Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Contact us today:
(847) 934-4500
tdaro@bernardandcompany.com
Two AS/AR systems leaders join forces
The majority shareholder of Fehr Lagerlogistik AG in Winterthur, Switzerland, today announced the acquisition of Matter srl in Italy. Both companies are global leaders in AS/AR systems for intralogistics in a variety of metal and other market segments, from mills to service centers, large production companies to job shops. According to majority shareholder CEO Thomas Lehner of Fehr, “We see this acquisition representing a new day in AS/AR for industry. Together, we can offer a comprehensive range of equipment and services to the market.” The acquisition was finalized between the company management teams on October 31, 2024.
Fehr, founded in Switzerland in 1949 by Hans Fehr, is today owned by the Lehner family. From warehousing logistics, through automation and special handling functions, the Fehr team of experts ensures a smooth movement of materials from stainless steel, tool steel, tube & pipe, aluminum, plastic or wood and other specialty materials handling needs, for its customers. Fehr systems are available in various configurations and offer robotic materials handling, automated sheet and long product picking, robotic saw cells and laser-guided loading/unloading.
Fehr operates numerous production facilities and warehouses worldwide. The company’s honeycomb system is considered one of the fastest AS/AR systems in the market for large quantities. Fehr Warehouse Solutions in Charlotte, North Carolina is the North American base of operations for the company.
Likewise, Matter, founded in Bibbiano, Italy in 1992, specializes in the design and installation of technically advanced, vertical intralogistics solutions for the steel industry, especially for bars, tubes, billets, sheets, dies and components handling with vertical storage. The company is fully integrated in its engineering, software design, industrial automation, full fabrication and system integration. It supplies the industry its MATTER PRO series of customized systems for large quantity handling, as well as its popular MATT BOX modular storage systems for smaller quantities, aimed at eliminating outside materials storage for the job shop and contract manufacturers. As Giuseppe Rotondi, CEO at Matter, notes, “We see the synergy of this relationship as a great opportunity to serve both our markets with a more comprehensive suite of equipment and services.” Matter USA is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company counts major U.S. metal service centers, manufacturing operations and numerous job shops among its diverse customer base.
Both companies provide fully integrated and application-specific materials handling solutions with state-of-the-art material management interface, data communications and automatic transport devices. Furthermore, both companies work daily on projects for existing and greenfield locations.
Consummating the acquisition were Marcel and Thomas Lehner, while the Matter management team comprised Raffaele Fiore and CEO Giuseppe Rotondi. The Lehner family obtained full ownership of Matter.
Going forward, plans include the maintenance of both brands in the market, according to company sources.
For more information, please contact:
FEHR WAREHOUSE SOLUTIONS
4801 Chastain Avenue, Suite 140
Charlotte, NC 28217
Phone: 704-666-8448
Attention: David Veldung, President
www.fehr.net
The competition to win ANCA’s annual Tool of the Year contest is fierce. So it’s no surprise that last year’s top contenders were team efforts. You could say the same thing about the entry from ARCH Cutting Tools in Cornish, Maine. It’s a platoon of cutting features they called “The Utilitarian.” Like many of the tools the outfit produces for their demanding client base, The Utilitarian can eliminate a host of what would otherwise be separate cutting tools. It can accomplish both plunge and side milling, plus multi-directional milling. It can cut a groove, thanks to a back trepan feature. It can add a back chamfer. And it’s concave end can create a convex ball. With an eye toward real-world practicality, the tool also features chip breakers to aid chip evacuation, corner radii to prevent chipping, and cylindrical margins to enable the various milling functions.
How do you build such a beast? It started with 30-year veteran, Pete Chapman, in engineering. Chapman has spent most of his career programming WALTER machines, and only recently got involved with ANCA machines. “I’d never seen this version of ANCA’s iGrind software until a year ago,“ he explained, “and I wanted to see what it was capable of. I poked around to find things I hadn’t used before, thinking someday someone is going to want to have a tool that does X, and we are going to have to figure it out. We’re better off learning in advance.” So, Chapman piled on feature after feature, testing each with ANCA’s 3D simulation to confirm that the machine could actually move the wheels through the carbide to grind the desired geometries.
