Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
ANCA machine innovation and software combine for a complete package for producing woodworking tools, reducing set-up times
By Simon Richardson, Product Manager
ANCA is well known for offering standard and special custom solutions for our customers. When ANCA designs a custom solution, we give our customers tailored and diverse options with shorter set-up times. In an increasingly challenging market, companies grinding tools are always looking at innovative products and diversifying into different sectors using existing or new machinery.
ANCA recently developed a new product which provides more flexibility and capability while enhancing the FX machine range. The product is a tooling system used on FX5 and FX7 machines which offers the ability to easily interchange between woodworking profile blades and cylindrical (shank) tools.
This means companies grinding woodworking tools can grind blade profiles and then quickly change to cylindrical shank tools, such as compression routers. In addition, companies focusing predominantly on engineering tools can consider adding woodworking blade profiles to their product portfolio.
This tooling system comes as a package. The package includes a workholding adaptor (blade chuck) to hold flat profile blades and a blade gripper head fitted to the robot loader to load woodworking blades or cylindrical tools without any mechanical changes. This means the robot head does not need to be changed. A blade gripper is used to load and unload blades and gripper fingers for loading cylindrical tools. Optional pallets are available for both blades and shank tools.
The blade chuck works with a pull stud clamping mechanism. Switching between the blade chuck and standard collet adaptor (for cylindrical tools) is done in minutes. Automatic loading and grinding of blade profiles with a smallest size of 20 x 20mm (0.78”) and largest size of 80 (3.14”) x 30mm (1.18”) is possible. This system is also retrofittable to existing FX5 and FX7 machines.
The blade chuck work holding has an adjustable insertion depth between 8 (5/16”) and 28mm (1.10”). The chuck can accommodate blades on or between 0.5 (0.019”) to 4mm (0.15”) thick using different size datum blocks. When manual loading, the chuck can hold blades up to 120mm (4.72”) long. Blades with a bevelled edge can also be supported. An air blast operates during the clamping and unclamping cycles to ensure the chuck is free of any contaminants. Digitizing of the top, side and bottom of the blade along with notches or datum features is possible. The chuck can also rotate for blades with an undercut feature, so the profile can be ground normal to the blade surface.
In addition to the tooling system for blades, ANCA has a dedicated software package for grinding varied and multiple blade profiles. The user-friendly software enables quick programming and short set-up times. The user can easily define the workholding, blank and profile or import a DXF. The blades themselves are mounted into tools used on different woodworking machinery for cutting profiles into solid wood furniture and components such as skirting boards and architraves.
When grinding blade profiles, the depth of the profile can be quite deep, and a lot of stock needs to be removed. Slice Roughing is a method of removing large amounts of stock from the blade very aggressively, meaning shorter cycle times. Slice Roughing repeatedly plunges the roughing wheel downwards into the blade from the top of the blank to the finish stock amount specified by the user. When grinding blade profiles with ANCA software, it’s possible to control the wheel pivot and relief angles along the profile which is important for blade grinding. This flexible tooling system combined with blade software, offers a complete package for producing woodworking tools.
Simon Richardson is one of ANCA’s Product Managers, looking after the technical development and commercialization of a range of machines and technology. Simon has 25 years of experience in the grinding industry, building an extensive understanding of market needs, trends and opportunities. Simon uses his intimate knowledge of ANCA products and grinding in general to offer the industry and customers a range of insights, tips and expertise to enable everyone’s ongoing success. A well-known figure amongst grinders, Simon joined ANCA in 2003 in the UK as a Sales Manager before emigrating to Australia in 2007.
For further information, please contact:
Sepideh Zandieh
PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 439 316 131
Sepideh.Zandieh@anca.com
ANCA is a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines. It was founded in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia where the company still has its global headquarters. ANCA has offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a comprehensive network of representatives and agents worldwide.
ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing precision cutting tools and components across a diverse range of competitive industries including cutting tool manufacture, automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical.
