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Cybersecurity and Digital Data Protection Concept. Icon graphic interface showing secure firewall technology for online data access defense against hacker, virus and insecure information for privacy.

Cybersecurity

Six ways to make sure your manufacturing business is cyber-secure

By Thomson Mathew—ANCA Software Product Manager

Cybersecurity, man looking at computer

While smart factories are revolutionizing the manufacturing industry through innovation, being connected comes with new risk factors that must be addressed. A Deloitte study revealed that 48% of manufacturers identified operational risks—including cybersecurity—as the greatest danger to their factories.

Manufacturing can be a lucrative ‘get’ for cyberattackers, targeting your intellectual property or blocking production. Businesses risk financial, time and productivity losses if they don’t get the balance right. So, how can you make sure your business is safe?

The cloud offers manufacturers an unprecedented level of flexibility, from lights-out manufacturing to remote real-time data. But this level of connection can expose your business to attack.

While it may be your first concern, the risk isn’t limited to connected machines. Manufacturers can also be vulnerable to phishing attacks, ransomware and internal breaches, among others. This means company phones, email addresses and laptops should all be protected. Relying on supply chains also means manufacturing can be disrupted by attacks on suppliers and distributors. Having a clear picture of risk areas is the first step to creating a secure network.

A false sense of security can be devastating to a manufacturing business if a cyberattack eventuates. Even if you’re on top of what needs to be done, you must ensure everyone in the business understands the risks—human behavior is a significant factor in compromised systems!

Operational technology, including tooling machines, creates endless opportunities for manufacturers. In the past, these machines had no external links to networks and so weren’t vulnerable to digital attacks.

Running machines 24/7 means relying on the network to remain secure even when you’re not there. Because of these risks, ANCA machines have been designed to use whitelisting to ascertain networks can only be accessed by predetermined parties. That means new software and devices must be authorized before they can be added, massively reducing the risk of introducing viruses, malware or weak points. Each piece of software has been thoroughly assessed for vulnerabilities before being whitelisted, so manufacturers can be assured of their machines’ security.

If you’re using a tooling machine, you’re exposing your systems to external third parties. The potential consequences are that you could lose data, you could lose productivity time, or you’ll have ongoing maintenance. You’re putting your machine at risk.

Cybersecurity and Digital Data Protection Concept. Icon graphic interface showing secure firewall technology for online data access defense against hacker, virus and insecure information for privacy.

Your manufacturing business isn’t just the machines in your factory. It includes other businesses— like material suppliers, logistics companies and even accountants—and all of their extended networks. Any vulnerability they have can affect your business outcomes.

Speak to each of your stakeholders about what they do to protect their networks. You may not be able to change their approach, but it’ll help you to mitigate the risk at your end, for example, by choosing a more secure supplier or looking into vertical integration.

Even the most secure cloud and digital systems can fail. To ensure your IP is as robust as possible, and to limit the impact on your productivity, you should be performing regular offline backups away from your network.

It’s best to be overcautious. Store multiple backups in different places to better distribute the risk of further data loss—and make sure those locations are secure, too.

Automating this process eliminates the need to remember to do it (often until it’s too late) but performing periodic manual backups will give you the best coverage.

Cybercrime is big business—some reports suggest it’s the equivalent of the world’s third-largest economy, inflicting damages in the trillions of dollars every year. Globally, spending on cybersecurity is expected to grow to almost U.S. $350 billion by 2026.[1], [2]

With so much at stake, the goalposts are constantly changing. New viruses appear in the market every day, with rapid patching and greater security a constant feature. To guarantee your business’s ongoing safety, be ready to respond to new threats by frequently updating all software—not just your antivirus—and deferring to machine experts as situations change.


For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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.


[1] https://cybersecurityventures.com/hackerpocalypse-cybercrime-report-2016/

[2] https://cybersecurityventures.com/cybersecurity-market-report/

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Marketing for Manufacturers: Let Your Customers be your Marketers

By Johanna Boland, Group Strategy and Communications Manager at ANCA CNC Machines

Johanna Boland
Johanna Boland

When I moved into the Communications role at ANCA, an Australian manufacturing company, I anticipated our marketing activity would be straightforward, and, if anything, a little bit dull. 

I knew I would be working in the technology sector, and that was interesting, but I wasn’t sure how much creativity would be encouraged or needed in a B2B organization. 

And to be honest that is what I found. We are a fully privately-owned Australian manufacturer running for over 45 years from Melbourne and export 99 per cent of our product overseas. ANCA is thriving with around 1,000 employees and is a world leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines, motion controls, sheet metal solutions and components. 

