing now. It has given us a distinct advantage over our competition by certifying the tools we produce for our customers and end users.
“A lot of the industries we supply cutting tools to are highly regulated. Because of these regulations, the repetition and repeatability of our products is essential. The ZOLLER Genius tool measurement machine has also been able to highlight any potential issues we might have in our machines which has been a huge plus. We are producing a high number of tools and if the second or third tool is not the same as the first, it’s a problem.
“The ZOLLER Genius tool measurement machine identifies any of these anomalies and informs us that there is a potential issue. From a service perspective, ZOLLER UK have never let us down.
“The support from their staff has been very good. There’s been no delays, no major issues and they certify the machine once a year which ensures our tools are certified for the next 12 months. Where ZOLLER is concerned, we see them playing a big part in continuing to deliver our precision manufacturing tools to our customers going forward.”
Why ZOLLER UK?
ZOLLER UK delivers world-leading precision of tool-setting, inspection, storage and management solutions, adding improved efficiency and value to any manufacturing process.
ZOLLER UK is part of the Carfulan Group who specialise in providing the most advanced manufacturing technologies available, helping customers across their five divisions to achieve optimal performance and end-product excellence.