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By Duncan Thompson, ANCA Product Manager
Industrial automation is changing the way cutting tool manufacturers operate. Machines have taken on the heavy lifting at each stage of production letting workers get on with less repetitive tasks. And while automation may sound costly and complex to implement, it’s not reserved just for just big business. There are dozens of ways a small cutting tool manufacturer can embrace automation for a more efficient and more innovative factory.
What are the benefits of industrial automation?
Don’t invent; stand on the shoulder of giants
It’s true that bigger companies have more buying power. When it comes to industrial automation, they have plenty of scope to ask for tailored developments to suit very specific needs, or to make these adjustments in house. But as new technology and solutions are developed in response to these requests, the industry as a whole will benefit.
Just because a technology is off the shelf, doesn’t mean it is ‘standard’. In fact, our industry is constantly evolving as new solutions are found and applied. While their technology development may have been developed at the request of a large customer, as soon as it’s scalable it can be rolled out to suit most businesses. At ANCA this includes many of our innovations including 3D simulation software, our in-process measurement system Laser Plus, and RoboTeach, which makes robotic loaders accessible and easy to program.
The addition of laser etching on a Robot loader is another example that has increased the functionality of the grinding machine by including what would otherwise have been additional downstream steps in the process of making tools.
As a small tool manufacturer, vendors recognise that your priority is maximising your factory’s efficiency – machine uptime versus setup time. They know that you need software and accessories that will help you keep things ticking over without wasting time and money reloading materials.
How do you approach where to start?
Chances are there will be no obvious trigger when it comes to adopting industrial automation. Many smaller businesses won’t have planned to develop the level of automation they have. Some may have started only after an increase in labour and setup costs forced them to look for ways to run more smartly. But that is ok, you can build your automation solution piece by piece – as long as you have an agreed vision.
It may be as simple as being observant and seeing which steps in your production process have the greatest cost. Unlike other efficiency drives there is no harm in approaching this piecemeal. Start by attacking the area of your business that will provide you with greatest value. For instance:
Look for industrial automation solutions that reflect how you operate
At the smaller end of the tool cutting market there’s a good chance you’re producing small batch lots and changing geometry multiple times a day, rather than leaving the machine running constantly making the same tool all day.
In this world innovation is often a secondary need to maximising day-to-day productivity. For instance, look for solutions that allow the operator to step away from the machine and carry out other tasks, rather than being there all day. Automating geometry changes and your existing manual material management processes can make a real change to how much they are able to do elsewhere and help you maximise machine uptime vs setup time. Time is, after all, money.
Automate production but also consider automating processes
You may not have the business budgets to request tailored solutions, but out-of-the-box solutions are available that can be used to manage inventory, integrate with your ERP to manage job order, and even pack ready for dispatch. Many will work effectively with your existing processes, even if you have never automated them before.
Industrial automation can keep your focus on people
A small cutting tool factory relies on every working part being up to scratch – and that includes your people. Automation removes the risk of human error creating a safer working environment that’s less likely to be disrupted. Furthermore, changing government legislation is limiting how many hours employees can work. Automation is the obvious solution to maximise machine up time when people are not present.
Applying industrial automation solutions that connect you more to your customers will allow you to see in real time what they’re low on, what’s in high demand, or what’s coming up in your production that will suit their requirements. This allows you to explore other areas of production and manufacture tools knowing with confidence what your customers want.
Everyone can afford and benefit from existing industrial automation solutions
Automation can take the pain out of being a small tool shop. Your new factory of the future will be able to produce multiple kinds of tools without getting bogged down in manual operations.
We can all benefit from streamlining systems and processes. Focus on your speciality and leverage the tech that’s already out there. There are better ways for you to use your time. Grind the wheel, don’t reinvent it.
Duncan Thompson is a Product Manager at ANCA, responsible for the technical direction and commercialisation of new machine and application developments. Having been at ANCA for over 22 years, Duncan has gained intimate market and grinding application knowledge by working across a range of roles including service, application grinding, sales, special project development and marketing roles. As a fluent Japanese speaker, Duncan was based in the Japanese market for three years and retains strong ties to customers in that unique market. Today, Duncan’s motivation and passion in the Product Manager role comes from “working with customers from diverse international markets to understand their challenges and being instrumental in delivering solutions.