We have customers in over 45 countries and facilities in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a network of representatives and agents worldwide. So as a business ANCA was doing well.

My first job was to benchmark against our competitors, and we were easily meeting the same standards. We had a strong brand, advanced product management process, advertised, participated in the right exhibitions, produced good, printed sales materials and had a passable website. All respectable, solid traditional marketing activities. 

But it wasn’t just traditional marketing that enabled us to take the top position in our market. We make a really great product with extraordinary technology backed up by a global sales and service infrastructure. It was a positive customer experience that saw us dominate our market.

We were successful and our customers loved us – so why break what wasn’t broken? Finding my feet, I realized the potential of this opportunity. 

With a more progressive marketing strategy we could offer greater customer value and stand out in our market. We wanted to be progressive in channels but also in our approach and content.

Firstly, we considered the customer experience and from reviewing social media, I got a very strong sense of the people behind the machines. These cutting tool manufacturers considered themselves as craftspeople who made objects just as beautiful and refined as a guitar. 

Tapping into this passion and profiling the person as well as the technology has differentiated us compared to our competitors. Telling our users’ stories has helped us better engage and inform customers.

We also looked at our channels and digital was the one to tackle first. Our website was old and clunky – but again, against our sector we were not doing badly. 

The business wasn’t shouting for a new website, but with dated architecture and visuals the site wasn’t the perfect match for our brand. We boasted technology that could grind to an accuracy of <0.002 millimeters, yet our website was over ten years old, and looked it. 

In our new website we have a careers section to highlight how cool ANCA was to work for, video integration for highlighting new products, a news and media section to add value for our customers and it is integrated to our customer relationship management system (CRM) for lead generation and visibility. 

Our next step will be to launch an e-commerce platform in a few months – something I am sure our competitors are not ready for and which will further help position us as a progressive business and grow revenue. 

Our content marketing not only adds value to the customer but it also profiles our experienced technical experts and reinforces ANCA’s brand as the leader in its field. Social media has also provided important access to the voice of customer and our Product managers regularly use the global Cutting Tool Facebook Forum to seek customer insights and understand what the market is thinking.

We were the first in our industry to really have a go at social media and are now streaks ahead of our competition in both followers and engagement. In fact, our competitors are copying our campaigns in their own social feeds. Thankfully it is much easier to start in front than to catch up.

Posting regular content and engaging with customers’ posts has built a thriving community. We see tons of fantastic user generated content with customers sharing photos of the tools they have produced on our machines every day. Using the hashtag #MadeonANCA, we now have hundreds of mini customer testimonials that give meaningful credibility to our brand.

Going back to the people behind the machine, we prioritized activity to improve the customer experience, rather than selling the product. Our #ToolTipTuesday series has been a hit. 

We post a short informative video with tips on how to use our software. These videos have attracted almost 85,000 views on YouTube since launch. A sales person recently had a call from Boeing asking about a machine after seeing a tool tip which piqued their interest. 

Given our machines can sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars, this was a cost-effective sales lead. Our #ANCAFlashBackFriday posts spark conversations about past achievements and memories to help reinforce our heritage and brand loyalty. We are also about to launch our own TV show — ANCA Academy — to host on our YouTube channel. What I am most proud of is our Tool of the Year competition, which is now in its fourth year. 

The team built a campaign that has attracted over 100 entries from Turkey, India, Italy, France, Thailand, USA, Germany, Poland, China, Russia, Japan, Korea and Malaysia. We livestream the results at the major trade fair of the year and gain significant media coverage to boost our customers’ brands. 

Last year there were almost 30 entries received from across the world, achieving 70 media appearances seen by over 80,000 fans and generating over 200,000 engagements on social media.

Awards are not a new concept, but this format was for our industry, especially using social media as part of the campaign. We use our Facebook channel for the community to like the entries and select the finalists, helping grow our own Facebook page and reach a broader audience. 

We found an influencer, Alfred Lyon, and asked him to be a judge. Alfred is a customer in the USA who has over 45 thousand followers on Instagram – and I don’t imagine that many people would bother to follow if they weren’t interested in content featuring cutting tools. 

At a trade show in Germany when we announced the winner on the stand a customer came up to me and thanked me for giving their industry a platform to be recognized.

Four years into working for ANCA I have seen the value of thinking creatively and bringing new and different ways of building your brand to a business. Traditional marketing remains fundamental, but building a personality around our product, telling a story and considering the person behind the machine has helped us gain a more vibrant and open reputation. 


Johanna Boland is Group Strategy and Communications Manager at ANCA CNC Machines.


