Cutting Technology: Production Efficiency Determines Market Competition

The influence of the cutting tool's machining efficiency should not be underestimated. Even if the machine is rotating at more than 3,000 rpm, if it is only matched with a cutting tool that withstands 1,000 rpm, the quality of the processed product will be questioned regardless of the increase in production efficiency. Therefore, at the same time as the machine platform is constantly promoted, the tool makers are also synchronizing and enriching the technology. If we want to clarify whether it is the first tool, or if the organic station first promotes the industry to advance to higher-level technologies, it is as difficult to distinguish between chicken and egg chickens. Both of them exert pressure on each other to improve quality, but ultimately they will all aim to increase production efficiency.

The tool manufacturer continuously develops special tools that combine multiple cutting functions on one tool, aiming at one-time machining. It is nothing more than simple processing procedures, saving time for tool change, and it also has good performance in workpiece precision. But at home and abroad, each tool factory has different names for the combination of the above-mentioned multi-functional special tools. Some people call it a compound tool, others call it a special tool, or classify this type of tool into a type of tool. There are many market arguments, and this article will It is called "composite cutter".

"Compound cutter" covers three major composite types

"Compound tool" covers a wide range of words, this article roughly divides the composite tool into three types: one is a combination of a variety of tool types, such as: drill reaming compound tool, drill chamfer compound tool and drill tap compound Tools, etc. This is the most easily seen and most demanding compound tool type in the market. The main design mode is the combination of the drill bit and other functions; the second is a single tool but can perform different machining types. For example, the compound turning tool can not only perform outer diameter cutting on the X-axis, but also excise the outer diameter. The inner diameter cutting, inner diameter grooving, and the use of a truncated knife to cut off the residual material, etc., to give a number of processing capabilities in a tool, the Isaac Inc. production of the Overlord knife series belongs to this type of composite tool. The last compound tool is a knife that can perform cutting work on different materials. More and more products are now combined from a variety of materials. In the past, hard materials such as steel were used to cut a tool. Soft metal, such as aluminum, uses a second knife, but at the same time as the machined workpiece gradually enters into a multi-material composite, the tool will also produce special tools that are specifically designed for composite workpieces.

Time is Money Efficiency is Competitiveness

Traditional tool makers have included compound tools in special tool products and have not mass-produced them. Instead, they have tailor-made customized products for individual customers. However, in the past two years, compound tools have begun to standardize stock preparation procedures at some tool manufacturers. Does this mean that the market demand for composite tools will gradually increase? Lin Jinsheng, a Taiwanese Isk project manager, affirmed that “taking time for money” will be the future competitiveness of manufacturers, so the processing efficiency of each plant will be faster and faster in the future, and the better the efficiency, the better the market competitiveness. The better, the compound tool can reduce the processing time for the user, increase the accuracy of the workpiece, and the demand on the market is bound to become greater and greater.

However, the stocking problem of compound cutters in the standardization process has caused many tool manufacturers to worry. Most of the composite tool designs are often developed for specific workpiece machining requirements. Different workpieces have different composite tooling counterparts. It is difficult for a tool factory to uniformly produce all of the composite tools. However, if a single workpiece has a large capacity, it should be Workpiece production can be mass-produced by using a compound tool. However, if the work-piece cannot reach the mass production operation, the number of compound tools is relatively limited. Therefore, the tool manufacturer standardizes the compound tool under a small production requirement. In the process, the risk of stocking must be high.

Multiple technology fusion is not easy

Combining multiple tool technologies is another challenge for tool manufacturers to standardize complex tooling. Liu Zhimin, Sales Manager at YAMAWA in Taiwan, stated that the combined functions of composite tools have different cutting principles and are combined with taps. For drilling tools, the tap is used for extrusion cutting. The drilling must use a certain cutting rate to have superior cutting force and chip removal rate. When the two are combined, it must be One process must yield to another process. For example, when the drill is used at the beginning, it can maintain a certain rotation speed, but when the drill is drilled to the end and the wire tapping begins to perform the tapping action, the drilling process in the front stage needs to reduce the rotation speed. Because of this, Que has a back-end tapping process, so when a tool manufacturer produces a multi-functional composite tool, it is bound to have two tool expertise Know-How to achieve the best balance between the two, and design.

The cost problem derived from the small quantity and high technology is the greatest difficulty in standardizing the compound tool. At present, the tool market in Taiwan is about NT$2.8 billion a year. Some of the tools are exported to mainland China. The actual tool market used on Taiwan's island is about 2 billion yuan, which is more than the start of the trillion-dollar machinery market. The tool market cake is small, but there are many people who eat it, both at home and abroad.

In the fierce competition, the cost becomes the key to the market procurement. Compared with the low cost of standard tools, the price of the composite tool is much higher. The customer will not necessarily choose a high-priced compound tool, not to mention the continuous improvement of the capability of the machine. The accuracy and time advantage of composite tools are gradually reduced, and it will become even weaker if the market becomes mainstream in the future.

Compound knife to the standard knife who died?

Of course, the tool factory will not be knocked down because of cost issues. In order to reduce the cost of each plant, the price will be reduced by materials, tool design, etc., for example: reducing the proportion of high-cost tungsten steel used for tool bar, design module In order to solve problems such as difficulty in uniform size, or in response to the development of a new machine, and with the spindle of a multi-spindle integrated processing machine, we developed a more innovative composite tool product, and let the composite tool reignite the market war.

How about the reverberation of the innovative composite tool in the market? Lin Fangxian, Chairman of Technology Technology Co., Ltd., said: “The compound tool is even more demanding than the general tool product.” Currently, the largest part of the global market demand for tools is still falling on the standard tool. The compound tool is just a large number of tools. Only a small fraction of the market, it is better to choose to develop composite tools with high stocking risks than to focus on the technical improvement of general tools. Liu Zhimin also stated that the current development view of the compound tool market is not as good as the development of high-speed tools in response to high-speed machinery. After all, it is difficult to develop a compound tool market, and there is no obvious improvement in the current market sales. Where does the tool go? Can composite cutters occupy the market place? I believe time and market will give the final reply.