For further information, please contact:
Sepideh Zandieh
PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 439 316 131
Sepideh.Zandieh@anca.com
A sophisticated analytical hub provides increased intelligence on cutting tool designs to avoid costly collisions and missed calculations
ANCA’s new CIM3D V9 release of the industry-leading CIMulator3D software has an upgraded interface with fresh colors and icons and is even easier to use with intuitive functionality. The latest technology and software design has been packed into this release offering time-saving benefits and interactive visualization across the entire grinding process.
Thomson Mathew, ANCA Software Product Manager says: “This upgrade responds directly to what our customers want and need for effective tool simulation. CIM3D V9 allows for customization based on regularly-used features no matter which industry. The simulation quality of ANCA’s software is unmatched and you can simulate complete grinding sequences.”
“The offline capabilities of using the latest CIM3D version mean important background calculations are easily verified, increasing machine productivity. This not only maximizes machine time but for those working from home, CIM3D can be run independently on any computer – so it is possible to do all the programming remotely.”
“We have automated many manual steps and introduced process verification and analysis in a central hub to get improved cycle time, and better wheel and tool life. Collisions can be detected automatically and overall CIM3D V9 is more enjoyable and easier to use.”
The new software offers clearer visualization with the customizable timeline panel – effectively a central dashboard for quicker and easier tool analysis. New tool programs can be verified for size, shape, machine clearance, cycle time estimates, and more.
Chris Wagner, Tool Grind Lead at Acutec Precision Aerospace, Inc. in the U.S has been using CIM3D for 20 years and can’t imagine going back to an earlier version after trialling the latest release. He said: “CIM3D V9 is worth its weight in gold. The new look and feel is current and clean. One of the best features is progressive grinding – it gives the ability to see the exact material being removed as the wheel moves through.”
“The resolution of the graphics is far better than any previous version. Determining protrusion length, cycle time estimation, using the scroll function on a mouse to increment the position, magnification and cross-hair positioning are other great features that make using CIM3D V9 more efficient and productive.”
ANCA’s software experts are in-house ensuring the features of CIM3D are responsive, user-friendly and tailored to the cutting tool industry.
The new features save time while simulating the programmed tool path exactly as it would be ground on the machine
UPDATED LOOK AND FEEL
BENEFITS: Ease of use, improved visualization and highly intuitive design
PROGRESSIVE MATERIAL REMOVAL
BENEFITS: Allows the user to view the state of the tool at any point of the grinding timeline
CLEAR VISUALIZATION WITH THE TIMELINE PANEL
BENEFITS: Central analysis hub for quick and easy access to save time
TOOL BALANCE ANALYSIS
BENEFITS: Ability to manufacture high performance cutting tools
SAVE TIME WITH BACKGROUND CALCULATIONS
Simplifies workflow by doing calculations in the background rather than having users kick this off. This saves time and the automatic display doesn’t allow for errors that are accidentally missed. Some of the tasks calculated automatically without needing to be initiated by users are:
BENEFITS: Simplifies workflow, saves time, less likely to miss collisions and reduced waiting time
MATERIAL REMOVAL RATE
BENEFITS: MRR can be used to optimize the feedrates for better wheel life and stable process
MEASUREMENT CAPABILITIES
BENEFITS: Quick and easy measurement methods to save time
CHANGES TO THE SECTIONING PLANE DIALOGUE
BENEFITS: Flexibility to measure any geometry on the cutting tools in any plane
MACHINE MODELS AND ACCESSORIES
BENEFITS: Additional accessories for improved collision detection analysis
For further information, please contact:
Sepideh Zandieh
PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 439 316 131
Sepideh.Zandieh@anca.com
ANCA is a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines. It was founded in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia where the company still has its global headquarters. ANCA has offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a comprehensive network of representatives and agents worldwide. ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing.
ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing precision cutting tools and components across a diverse range of competitive industries including cutting tool manufacture, automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical.