For further information, please contact:
Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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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Gorilla Mill Grows Up with ANCA

Carbide Grinding Company, Inc, was established in 1974, and developed a reputation as a small, specialist maker of tools, supplying Milwaukee-area manufacturers like Snap-on and Harley-Davidson.

After purchasing the company in 2003 and giving it a new image as Gorilla Mill two years after — its branding is simian-themed, aggressive, fun, and comes with the tagline “Weapons of Mass Production” — Kevin Cranker has set the company on a solid growth path.  

They are now up to 48 employees, with 300 distributors worldwide, and a diverse spread of customers.

These include automotive and defense suppliers, aerospace customers including Boeing, and space clients like SpaceX and Blue Origin.

But it’s the support of “mom and pop” shops that Cranker seems happiest about.

“They’re the guys who keep our work up,” he explains.

“When one of the big guys goes away it stings a bit. But then we have a number of small mom and pop job shops that we love doing business with because they’re always there and just always buying.”

Cranker says ANCA CNC Machines has played a large role in Gorilla’s Mills’ progress.

After investing in and being disappointed by a European-made tool and cutter grinding machine early in the millennium, he decided to try an RGX, suitable for re-grinding and low-volume production.

The machine is still part of GM’s collection of ANCA machines, and has been joined by 17 others.

“I’ve been buying a couple a year pretty steady here for the last five or six years. Probably going to need some more here before 2022.”

“We have several RX7s. Several MX7s. A couple of TX7s. We’ve got now a bunch of FX7s. It’s a mix of all different older ones and newer ones. I really, really like the new ones with the linear motors, which work really well.”

Cranker says linear motors made by ANCA Motion offer a “night and day” difference versus ballscrew motion, with greater precision and speeds, and much greater durability in a workshop where a lot of carbide sludge is generated.

ANCA’s pioneering simulation software was another enabler, and took the “heartache and headache” out of designing the geometries of Gorilla’s patented four-and five-flute mills, which Cranker designed with Mark Greenwood.

The firm adopted simulation with the purchase of its second ANCA machine, and it has proved invaluable ever since.

“The GM Team quickly identified the value in ANCA 3D CIMulation in its assistance to design and develop new tool geometries without actually grinding a physical tool,” says ANCA Inc General Manager, Russell Riddiford.

“Then they take that design to the ANCA machine and get the first tool off the machine perfectly as designed in the 3D CIMulation.”

Cranker adds of tool development that there would be “just no way we could do it” without the 3D CIMulation.

“We were able to mess around with geometries in a virtual space and not waste materials and machine time and everything else,” he says.

“But nowadays the simulator has just gotten so much better with all these new additions and the fact that now you can make blueprint drawings from it and you can just do a whole lot more.”

One software feature that gets regular use is tool balancing, introduced in ToolRoom RN34. This has proven “a huge help,” mainly for single-flute routers, enabling design of tools for high-speed machining that won’t produce noise and chatter and damage workpieces.  

Levels of user friendliness and automation options available on ANCA machines have also grown up with Gorilla Mill.  

“Cross training” required among the fast-growing workforce is minimal, and most of the workshop’s machines have the same ANCA software.

“Plus, we have all of our machines tapped into a network,” says Cranker.

“We can just manipulate toolpaths and tool programs right in our simulator and then shoot that over to whatever machine they’re needed at.”

Every machine is equipped with a robotic loader — either a pallet-style or a newer AR300 unit — helping make lights out work possible. Daytime is for custom and short-run production. The third shift is unmanned.

As the company grows its staff and revenues — which have risen nearly 900 per cent since the beginning of the Gorilla Mill era — Cranker estimates it will continue to invest in FX and MX machines, as well as robotic options to go with these.

“We currently have the ability to make 3,500 endmills a night if need be, and that’s huge for us, says Cranker, who recalls the company getting started with automation on the old RGX machine.

“It can be tricky if you don’t know how to set things up right, and ANCA’s done a pretty good job of trying to keep complications to a minimum. But we honed our skills, and every time we moved up we bought another loader, because I really want to be able to make tools lights out.”


For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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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ANCA launches its own television show – the ANCA Academy

Learn how to set up a collet adaptor, a fundamental skill that all operators need to grind accurate tools and maintain stability of batch grinding

Each month, the ANCA Academy show will cover a different technical topic – from set up through to grinding. The educational videos will help ANCA machine users understand new applications and features.