From there, Steve Hutchins, a 28-year vet, used ANCA ToolDraft software to convert Chapman’s simulation into tool prints for the production floor. Hutchins praised the software, saying it’s easy to import multiple views of the tool and then add tolerances to each feature to guide the operators. Ordinarily, he’d also use ToolDraft to add images of the required wheels, along with their specifications. But he didn’t do that in this case because they planned to make just a few tools for the contest.
The tool has a 1” shank diameter and multiple steps ranging down to ¼” in diameter. So they opted to grind the OD on their new ANCA CPX pinch/peel grinder, operated by new team member, Jacob Hart. As Hutchins put it, “Jake’s only been here one year, and he can grind the most complex profiles there are, with tight tolerances and excellent finishes.” Hart modestly credited the CPX, saying it’s “very user friendly, and the repeatability is better than anything else I’ve heard about from more experienced grinders.” It was also the first time the facility used the machine for tools larger than ⅞” in diameter, Hutchins added.
After this prep work, Jake’s younger brother Josh Hart took over. Josh Hart has been with the company for 4 years, and used an ANCA MX7 Linear for the final 5-axis grind, including some spin grinding of the margins and the face of the trepan areas. In fact, with the exception of the major ODs ground on the CPX, all the complex geometries of The Utilitarian were ground on the MX in one shot, said Hart. “I used six different wheel packs to make the tool. Fluting alone was two wheels. A 30 degree for the smaller diameter and a 10 degree for the bigger back-lobe. There were two different profiles in the center section, so I needed a front facing and a back facing 12V9. I used the front facing 12V9 to get into back concave profile. Plus, there’s an 11V9, a chip breaker wheel, a cup wheel, and a gash wheel.”
Hart confesses that he broke the trepan off during the first grind, because he hadn’t yet dialed in the wheel speeds. “But it was perfect from there out.” He ground 4 tools, which Hutchins then inspected on a Zoller Genius using a program written by Seth Tillson, who’s been with the company about 7 years. All tools met the design tolerances of 0.0002” (5 µm) on the diameters and ±0.0005 to 0.001” (12.7-25.4 µm) on the profile sections, reported Hutchins. “The fact that the second tool was nearly perfect shows how good the simulation software is now.” He added that going from a simulation to a real tool accurate within 2 tenths is now routine at ARCH Cutting Tools.
Interestingly, they neither balanced the wheels nor used particularly fine grits to achieve the desired surface finish. Hutchins explained that customers have been demanding ever better surface finishes for about 5 years. “At first we were buying finer finish wheels and slowing programs way down. But ANCA’s new linear motor technology instantly makes it twice as easy to maintain fine finishes, due to the absence of lead screws and ball nuts. I’m not saying it’s easy. But you don’t have to buy polishing wheels and go back through your flutes, and so forth. You get a cherry finish out of the gate with the new machinery.”
The Maine team won the inaugural Tool of the Year competition back in 2018 (when they were Contour360). That tool made a splash in the market, recounted General Manager Chris Karcher. Naturally, they take the amazing 2023 Utilitarian on sales calls as well, he adds. “But it’s not the big wow factor you might expect, because we now make many such special tools, including staggered dovetail cutters and chamber reamers for the firearms industry.” In short, the “village” at ARCH Cutting Tools in Cornish, Maine has learned how to make the extraordinary, ordinary.
For further information, please contact:
Amanda Bakun
Marketing & Communications Manager – Americas
248-497-1168
amanda.bakun@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, Korea 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.
E-Z LOK, a leading manufacturer and master distributor of threaded inserts for metal, plastic and wood has purchased a LOCTITE® machine.
According to Director of Sales & Marketing, Kyle Lindsly-Roach, “We decided several years ago that bringing LOCTITE® application in-house would allow us to more efficiently and cost effectively apply the coating.” E-Z LOK purchased the machine nine months ago. It applies LOCTITE® to the external threads of the solid wall inserts, which proceed through a curing oven. Afterwards, the inserts are ready to use.
Having the machine at E-Z LOK’s Gardena, California headquarters, brings several benefits. Not only does the company save time by no longer using outside processers but they can apply the LOCTITE® in a semi-automated fashion, thus increasing their throughput.
Discussing its importance, Lindsly-Roach said, “LOCTITE® is an integral part of our company’s hallmark E-Z LOK inserts for metal, as it is this adhesive that holds the insert in place once installed.”