ANCA website: www.anca.com
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Jeremy Bunting leverages insights gained from growing up in a hugely successful cutting tool business to build a brand new specialist company – Facet Tools
Jeremy Bunting, Managing Director of Facet Precision Tool grew up in the cutting tool industry, getting a hands-on education from a young age and then using this experience to start his own business. From laying out a brand-new manufacturing center; to shaping and promoting Facet’s reputation; to training up a high performing team who are passionate about the craft of cutting tools – Jeremy has built the foundations for success.
Jeremy begins:
I started designing my first tools at age 14 in America as part of the family business, using manual grinding as well as conventional grinding to manufacture tools. After that I moved on to the applications side – getting exposure to feeds and speeds and eventually moved to Europe. In Europe I worked for different tooling manufacturers, seeing different approaches to manufacturing and precision tooling.
I started Facet Precision Tools in 2015 primarily to service the aerospace and automotive sectors. Both these markets require special tools with distinct needs. At Facet we produce PCD, carbide cutting and coated carbide tools through distributors and direct to customers. Based in Germany we sell locally as well as to France, England and Spain. Through distributors we service Africa, Sweden, Turkey, Hungary, Austria, Italy and Mexico.
It’s challenging starting a new business. We had a market and products in mind and were in a unique position where we could decide, if these are our target markets, what machinery and equipment do we need? I considered my past experiences in the industry and how can I apply any learnings to the future. When we entered the market, I wanted to have high quality equipment, robust manufacturing processes and be producing market leading cutting tools.
Since opening we have been growing steadily, in fact last year we doubled our sales. As we expand we are looking at how we can attract more customers, consider if we need to add additional products and as many people in the industry experience – are always looking for good people.
Establishing grinding capabilities
After deciding on a shop floor blue print, we invested in a range of ANCA machines with two MX7 Linear’s, an FX7 and an EDGe as well as other equipment. We use the MX7s primarily for automotive tooling as they work well when grinding tools with larger diameters of 20, 25 and 32. We also run a lot of pocket grinding for PCD cutting tools on this model. The MX7 has a lot of horsepower that allows us to grind these tools in a very stable way. We use the FX for high volume carbide tooling. As an extremely rigid and thermally dynamic, stable machine I can rely on it to grind highly repeatable cutting tools.
On the MX7 we have an ANCA spindle speeder that allows us to achieve higher rpm. We worked with ANCA to adjust the software to be able to provide a better stable pocket and more accurate pockets in our grinding process.
On the EDGe we manufacture PCD tools. In the past couple years we have been developing PCD vein tools with our own blanks and cutting tool designs – working through and refining our processes. The EDGe has allowed us to have a high degree of accuracy when trying to grind a lot of the geometries. I found that as a process, erosion enabled the repeatability and the quality we were looking for. We also added a vision camera system on the EDGe, allowing for a quick inspection inside the machine, to get higher repeatability and better quality versus taking it out of the machine, and putting it back in.
And then there is ANCA’s 3D Simulator program. Up to 95% of the designs and problem solving are done on the simulator; testing the grinding process, reviewing and modifying before you go into a machine. It is our strongest tool to increase efficiency and reduce waste and that is a major help to our profitability. For example, carbide is extremely expensive where you can be paying from 400 euros for a 32mm standard rod.
The simulator also shows estimated grinding times which has been a great tool for us to reduce cycle times. Last time it took us, for example, 20 minutes to make this tool, but after considering a new idea or different approach we can reduce that time to 18, 17 or even 15 minutes all through experimenting in a simulated grinding environment.
We have touch probes on all the machines that allow us to easily change wheel packs, qualify the wheel and start moving quickly. It also allows us to remove human error and ensures a higher finished quality. To be able to dress and probe the wheel, picking back up where you left off without having to change the setup is very advantageous.
One of the main reasons we love the ANCA machines is because of the software. We have found it to be extremely flexible and at Facet we don’t use a lot of the standard ANCA programs and designs and instead do a lot of our work in profile editor, changing angles and profiles to meet the tool designs that we need. My Dad always said that ANCA was a software company that built a machine.