Hugh Ingham, ANCA Mechanical Engineer hosts the new show and said: “I love working at ANCA because we design and apply really interesting and effective technology. It is important that we make sure we are helping our customers and those interested in getting into cutting tool grinding produce the best possible product faster, more accurately and at the lowest possible cost. The first episode will explain a PCA adaptor, how they work and how you can set your machine up for long and stable batch runs.”

“ANCA already has our Tool Tip Tuesdays, monthly newsletter, The ANCA Club, face to face training, social media and YouTube channel but we think there is so much to learn about our technology that we decided to start our own dedicated TV show. Make sure you send in any ideas or topic suggestions because this show is entirely dedicated to help our customers get even more out of their investment in ANCA. That way we both succeed.”

“The first episode covers the fundamentals of these types of collet adaptors, what makes them unique and how with some simple tricks, you can reduce your setup time and increase your productivity. After watching this episode, you will be able to confidently set up your ANCA PCA for reduced radial and axial runout and enjoy the benefits of long and stable batches.”

“If you have a brand new or an older ANCA machine and want to get right into accurate and repeatable grinding, then you definitely don’t want to miss this.”

Topics covered will include:

  • Learn about clamping force
  • PCA adaptors
  • Mounting the collet
  • Adjusting radial runout

Sign up to our customer dedicated newsletter and don’t miss an episode: https://machines.anca.com/E-Sharp-News/Sign-up


For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@anca.com
https://machines.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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Power Up

How simultaneous high-current and high-frequency have positioned the ANCA EDG as the benchmark for PCD manufacture.

Poly Crystalline Diamond (PCD) products are widely used in industry for their superior abrasion resistance and longevity when machining non-ferrous materials. By virtue of their uniform carbon lattice structures, diamond is the hardest material available and therefore lends itself well to manufacturing processes requiring high speeds, feed rates and extended wear behaviors. PCD is not typically used to machine ferrous materials such as iron or steel due to a chemical reaction that occurs between the diamond and the iron molecules. The Carbon atoms in the diamond react with the Iron (Ferrous) atoms of the iron or steel to produce Iron Carbide (Fe3C), causing the tool edges to collapse.  However, it can tackle bimetal applications involving aluminium and cast iron.

The areas that PCD tooling excels in is the machining of non-ferrous materials, composites, electronic components, timbers and precious metals.

Non-ferrous MetalsPolymers and Other MaterialsPrecious Metals
AluminumCompositesPlatinum
CarbideCarbon FibersGold
TitaniumGlass FibersSilver
NickelCeramicsBronze
LeadPolyether (PEEK) 
CopperTimber and wood 
BrassPCB 
Figure 1: Materials suited to manufacture with PCD tooling.

When machining these materials, PCD tooling exhibits superior wear resistance, heat tolerance and tool longevity.

Using PCD in tooling is not new, however, the explosion of lightweight materials used in all industries as manufacturers race to create lightweight and durable products highlights how versatile PCD tooling is becoming. Aluminium and composite products continue to grow quickly with the rapid expansion of consumer electronics, light-weight transportation and more efficient power generation. 

Linked to the growth in non-ferrous componentry and PCD tooling is the downward pressure being applied to machine tool builders. Lowering cycle times and increasing surface finishes enables a profitable business proposition for PCD tooling manufacturers by reducing manufacturing costs per tool and increasing quality and durability for the end user. 

To enable ANCA’s customers to create high-quality, low-cost tooling the new ANCA Motion SparX Generator has been designed and built using the latest power electronics. Power Electronics allows the creation of a wide band-gap generator to achieve high current and high frequency simultaneously. This enables higher mega-amp per second Nano and Pico-pulses and far greater control of the erosion process. These combine for a much faster and controllable erosion process than conventional electronics and allow for the complete manufacture of PCD tooling using nano grade PCDs (example: Element Six CMX850 with 0.85µm diamond grains and CTX002 with 2µm grains) through to very large diamond grades (example: CTH025 with average grain size of 25µm and CTM302 a multi-modal PCD with grain sizes of 2µm to 30µm)

Additionally, by virtue of the 5-axis kinematics of the ANCA EDG machines utilizing a rotary copper electrode, almost infinite tool geometries can be created including complex end-face and fluting geometries. This linked to very aggressive pricing and performance with supreme flexibility enables tooling manufacturers to create high quality PCD tools competitively.  Additionally, with the increase in performance, decrease in cycle time and increase in surface finish specification, users are able to purchase arguably the most technologically advanced erosion machine available. ANCA is the only supplier of EDG erosion machines in the market that has a synchronized, adaptable, intelligent and controllable erosion process suited perfectly to the vast array of non-ferrous materials.