For more information, please contact:
Kyle Lindsly-Roach, Director of Sales & Marketing
E-Z LOK
240 E. Rosecrans Ave
Gardena, CA 90248
USA
Phone: 310-323-5613 x221
klindsly@ezlok.com
www.ezlok.com
E-Z LOK is a leading manufacturer and master distributor of threaded inserts for metal, plastic and wood. Inserts for metal include solid wall and helical wire-thread inserts, while inserts for plastic feature press-in and ultrasonic/heat stake designs. Those for wood are die-cast zinc alloy in hex drives for softwood and brass knife threads for hardwood. A variety of kits are available and feature installation tools, drill bits etc.
E-Z LOK is a third-generation family owned and operated company. Founded in 1956, it primarily sells North American OEM’s, end users and the DIY market through local, regional and national industrial distributors.
Guill Tool, the global leader in extrusion tooling, has announced its 10-day program. This program applies to eligible tips and dies that will be shipped within 10 business days of receiving the purchase order from the customer.
The company’s quality precision tips and dies have been manufactured in the U.S. for 62 years. All Guill extrusion tools are produced using certified and documented quality steel material specifically qualified for the polymer to be extruded. Furthermore, Guill designs tips and dies for any application the customer needs. These feature multi-lumen, stripe, multiple stripe, wire and cable, hose, pipe, tube, fiber optic, blown film, corrugated tube and profile. Dies include face seal, shouldered, snap together, floating, die plates, interchangeable die plate and custom dies. Available tips include single and multi-lumen, threaded style, snap together, fixed center shoulder, profile, tapered style and custom.
To find out which tools are eligible for the program, check with any sales representative. For all other parts, company personnel will review the customer’s drawing to determine if it is eligible for the program.
Eligible tips and dies for this program cannot be plated and must have a diameter less than 1.5” and a length less than 4.75.”
Guill proudly manufactures its products in the U.S. under the quality standards of ISO 9001:2015 and AS9100:2016.
For more details, visit www.guill.com/tooling-cell
For more information, please contact:
Tom Baldock, Sales Manager, Extrusion
Guill Tool & Engineering
10 Pike Street
West Warwick, RI 02893
USA
Phone: 401-465-5526
tbaldock@guill.com
Pat McCluskey’s machine design and build experience at ANCA has fuelled manufacturing exports for Australia for half a century
For a half-century, ANCA has made the machines that make the tools that make the world go around.
One half of its founding pair, Pat McCluskey, has designed many grinding machine tools in that time.
He says that two things have remained focal when designing a machine: the customer and their expectations, and the manufactured cost.
It is never the result of a whim. It always follows information fed back through a two-way communication process on customer challenges, and meticulous market research, which is then presented to Pat’s team. Then the design gets underway.
If it sounds straightforward, it never is.
“To design a completely new machine that nobody has seen before is a complex task,” explains McCluskey.
ANCA tool and cutter grinding machines are underpinned by world-leading engineering and skills so specialized they often have to be fostered in-house. Their approach to innovation includes machines, controls, software and related accessories such as robots, and their vertical alignment has kept them ahead in a challenging field where there are few serious rivals.
A selection of world firsts over 50 years includes a probe for digitizing tools, first modem for support and diagnostics in a machine, and the first full and true 3D simulation of the grinding process.
Progress from top to bottom
“For some reason we seem to be the only grinding machine manufacturer for tool grinding that uses a polymer concrete base on their machine,” says McCluskey of one thing done differently.
First introduced in the TG7 machine, released in 1990, polymer concrete provides a very stable base for machines, damping out any vibrations. The ability to absorb heat minimizes any expansion and contraction which might sacrifice grinding accuracy.
McCluskey looked into what’s now called ANCAcrete in the 1980s as an alternative to cast iron, and a way to avoid dependency on foundry providers.
Self-reliance is crucial to the company’s dominance of its market, according to McCluskey.
Perhaps most important is development of its CNC and servo systems, as well as software, in-house. Competitors are dependent on pre-packaged CNC controls, and ANCA is the only tool grinding machine builder that makes its own control.
“So the Germans and the Swiss tend to buy the Japanese or the German CNC and try their best to adapt it to their machine,” explains McCluskey.
“And it’s a clumsy fit and they don’t do the in-depth development in the software that we do because they can’t get access to the software… it’s all locked off to them.”
Notable recent innovations are credited to Dr. Kotler Tee, Technical Leader – Servo Control at ANCA.