Jeremy Bunting, Managing Director of Facet Precision Tool grew up in the cutting tool industry, getting a hands-on education from a young age and then using this experience to start his own business. From laying out a brand-new manufacturing center; to shaping and promoting Facet’s reputation; to training up a high performing team who are passionate about the craft of cutting tools – Jeremy has built the foundations for success.
As we build our company we want to be known for quality. From the start we have been trying to build our reputation for offering high quality tools rather than just entering a market and throwing anything out there and seeing what sticks. We are methodical in our approach to manufacturing certain tools or entering a marketplace or approaching certain things. Even if this means we are a bit slower and more tactful.
Just as important, is our responsiveness to the customer through deliveries and application support. These are the foundation of our company. We start by listening – what does the customer want to achieve, am I understanding their needs correctly? Then I consider how the product could be improved, can we make other recommendations. We turn that request into a tool design that is checked by the customer.
In aerospace, a common misunderstanding is the need for standard tools. Tools for aerospace require different lengths, diameters and applications. There is also a high requirement for accuracy, in Europe for example, we find aerospace have applications that need to be measured to a couple of microns and use a variety of methodology to make holes in different materials. It is a challenge making a product meet quality standards while working across a range of material applications.
Building a team of craftspeople
I think working in specialty tools excites an element of craftsmanship. Every day is different, and you can take pride in your work, was it correct, was it to print? That is why we look for a person who is flexible, shows an ability to learn, grow, and absorb information.
I train everybody in my plant like they’ve never seen a grinding machine before. We invest time to build their knowledge base to understanding the manufacturing and measuring equipment. Again, partially because we’re into specials where every tool design is different, we don’t have pre-written programs.
I think one of the best characteristics of a toolmaker is an attention to detail. Often people can become over invested in the productivity side – how many parts can I get through, how fast can I get them through the line. I train my team to be focused on the quality of the tool first and productivity second. And to meet these expectations of quality you have to have a high attention to detail.
Just as important is to develop your team to have a passion for grinding. The more passion someone has for the product, the more likely they are to stay. Teaching your employee how to make a better-quality tool feeds their creativity and teaches them it is ok to have your own approach and style. At Facet we have an open dialogue with our teams of why we do the things that we do.
Trends in the market – will the electric car be the demise of the cutting tools?
If I think about what I am seeing in the market I would say there is more competition in the automotive field than there is in the aerospace field, probably because aerospace requires more project work, more support, more testing, more engagement with the customer. Automotive expects high quality tools at very high tolerances, we have reamers that have tolerances of only a couple of microns. Another focus for this industry is price.
As the use of composites in aerospace has increased so has the demand for PCD or diamond coated tools. For example, the Dreamliner or A350 or Boeing Dreamliner uses a large amount of composites. These are extremely abrasive so if you use a carbide tool to grind composite materials, initially the tool works great but the wear curve is extremely high so after a 150 holes, the amount of wear is accelerated on that tool until it becomes blunt.
This changes the dynamic of the cutting, the heat, burr creation; causing problems for the manufacturer. Whereas if you use a qualified diamond or PCD tool, you may be able to make up to 1500 holes. For a customer that means higher productivity, fewer changeovers, less inventory and a higher degree of quality for a longer period of time.
There is speculation that combustion motors will disappear and as motors disappear then the need for a lot of the cutting tools disappears. This is bringing up questions on how much electric cars will replace all other means of transportation. Personally I think there are a lot of hurdles that have to be overcome and we will see other opportunities as the market changes. I think as far as aluminum and composite manufacturing is concerned we will see them trying to go lighter to make combustion engines more efficient.
I think there will always be a need for niche and special products and that means more special cutting tools. That’s one of the reasons why we were very comfortable moving into this industry. So as materials change – if it’s more glass, carbon composites or aluminum – we’re in a good position to move with the market and respond to those changes. I have established the foundations of Facet Precision Tools to be agile with design expertise, workforce skills and manufacturing capabilities. We can and do adapt and invest in the machinery or develop our knowledge so we can meet the markets’ changing needs rather than focusing on materials.
For further information, please contact:
Sepideh Zandieh
PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 439 316 131
Sepideh.Zandieh@anca.com
ANCA is a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines. It was founded in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia where the company still has its global headquarters. ANCA has offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a comprehensive network of representatives and agents worldwide.
ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing precision cutting tools and components across a diverse range of competitive industries including cutting tool manufacture, automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical.
Continue readingUnderstanding the application and being aware of common challenges can help make a difficult operation both productive and profitable
The global drilling tools market was valued at USD 5.79 Billion in 2016 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.75%, during the forecast period, to reach USD 8.61 Billion by 2022.* Producing deep holes in an effective and efficient way is considered a challenging application. Cutting tool manufactures need to provide their customers with a product that has predictable tool life, accurate surface finish and repeatability at a good price to be competitive in the market. Thomson Mathew, ANCA Product Manager explains the different types of cutting tools for this application and how to overcome some common challenges in deep hole drilling.
Thomson Mathew starts: Deep hole drilling is a process to produce holes in metal at high depth-to diameter ratios on CNC Machines. For normal drilling processes, the length to diameter ratio will be less than five times the diameter and if the length to diameter ratio goes beyond five, the process is called deep hole drilling. This can be effective in diameters ranging from 1mm – 200mm [0.04in – 8.00 in] and will require special drills with through coolant holes to deliver high pressure coolant to evacuate chips cleanly and achieve hole tolerances and surface finish.
Some common deep hole drilling process include gun drilling, BTA drilling (Boring and Trepanning Association) and conventional carbide twist drills. All these processes have their own merits in deep hole drilling based on hole diameter and tolerances.
BTA drilling is an effective method of drilling deep holes, as it is cleaner, reliable and capable of achieving larger diameters at higher feed rates. BTA drilling is effective in holes from 20 – 200 mm [0.80 – 8.00 in], a larger size range than gun drilling and carbide twist drills.
Through coolant or internal coolant – This improves chip evacuation while cooling the cutting edge. Coolant is flushed down to the bottom of the hole, which, in turn, is pushing the chips back up toward the top. ANCA software has the ability to design and verify the coolant holes right at the design stage to avoid coolant hole breakage into flutes and eliminating scrap.
For further information, please visit:
https://machines.anca.com/Contact
ANCA is a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines. It was founded in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia where the company still has its global headquarters. ANCA has offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a comprehensive network of representatives and agents worldwide.
ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing precision cutting tools and components across a diverse range of competitive industries including cutting tool manufacture, automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical.
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ANCA is a partner to the NOTUS Emergency Ventilator Program, a Grey Innovation-led initiative supported by the Victorian Government and Advanced Manufacturing Growth Centre (AMGC) to manufacture and assemble components of ventilators
Coming to the aid of a medical system crushed world-wide by the COVID-19 pandemic, ANCA has joined an important consortium to rapidly manufacture invasive ventilators within Australia. This initiative directly addresses the critical supply of mechanical ventilation equipment to support COVID-19 patients requiring ventilation to survive. Banding together with other Australian manufacturing businesses, the consortium can harness various industry capabilities to make more ventilators sooner.
Building on over 45 years of innovation, ANCA has taken its industry know-how to pivot to COVID-19 related manufacturing to support national efforts to produce more ventilators. ANCA’s dedicated project team will draw on the skills and experience of engineers and manufacturing production teams to support this venture while maintaining business-as-usual production, service and support for its global customers.
Co-founder and managing director, Pat Boland said: “ANCA is an advanced manufacturer that supplies to a wide range of industries, a key one being the medical industry. In fact, ANCA has been classified in the U.S. as an essential industry because so many of our customers are manufacturing medical components.”
ANCA is an Australian manufacturer of CNC machines that produce quality precision cutting tools. Their experience in advanced manufacturing means they can guarantee a micron precision, a capability which means the company could pivot and utilise its machine shop to manufacture parts for the ventilators. An Australian-based company, ANCA exports 98% of their product and boasts a global network to service global customers. Fully Australian and privately owned, ANCA machines have the capacity to machine components in brass, aluminium, plastic and steel and has skilled assembly capabilities.