To highlight these benefits, ANCA conducted testing between tools created on an ANCA EDG, tools created on a competitor laser machine and lastly on a competitor erosion machine.  Testing utilized a 12mm 2D shear brazed (neutral rake face) tool due to laser ablation systems being unable to create large fluted tools. The PCD material was Element Six CTM302.

Testing showed definitively that not only did the ANCA EDG match the quality and cycle time of laser created tools, but it was vastly superior to the like-for-like erosion results.

Figure 2: Comparison tooling used for laser and erosion tests
 Laser CompetitorErosion CompetitorANCA EDG
SettingsStandard FinishStandard Finish
Surface Finish (µm Ra)0.2000.4000.200
Cycle Time26m : 24s56m : 00s26m : 20s
Edge Corner Radius (µm)9.456.253.22

Figure 3: Comparison data obtained for multiple tests

Additionally, the cutting edges were 3x keener on the ANCA created tools as opposed to the laser ablated tools. Keen cutting edges are very important in the manufacture of aluminium and composites as they reduce burring while increasing surface finishes. In composites, keen cutting edges also reduce the risk of delamination during machining.

The key take-away from this testing was that not only is the ANCA EDG with the new ANCA Motion SparX Erosion Generator well suited to all types of PCD and the varying associated industries, but that erosion processes utilizing power electronics with high current and high frequency simultaneously positions the ANCA EDG squarely in the sights of both traditional erosion and laser technologies.


For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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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ANCA’s newest Smart Factory tool, LaserUltra, is 70% faster measuring tools

Recently launched at Eastec 2021, LaserUltra dramatically increases capacity and reduces waste through highly accurate and fast in-process measurement and compensation

ANCA leads the market in inventing, developing, and offering its customers the latest technology to realize the benefits of automation and lights out manufacturing. LaserUltra is the next generation of the highly popular LaserPlus, an in-process measurement technology only available with ANCA that gave customers the power to operate unmanned overnight with confidence they could retrieve their finished tools the next day within specification. LaserPlus was itself a game changer for the industry and already significantly faster than external tool measurement processes.

The 70% reduction in measurement time compared to Laser Plus is achieved through the new Analog measurement. The Analog measurement is a continuous edge scan instead of number of digital points along the cutting edge. This process also eliminates variations caused by machine standing idle, errors due to manual wheel corrections and the requirement of skilled operators.  In its place LaserUltra has increased accuracy, productivity, and reduction of scrap.

ANCA’s LaserUltra allows the measurement of tool geometries to tolerances of 0.002mm without removing the tool from the grinder, saving time in the manufacturing process, and ensuring maximum accuracy in measurement is maintained over large batch grinding.

Pat Boland, ANCA Co-Founder said: “The intersection of 5 axis milling machines, advanced CAD/CAM software and advanced profile geometry cutting tools is revolutionizing the Die and Mold and Aerospace machining industries. ANCA’s Laser Ultra tool measurement system together with RN34 software gives tool manufacturers all they need to manufacture complex profile endmills productively to outstanding accuracy.”

LaserUltra offers customers:

  • Greater accuracy due to the continuous edge scan rather than a number of points.
  • Several new ToolTypes like Barrel shape cutters and Lens shapes are included with LaserUltra measurement cycles.
  • New operations like runout compensation and enhanced functions.
  • Larger working envelop means larger diameters and length of tools can be measured.
  • The measurement reports have been modified to suit customers’ requirements.
  • Eliminates errors caused by manual compensation process.

Thomson Mathew, ANCA Software Product Manager said: “gone are the days of manual or external measurement and compensation for critical dimensions or profile forms due to wheel wear or other grinding factors as LaserUltra can measure and compensate within a couple of microns. All this is done in process without taking the tools out of the machine with complete control of process stability and capability. These measurements are displayed at various locations to give our customers complete visibility and trust in their grinding process.”

LaserUltra is an automatic OD, profile measurement and compensating system for ANCA’s TX, MX and FX machines. It is ideal for measuring and compensating tools to maintain tight tolerances (0.002mm) in unmanned production grinding. The in-process measurement is available in both digital and analog for fast and accurate measurements to enable productivity and performance improvements.

It is permanently mounted inside the machine and will not interfere with typical grinding processes and accessories. Using the laser, the operator can perform accurate in-process measurement and compensation without removing tools from the machine.

Thomson continues: “It gives customers flexibility to service multiple markets, supporting a large range of cutting tool applications, for example, all types of endmills or step tools — including profile, compression routers and Threadmills and several more. Furthermore, different versions of LaserUltra can cover large diameter ranges and various lengths depending on user cases. And finally, LaserUltra can generate reports which can be configured depending on customers’ requirements.”