One innovation has enabled servo system resolution of a single nanometre and is being rolled out to new machines in the ULTRA platform
“He rewrote the servo algorithms in the servo drives in the CNC to increase the resolution,” says McCluskey.
“To explain this achievement in layman’s terms, take a 300 millimeter ruler and look at a pair of the smallest lines; the distance is 1 millimeter.
“Now divide that distance by 1,000, now you have a distance of 1 micron. In your mind, now divide that micron by 1,000, the result is now equal to 1 nanometre.”
“Designing the ULTRA platform has been a design process from the ground up bringing sophisticated elements to the art of grinding.”
Others include breakthrough features available on the newly released MicroX ULTRA, a six-axis tool grinder that premiered at EMO in 2023.
Through the years
The first four years of ANCA involved retrofitting CNC controls to other people’s equipment, such as special purpose machinery, lathes and mills.
What McCluskey estimates was the most significant non-technical development came in 1978.
Their major OEM at the time, Laser Lab, set up in Detroit, with ANCA sending young engineer John Roberts to work at the facility.
Roberts took it upon himself to book a booth at a trade show and display an ANCA CNC. According to Roberts, there was a crowd at the booth and significant interest, and the suggestion that ANCA make a CNC tool grinder to improve on the less-than-spectacular machines available at the time.
“The die was cast,” McCluskey says.
A further important non-technical development was the Australian recession in 1982.
“We didn’t want to continue to sell in Australia because of the ups and downs of the markets; we wanted to cover ourselves,” he adds.
“And the American market seemed to be the market for us, and we only needed a small percentage of that market and that was enough – more than what we could handle. And we got it.”
“So if we hadn’t made that decision, we’d have gone bust.”
50 years later, 98% of revenues are from exports, with customers in over 45 countries.
ANCA employs over 1,200 worldwide, with offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Korea, Brazil, Mexico, Italy, Türkiye, and the USA.
While some production occurs in Thailand and Taiwan, the heart of the company, its headquarters and innovation and manufacturing base – remains in the Melbourne suburb of Bayswater North.
Nearly a tenth of revenues are spent on R&D.
“ANCA is my life and I’m proud to be celebrating its 50th anniversary and that we have been able to build the company to the size that it is and with world recognition,” adds McCluskey.
The opportunity for engineers to work hard on complicated, world-leading, meaningful problems goes back to the company’s roots.
“I think it’s because Pat (Boland – ANCA co-founder) and I had to work so bloody hard in the beginning when we almost went broke and we’ve continued to do nothing but work hard like that ever since,” he says.
“And the people who work with us get a hell of a buzz out of working hard too.”
Staying sharp and skilled up
There is something of an “open university” nature to ANCA, believes McCluskey.
It attracts a lot of bright young people who are motivated by technical challenges more than money, and in seeing their work embodied in a physical product (which they can’t always do at a university.)
“At university they can study theory as long as they want, but at the end of that theory, they move on to something else,” suggests McCluskey.
“Whereas here at the end of their theory, they’ve got a new machine sitting on the floor and they’ve written the software for it, or they’ve written the code for the display unit.”
Attracting clever engineering graduates has not been a problem, he adds,
“It doesn’t take long for a group of students at a technical university to learn about ANCA. We don’t have to tell them, they learn by talking amongst themselves and it’s a great place for them to work,” McCluskey says.
“They get great pay, they get well looked after, and above all, they get respected by their peers, they get respected by the company owners. They don’t get that working for a big corporate.”
As the only organization in Australia that manufactures machine tools, and with a demand for very high-level assembly workers, the only real option for finding suitably skilled tradespeople is to train them in-house.
Another feature of ANCA is upward mobility for those who have apprenticed, with many going on to senior roles. When they move up or out, they must be replaced.
“So you train these guys to work in the high-precision assembly shop, but a few years later you find that they’re overseas somewhere, then they’ve got to be replaced. So there’s a continuous need for them,” McCluskey explains.
“We can’t send them to the technical colleges because they don’t have a program to train machine tool fitting. And you can go and look at other companies, but there isn’t any other company like ANCA.”
ANCA has been taking on apprentices and formalized its program in 2011. McCluskey wrote the original course material.
“I was reasonably happy when I found out that we’d have to create our own apprentice training school,” he recalls.
“Because it was something in the back of my mind that I had always wanted to do anyway.”