Pat adds: “ANCA is Melbourne based, and we are very excited by the prospect of being involved with a home grown project and helping make a contribution to the manufacturing industry; making ventilator components and sub-assemblies to support urgent medical requirements.”
Around the world it is predicted that total demand for ventilators could run into the tens of thousands, with existing manufacturers unable to meet demand.
“This is a global emergency and in my view it is incumbent on every individual in every organization to do everything they can to help deal with it. And in the case of ANCA, we have capabilities that are a good match and it’s the right thing to do. We are very good at manufacturing the kind of parts that are needed for ventilators and it is a really great way for us as an organization to give something back to the community,” said ANCA Group CEO, Chris Hegarty.
Chris continued: “ANCA is a global company, but while we do have some resources offshore for manufacturing, most of our engineering is in Australia and a significant proportion of our manufacturing capabilities are here as well; so that’s why we are able to help.”
With production already in progress to meet tight timeframes; ANCA has hit the ground running with dedicated machinists willingly working weekends and over the Easter break to make parts and help combat coronavirus.
Production Operations manager, Mark Patman explains: “With an extremely tight timeframe, we’ve jumped in and started manufacturing the parts; it’s a team effort across the business to get it done. As a well-established global business, a lot of the processes required to deliver this type of project are already in place at ANCA. We can leverage off all our systems to be able to deliver the project.”
ANCA is utilizing a cross-functional team comprising manufacturing, supply chain, project management, stores logistics, and safety to support this crucial work.
Demonstrating agility in moving from machine tools to ventilators ANCA already has a working relationship with the AMGC and is pleased to be collaborating with Grey Innovation to ensure that Australia does not have a shortfall in ventilators, critical for our COVID-19 response. Answering the call from the Australian Government, rapid production will continue to supply contracts and contribute to the coronavirus crisis strategy.
For further information, please contact:
Sepideh Zandieh
Acting PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 439 316 131
Sepideh.Zandieh@anca.com
ANCA is a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines. It was founded in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia where the company still has its global headquarters. ANCA has offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a comprehensive network of representatives and agents worldwide.
ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing precision cutting tools and components across a diverse range of competitive industries including cutting tool manufacture, automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical.
Continue readingAs an industry #ANCATooloftheYear celebrates the knowledge and imagination of cutting tool craftsmen, creating tools with the perfect geometry, profile, and finish that shape and build our world everyday.
KV Tooling took out the coveted first place in ANCA’s industry first competition, ‘ANCA Tool of the Year’. The cutting tool industry has cultivated and refined their craft over the years to design beautiful tools, applying science to achieve a sub-micron surface finish and superior cutting performance.
Pat Boland, ANCA Co-founder said “All finalists were of a very high standard and demonstrated a deep understanding for tool geometry as well as taking full use of ANCA’s software to design unique and special cutting tools. We congratulate the winner KV Tooling, runner up Eshed Tools and Zakłady Mechaniczne Kazimieruk who we gave a special creativity award for daring Bat Man design.”
Brian Beland, President at KV Tooling Systems said on winning the award: “Competing with world class tool grinding shops from around the world with same grinding machines and winning – regardless of the size of the shop – is something we are particularly proud of.”
“Our entry was a very complex tool with many features incorporated into one tool. We designed the cutting tool to satisfy a customer’s problem, where our one tool replaced a machining requirement that previously required six tools. The customer was very happy with the production gains and for us to submit to ANCA Tool of The Year. We believe winning the competition makes our company more marketable and will give us great exposure and hopefully expand our customer base,” concluded Brian.
Eshed Tools entered the competition to share their special tool manufacturing skill set with ANCA users. Shmulik Arbel, Production Manager commented that they were proud of their expertise that means they can “produce special geometries that are difficult to achieve and save our clients expensive production time.”
Reflecting on coming runners up Shmulik continued, “Taking out this prize creates a great opportunity for global exposure through the Tool of the Year competition. For us ESHED tools as a small and growing tool manufacturer, world wide recognition is important and will help us expand beyond the local market.”