LaserUltra Digital versus LaserUltra Analog

For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group Strategy and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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

Reduce runout with ANCA’s new complete tool runout compensation

A new option in ToolRoom cures runout woes and helps to increase tool life and productivity

Total indicator runout (TIR) is a term often used in manufacturing, especially when dealing with rotating parts such as cutting tools, particularly endmills and drills. TIR is defined as the difference between the maximum and minimum values measured across an entire rotating surface about a reference axis.

Manufacturing high quality, high performance tools requires the Total Indicator Runout to be perfect or minimal for overall tool life and surface finish. Runout on blanks before grinding can be achieved by either spending a certain amount of time for work holding setup or alternatively, compensating the runout in software. The latest software update of ToolRoom has an option to apply complete tool runout compensation when needed.

Runout creates uneven chip loads due to uneven contact on the workpiece. The result, as pictured above, is that some flutes get way too much load and wear fast while others get too little. This is not an optimal situation for endmills during machining. Not only do tools with runout have shorter tool life, they tend to be unbalanced and more prone to breaking. Additionally, they vibrate and cause chatter, increase spindle load and result in a bad surface finish on the workpiece.

On the contrary, even cutting flutes result in longer tool life, better surface finish and accurate finished parts.

Circular runout controls only a particular circular cross section of an endmill, while total runout controls the entire surface of the endmill which includes the outer diameter and endface. There are two kinds of runout: Radial and Axial. Radial runout is when the axis of rotation is off-center from the main axis, but still parallel. Axial runout is when the axis of rotation is tilted to some degree from the main axis, meaning the axis of rotation is no longer parallel to the main axis.

On an ANCA tool and cutter grinder, runout is measured by rotating the blank around the A-axis (headstock) and using the Renishaw touch probe. The latest update in ToolRoom RN34.1 release contains the total tool runout measurement and compensation operation in iGrind as an option. This is an addition to the existing axial runout compensation.

The runout measurement and compensation can be performed on a blank or a pre-formed blank. A pre-formed blank is a tool that has flutes ground, for example tools requiring re-sharpening. Endface compensation is used for axial runout by digitizing a single point close to the end of the tool. Only the endface operations are supported for this type of compensation.

Total runout or full compensation will measure and compensate radial and axial runout. This is mainly used while manufacturing and two points are digitized. One is near the end of the tool and the other at shank end. With the digitizing results, users are able to convert the grinding to the centerline of the blank rather than the centerline of the A-axis.                                                   

When an endmill is in rotation it is important that each tooth cuts at the exact same spot along the workpiece for longer tool life and efficient cutting. Every tool in the batch can be measured and compensated for runout to ensure the entire batch is within tolerances.

Runout in drills and reamers will result in oversized holes. This can be avoided by using the runout compensation. The chart below shows the compensation test results.

All length values in above chart are in mm
Resultant runout from compensation under 1 Micron

It is important to note that accuracy starts with the quality of blank. Contrary to popular belief, carbide blanks can be out of round bent or tapered. Ensure that the blanks are checked for size and accuracy, cleaned, and chamfered at insertion end. Blanks should be within 0.001mm (0.00004”) in straightness and 0.0005mm (0.00002”) in roundness to achieve the above accuracy.

Manufacturing challenges due to runout is a persistent pain point for many precision tool manufacturers. This new feature addresses this problem and will give users the assurance they need to manufacture high quality tools – ensuring that the hundredth endmill produced will be equally as good as the first.

The new complete tool runout measurement and compensation operation is now available as an option in the latest ToolRoom update for RN34.1 release. Customers will benefit from increase in productivity due to the reduced collet and collet adaptor setup time, and reduced scrap from zero rejections due to runout.


For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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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Insert Manufacturing Made Easy

Set up for accurate, consistent and automated insert grinding and diversify production

Solid endmill and drill production is a highly competitive market, making it challenging to differentiate yourself from your competitors. Inserts for milling and drilling applications offer various advantages over solid carbide tools, but present unique challenges in manufacturing. For those that successfully master the production of insert tools, new market opportunities can be yours. ANCA’s insert grinding solutions may just be the answer you need to take this step.

Inserts appeal to users of tools, firstly because one tool body can take a variety of inserts, making them very versatile. Additionally, the cost of replacing just the insert is significantly less than an entire solid carbide tool. For insert manufacturers however, the challenge is automated production of these uniquely shaped parts.