McCluskey began his career with an apprenticeship at the Commonwealth Department of Supply, where he met ANCA co-founder Pat Boland (then a cadet engineer at University of Melbourne) in 1968.
He is happy with the results of the company’s program and its ability to both create niche skillsets at ANCA as well as interesting futures for young employees.
“People say that the young kids of today are pretty useless. Well, I’d say they’re not. I’d say if you’re given the right kind of training, the right kind of opportunity, you’ll get the best out of them,” McCluskey says.
“One guy this year finished his time, got his indentures released at the last presentation night, and two nights later he was on a plane to America. He’s going to work in the American office in Detroit. What an opportunity for a kid!”
For media inquiries or more information, please contact:
Sepideh Zandieh
Acting Group Communications Manager
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, Korea, Türkiye and Italy 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.
E-Z LOK, a leading manufacturer and master distributor of threaded inserts for metal, plastic and wood, recently attended the Specialty Tools & Fasteners Distributors Association (STAFDA) convention, November 10-12, in Nashville, Tennessee. Bringing together industrial supply chain and construction leaders, the yearly convention connects members who participate in educational programs and seminars. The trade show attracts leading manufacturing, distribution and representative agencies within the industry.
The company exhibited a variety of inserts for metal, wood and plastic, as well as all of the accompanying kits for these inserts. Given that STAFDA is a member-only show and the only one that some E-Z LOK customers attend, the products are very niche and not often used.
Kyle Lindsly-Roach, Director of Sales & Marketing, was pleased with the show. “Overall, the show was good, although booth traffic was down compared to last year. However, we did have some good conversations, and several high-quality connections were made.”
Regarding his expectations for next year, Lindsly-Roach said, “We hope the next show continues to bring opportunities for us to connect with current and potential distributors for our products.”
For more information, please contact:
Kyle Lindsly-Roach, Director of Sales & Marketing
E-Z LOK
240 E. Rosecrans Ave
Gardena, CA 90248
USA
Phone: 310-323-5613 x221
klindsly@ezlok.com
www.ezlok.com
E-Z LOK is a leading manufacturer and master distributor of threaded inserts for metal, plastic and wood. Inserts for metal include solid wall and helical wire-thread inserts, while inserts for plastic feature press-in and ultrasonic/heat stake designs. Those for wood are die cast zinc alloy hex drives for softwood and brass knife threads for hardwood. A variety of kits for the above inserts are available and feature installation tools, drill bits, etc.
E-Z LOK is a third- generation family owned and operated company. Founded in 1956, it primarily sells through local, regional, and national industrial distributors.
This innovative feature enables the production of consistently high-quality taps by addressing a key challenge – thermal growth.
Introducing a breakthrough in tap manufacturing: ANCA’s patented Motor Temperature Control (MTC) technology. This innovative feature enables the production of consistently high-quality taps by addressing a key challenge – thermal growth.
True to ANCA’s commitment to solving real-world manufacturing issues, MTC tackles the problem of inaccuracy and variation caused by thermal expansion. Traditionally, manufacturers rely on measurement and compensation to control these variations, adjusting for thermal and mechanical changes during grinding. But what if there was a way to eliminate a major source of inaccuracy altogether?
ANCA’s MTC does exactly that. This patented technology allows operators to set the spindle temperature for production, and the machine automatically monitors and maintains that temperature. By stabilizing the spindle’s thermal environment, MTC removes fluctuations caused by thermal growth, ensuring greater precision and consistency in tap production.
Let’s apply this unique and innovative solution to the TapX, using the cresting operation as an example.
Thread cresting is one of the most important tap features to get right. The relief of the thread typically involves a drop of 10-20 microns over the thread. The quality and shape of the thread crest are critical to the performance of the final (cut or formed) thread.
Threading is often the final operation in the manufacturing of parts, so taps play a crucial role. We do not want to scrap parts due to a tapped thread when all other value has already been added to the part. For example, the cresting affects:
Load Distribution and Thread Strength: Different crest types offer varying load distributions. High-load applications rely on high surface contact from a particular crest shape, such as a flat crest. The tap needs to form this large area without jamming or breaking.
Leak Tightness: Certain crest shapes, like rounded crests, can be more challenging to manufacture but are essential for creating effective seals in gas or fluid environments.
Thread Engagement: V-shaped threads provide high precision with increased thread engagement, while a tapered crest offers a more forgiving environment for quick or easy assembly, as well as being more durable with reduced wear.