Zakłady Mechaniczne Kazimieruk on winning the ‘Most Creative Tool’ said: “We thought outside the box and were motivated to inspire the grinding community with our entry. During everyday work our team make a lot of customized tools so we wanted to make something fresh and unique – even to us. Furthermore, entering was a great test for our grinding skills. We relished the opportunity of seeing others craftmanship and the entries in the tool of the year competition demonstrated to us the range and type of cutting tools that are possible.”
The competition was based on the passion and the craft of tool making and celebrate our highly skilled tool grinding community. Watch the live announcement of winners at EMO 2019:
Winners
Judging Panel
The top five tools were judged on the following criteria:
For further information, please visit:
https://machines.anca.com/Contact
ANCA is a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines. It was founded in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia where the company still has its global headquarters. ANCA has offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a comprehensive network of representatives and agents worldwide.
ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing precision cutting tools and components across a diverse range of competitive industries including cutting tool manufacture, automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical.
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Visit ANCA at EASTEC at booth 1244 to learn more about how our world-first technology developments have helped reduce production costs by 50% through lights out manufacturing
From 3D simulation software to LaserPlus, an in-process measurement system, to RoboTeach, which makes robotic loaders accessible and easy to program – ANCA has been building a tool box of technology for our customers to reap the benefits of automation and Industry 4.0.
Visit us at Booth 1244 and learn more about how ANCA is enabling manufacturers to run ‘lights out’ and download our practical guide on how to build a Factory of the Future.
Thomson Mathew, Software Product Manager says: “Get a live demo of the soon to be released ToolRoom RN34 software and learn how it specializes in complex cutting tool geometries for the aerospace, die mould and power generation industry.”
ANCA’s latest ToolRoom RN 34 software release focuses on manufacturing the most complex tool geometries with a perfect balance. Visitors can get a demo of the endmill cycles for ballnose and corner radius, tool balancing and next generation fluting cycles.
Also at the show will be ANCA’s Management Suite, which either on the premise or in the cloud is a game changer for the CNC grinding industry. It provides customers the technology to monitor the performance of their machines no matter where they are in the world. The new software also enables companies to run smart factories by providing live production information to make data-based decisions on operational improvements. Also launching soon is a new USB WiFi dongle that will add seamless connectivity to machine users.
Email us at marketing@anca.com to book a free demo at EASTEC 2019 to see ANCA’s latest ToolRoom version or our Management Suite software.
Ideal for light manufacturing, regrinding and full production – see the FX7 Linear at EASTEC
For customers that require increased flexibility or more spindle power, or increased automation capacity that a robot can provide, the FX7 Linear offers these. The FX7 Linear offers a wide range of options for those looking to increase productivity and accuracy. Available as an option is the AR300 robot loader to increase efficiency by automating repetitive manual tasks.
Features include:
Embrace automation with ANCA’s AR300 loader
With over 70% of ANCA customers buying machines with robotic functionality, it’s fair to say the age of the robots has come. Far from a nice-to-have add on, many CNC machines now come with operator panels that provide in-built control over both the grinding software and the robotics function, opening the door to greater automation efficiencies.
At ANCA we provide a complete solution to our customers, designing and manufacturing almost all our technology in-house. As part of this we developed our own low-cost solution for tool loading.
The 3-axes ANCA robot has a capacity of 380 tools and accommodates tool sizes up to Ø20mm (Ø3/4”) x 150mm (6”) long. The AR300 loader is contained within the compact FX Linear machine footprint, so there is no need for extra floorspace. In addition, there is no need to change gripper fingers between batches, which further maximizes productivity.
Utilizing the latest control technology from ANCA Motion, the AR300 loader is an excellent value-for-money auto tool loading solution for the FX5 Linear and FX7 Linear two-wheel changer machines. The loader provides quick tool loading, as the tool is passed directly from the pallet to the collet in a single gripping action.
For further information, please contact:
Sepideh Zandieh
PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 439 316 131
Sepideh.Zandieh@anca.com
ANCA is a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines. It was founded in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia where the company still has its global headquarters. ANCA has offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a comprehensive network of representatives and agents worldwide.
ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing precision cutting tools and components across a diverse range of competitive industries including cutting tool manufacture, automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical.
Continue reading