The ANCA Insert Solution, based on the MX tool grinding machine platform, offers work-holding, automation and supporting tool programming software to produce a diverse range of rotary endmill and drill inserts. Inserts that feature common locating datums and clamping features are an ideal fit for the ANCA Insert Solution. 

ANCA’s unique Insert Chuck provides the foundation of insert grinding capability.  Its versatile design means one chuck can hold a variety of inserts with precise repeatability and necessary rigidity during the grinding operation. Onto the standard chuck, interchangeable jaws are fitted in minutes. These jaws are custom designed based on the insert datum and holding features, as well as considering wheel clearance for necessary grinding operations. ANCA will work with you to design jaw sets that cover your complete insert design and size range. 

Economical production requires automation. For insert grinding, the RoboMate robot loading system is kitted up with the dedicated pallets and grippers for unattended manufacturing. As with the chuck jaws, ANCA will collaborate with you to design a range to pallets and grippers that suit your inserts. 

Comprehensive and flexible programming software is the final element needed for insert grinding. As always, ANCA has it covered with iGrind – our industry-leading tool programming software, that caters for various special endmill and drill insert geometries. In addition, special digitizing routines will determine the datum location and exact position of the insert before commencing the grinding operation. This ensures the insert production batch remains accurate and consistent, delivering quality results expected in the market.

Finally, with production flexibility in mind, the insert grinding system can be easily switched over to solid carbide tool production, meaning a given grinding machine is not locked into production of just one tool type. By switching the Insert Chuck for PremierPlus collet system, and replacing RoboMate pallets and grippers, the transition to solid tool production can be done quickly and efficiently, ensuring your machines productive grinding time is maximized and adaptable to your market demands.

The insert grinding solution is offered not only on new machines, but can equally be retrofitted on existing MX machines. Setting up for diversifying your cutting tool product portfolio to include inserts has never been easier. Having alternate production capabilities that can quickly be adapted to meet customer demands is a winning long-term strategy for the success of your tool grinding business. 


For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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

Cerin SpA, a pioneering Italian cutting tool manufacturer is pushing what is possible, exploring exotic nickel alloys to set the future of tool technology

Cerin invested in ANCA technology to take on these challenges and succeed – achieving precision, repeatability and stability in their grinding

Ivan Cuscov, Plant Director started at Cerin SpA ten years ago as a mechanical engineer and today is responsible for production. Ivan said, “Cerin was founded in 1971 by Mr. Cerin and my father joined the company a few years later. We were one of the first Italian companies to work with solid carbide and today serve many industries, from aerospace to construction, shipbuilding, energy and automotive.”

“Half our sales are in Italy and the other half abroad, mainly exporting to Germany but also Russia and Japan, China and England. Our customers choose to work with us because we manufacture a good product. If you ask our customers to say something about CERIN, they will only say, ‘A Cerin tool is a good tool.’ And that’s what I think is what makes us successful.”

“From the beginning we never worked with high speed steel as we had a feeling that solid carbide was the technology of the future and so we tried to make the biggest step possible into the future. It was very challenging at the time as there was limited knowledge on how to use solid carbide. Many people in the industry didn’t know of diamond wheels and thought of diamond as a jewel and not a grinding material!”

“We were a pioneer with many challenges working in unknown territories, but on reflection, I would say that taking on this challenge was key to our success.”

Cerin continues to invest in their pioneering culture to stay ahead of technology change

“At Cerin we try our best to understand our customers production requirements. If the customer has a problem, we look at their machining process — how the machine works, how the workpiece is placed on the machine, and what are the critical issues, vibration and so on. We have even built a Development Center to try new materials and new machine technology.”

“Currently we are looking into the exotic nickel alloys or otherwise called high temperature alloys – which are still niche materials, but we think it’s important to understand given the increasing requirement for energy efficient engine performance. For these applications, high performance requires higher thermal mechanical properties and that is driving tool technology.”

“These materials are particularly critical mainly for heat generation and elastic to plastic transition. Cutting those materials requires specific coating and sometimes a specific combination between solid carbide coatings and dedicated geometries.”

Tool makers must consider the entire development life cycle

“A good tool is the combination of elements. The right geometry and the combination between carbide and coating. Developing a new tool might require a few weeks to many months. The first technical work is designing and testing a basic tool of a certain length and diameter, which fulfills the initial targets. After that you need to organize the whole commercial offer, extend the tests to the rest of the product family, and of course create the stock availability.”

“Over the weekend we mainly produce standard tools and in some areas with unmanned shifts which helps us contain costs, increasing our capacity. Our operators create optimal production conditions, looking at correct machine and grinding wheel set ups. Our attention to detail when setting up processes means we can guarantee quality.”