Many tap manufacturers also have their own unique or specialized crest designs to achieve specific characteristics for a particular customer or industry. This is where ANCA’s TapX shines.
As mentioned in our previous article, reducing coolant pressure is one key to creating conditions for a more controlled operation. However, MTC takes a leap forward by regulating and maintaining a controlled manufacturing environment.
ANCA’s extensive experience has shown that thermal variation in the spindle contributes to variation in tool dimensional accuracy. OD finish operations are particularly sensitive to this. Using MTC significantly improves OD consistency over a batch.
Controlling the production environment with MTC enhances the accuracy, quality, and finish of the tap, leading to several benefits:
For more information, visit www.anca.com or contact your local ANCA representative.
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, Korea 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.
ANCA‘s advanced grinding solutions offer seamless finished tool grinding in a single setup, including blank preparation. This setup features the P-axis Arobotech, which supports blanks at the grind point, enabling the efficient production of various tools with a surface finish below 0.2 Ra. This process significantly reduces cycle time while boosting productivity. The 3000 RPM headstock on the MX7 platform further enhances performance, allowing the tool to spin at optimal speeds for this application.
The MX7 platform, equipped with six wheel packs as recommended by ANCA’s application team, supports the grinding of various tool shapes in a single setup, eliminating the need for wheel changes. Depending on the tool’s shape and geometry, grinding can be performed at either the 3 or 12 o’clock position. Additionally, a specially designed hydraulic pump controls the clamping pressure based on diameter, including up/down pressure, to achieve faster cycle times.
Key benefits include:
This application is versatile, working not only with sized blanks but also with bar stock loading.
Bar stock loading, commonly known as “blanket grinding,” involves the automatic loading and grinding of multiple tools from a single blank. This process is ideal for batch production of endmills, drill heads, and similar tools. Its uniqueness lies in the ability to part off completed tools from the blank and then extend the blank from the collet to grind subsequent tools.
ANCA’s LoaderMate software is designed to manage the number, location, and length of blanks in the pickup pallet, allowing for varying blank diameters per row. It also features a used bar report, detailing the number of tools ground and the total length of bar to be scrapped for each blank.
For more information, visit www.anca.com or contact your local ANCA representative.
For further information, please contact:
Amanda Bakun
Marketing & Communications Manager – Americas
248-497-1168
amanda.bakun@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, Korea 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.
E-Z LOK, a leading manufacturer and master distributor of threaded inserts for metal, plastic and wood, just announced it will begin to build out a portfolio of both pull-out and torque out test data for the inserts it offers. The announcement was made by Kyle Lindsly-Roach, Director of Sales & Marketing at the company’s Gardena, California headquarters.
The company’s initial plan was to use a third-party lab to test the performance of E-Z LOK inserts in various materials. However, E-Z LOK ultimately decided it would be more cost effective and beneficial if they brought the testing equipment in-house because it allows them to complete testing at their own pace, as well as perform testing on future products. This decision was made in the first quarter of 2024 as a way for the company to build a more complete library of test data for their users. Carver Engineering/Labs in El Cajon, California is building the machines, which are up and running at E-Z LOK as of early October 2024.
Insert pull-out strength is tested by installation in various test blocks of materials (plastic, wood or metal) and threading a bolt into the insert. Then, the bolt is pulled upwards until the insert is pulled out of the material. The insert testing machine records the value. The torque out machine measures the torque the insert can withstand before spinning out of the material, breaking the fastener or stripping the threads of the insert.
Available on the E-Z LOK website, the data will be housed under the “Resources” section with links for specific product groups. Additionally, the company will create PDFs of the testing data on a product group basis.
Commenting on its significance, Kyle Lindsly-Roach, Director of Sales & Marketing said, “It is a great resource that helps engineers and customers who are designing bolted joints, and want to know the approximate pull-out and torque values they could expect to see in their applications.”
For more information, please contact:
Kyle Lindsly-Roach, Director of Sales & Marketing
E-Z LOK
240 E. Rosecrans Ave
Gardena, CA 90248
USA
Phone: 310-323-5613 x221
klindsly@ezlok.com
www.ezlok.com
E-Z LOK is a leading manufacturer and master distributor of threaded inserts for metal, plastic and wood. Inserts for metal include solid wall and helical wire-thread inserts, while inserts for plastic feature press-in and ultrasonic/heat stake designs. Those for wood are die cast zinc alloy hex drives for softwood and brass knife threads for hardwood. A variety of kits for the above inserts are available and feature installation tools, drill bits, etc.
E-Z LOK is a third- generation family owned and operated company. Founded in 1956, it primarily sells through local, regional, and national industrial distributors.
It began with an accident. Dr. Salah Huwais, a renowned periodontist with several offices in Michigan, USA, started to drill a hole in a patient’s jaw, but an assistant had mistakenly set the hand tool to rotate counterclockwise. Although Dr. Huwais found it hard to push the burr into the bone, he also noticed that trying to do so had the effect of hardening the bone a bit. This gave him the idea that the right tool geometry might be able to both make the required hole and compact the cut bone back into the jaw. If so, this would revolutionize dental implant procedures by greatly reducing the required time to heal.
That was back in early 2014. By April of that year, Dr. Huwais, who had no manufacturing experience, formed the company Versah, LLC, in Jackson, Michigan, and partnered with engineers to turn his idea into reality. It wasn’t easy. Aaron Beach, director of manufacturing and product development, recounted that they went through more than 60 prototypes over 6 months before settling on a design. The resulting dental burr, which is protected by numerous patents, returns all the bone back into the jaw as the periodontist cuts the hole needed for the planned implant. According to Beach, this usually enables the surgeon to immediately place the permanent implant, versus waiting 6 to 12 months for the bone to heal, as is required when using a traditional burr.
ANCA machines are key
Naturally, Versah does not want to publicize all the secrets that go into making these stainless-steel tools, except to say that they are ground to “extremely tight tolerances” on ANCA MX and FX machines, where the biggest challenge is accounting for wear in the steadyrest and the grinding wheels, said Beach. But the CBN wheels hold up well enough that they don’t require in-process dressing, he reported. In terms of workholding and part handling, all jobs are fully automated, with a typical batch size of 1,000 burrs.
Beach did reveal that the tools have “multiple geometries” that change throughout the flute, which the ANCA software and machines handle well. Likewise, measuring the geometry is a challenge, the details of which can’t be shared. But Beach said they “inspect parts with a vision system every 30 minutes, and document the inspections every 2 hours, to maintain quality.”
Another important point Beach made is that although he had manufacturing knowledge when starting this project in 2014, he had no grinding experience. Versah jumped in with a fully equipped ANCA MX5 and then a number of FX machines. As Beach recalled, “I did some Solidworks programming in the past that helped. But I didn’t know anything about ANCA’s iGrind software or anything related to grinding. The fact that you’re able to watch the part unfold in the software, to watch the changes happen right in front of you on the machine, makes it very, very user friendly.
“The software is also educational. New people coming in, or even our team in the offices with no manufacturing background, can click on different items, leave some highlighted, and it walks them through how that part’s being ground, and shows how each part of the program is connected with each tool feature. It’s really simple. I have hired a few people on these grinders that had zero experience with them, and they’ve picked it up quickly.” Beach also lauded ANCA’s customer service and reliability. “We run these machines around the clock, six to seven days a week. So, they’ve gotten a lot of use, which obviously calls for maintenance and support. But we find them to be very low maintenance.”
Production details
Versah makes their burrs in two lengths and a variety of cutting diameters, but with a single shank diameter that meets the relevant ISO standard. This simplifies their setups, said Beach, such that they use only two collet types. For the longer burrs, the collet swallows more of the shank, providing more rigidity for the grind. They also use a fixed steadyrest on each tool, changing its position based on the tool length. But given Versah’s lot sizes, these adjustments are infrequent.
Versah electro-polishes the tools coming off the ANCA grinder, added Beach, “to remove any free iron. Then they are coated with titanium nitride.” Beach explained that heat reduction is the main coating benefit, since heating the bone typically damages it. “We found that adding this coating, along with the appropriate irrigation, keeps our burrs a little cooler than they otherwise would be. We think the coating also helps prevent the bone from sticking to the burr, and therefore helps transfer the bone back to the jaw.”
On the other hand, the unique geometry is clearly the critical factor, because Versah only added the coating in 2019. By then, the burrs had become a worldwide success. A gratifying success story in improving thousands of lives.
For further information, please contact:
Amanda Bakun
Marketing & Communications Manager – Americas
248-497-1168
amanda.bakun@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, Korea 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.