“Our quality control department is responsible for checking tools during and after production. We have the complete traceability of our production batches and at any time can retrieve design information, even look at the raw materials.”

ANCA technology offers precision, repeatability, and stability – all essential for lights out manufacturing

“In our machine center we have a MX7, MX7 Linear, FX7 Linear, GX7, TX7 and even a TG7.   At the moment we are mainly using ANCA machines for standard and cylindrical endmills and we keep the FX7 and one MX7 linear for mixed production of endmills and drills.”

“Precision, repeatability and stability are two advantages of using ANCA machines and over the years we have found ANCA machines to be thermally stable with a wide range of technology offered. A stable grinding machine is very important for unmanned shifts to keep tolerances and tool dimensions under control. In fact, repeatability means that we have the grinding process under control and can be confident with the quality of the end product we deliver to our customers.”

iGrind is a very good software package mainly because of flexibility and because it allows you to do many different things easily. iGrind is great for cylindrical grinding to profile tools and especially with tool segments where you can split the tool operations as much as you want. We also use ANCA’s
ToolDraft in combination with AutoCAD.“

“We have been recently using iView with a camera for profile tools and it looks promising because it is a good way to control the tolerance of a complex tool all along the profile. If a profile is being controlled at a single point it is too difficult if you are trying to keep a whole profile within a certain tolerance to a few microns. For that you need a specific device and iView is very interesting.”

“Our operators are happy with the Wheel Probe which references the grinding wheel directly on the machine. The benefit using the probe is that you don’t need to waste any time with an external preset and can make your measurements directly on the machine. And you don’t need to mount and dismount the wheel before and after measuring because that of course might change the basic reference a little bit. So you’re going to measure the wheel in the same place where the wheel will work.”


For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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

Diversify your wood tool grinding on ANCA FX machines

ANCA machine innovation and software combine for a complete package for producing woodworking tools, reducing set-up times

By Simon Richardson, Product Manager, ANCA

ANCA is well known for offering standard and special custom solutions for their 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.

On the affordable FX grinding machines, ANCA has developed a new product which provides more flexibility and capability for unattended production of wood tools. Special tooling systems for FX5 and FX7 machines offer the ability to easily change automated production between woodworking profile blades, used to form skirting boards and architraves, and solid round shank tools such as routers and drills used in production of furniture and cabinetry. In addition, companies focusing predominantly on engineering tools can consider adding woodworking blade profiles to their product portfolio. 

Versatility to cover very different tool types starts with the work holding, where two options are offered: a blade chuck to hold flat profile blades, or a PremierPlus collet chuck for holding round shank tools.

Both systems are actuated with the same pull stud mechanism, so switching between the two systems is done in minutes.

Robot automation, too, has been configured to allow easy change between profile blades and round shank solid carbide tools including spirals, compression routers and drills. All without having to change grippers or re-teach robot positions. Simply change over the pallets to suit the tool type and size, and you are ready to start unattended production! Automated loading of blades up to 80mm wide x 40mm high is possible, while with hand loading, blades up to 120mm x 40mm high can be accommodated.

FX is offered with grinding spindle power options from 12kW up to 19kW, giving the ability to grind solid routers or drills comfortably up to 12mm, and perform heavy stock roughing on thicker profile blades. Flexibility is enhanced with 2 wheel packs as standard, but options for up to 6 are available. This ensures the right wheel pack configuration is ready to use, with zero downtime when changing between tool types. Additionally, separate touch probe solutions are offered to allow fast and accurate measurement of your profile blade datums and round shank tools.

LaserPlus is a recommended option for those making solid routers and compression routers where diameter control is a critical element of your tool quality. Mounted inside the machine, LaserPlus is a non-contact system for automatic measurement and compensation of tool diameter. For compression routers, it will even measure both up and down cut sections to ensure they are consistent.

ANCA completes the package with a suite of flexible and user-friendly software options to cover diverse tool production needs. 

  • Blade grinding software includes blank and finished profile definition with DXF import, slice roughing for fast removal of bulk stock material before the final profile relief passes. 
  • Compression router software gives complete flexibility to program up and down cut sections ensuring correct overlap on two or more flutes.
  • Standard endmill and drill software packages are easily adapted to wood cutting tool geometries including up and down cut spiral routers and drills.
  • Profile software opens scope to also manufacture brazed carbide profile routers.
  • CIM3D, ANCA’s leading simulation software allows offline checking of tool geometry and the grinding process before starting actual tool production.

ANCA’s wood tool production package for the FX5 and FX7 offers outstanding flexibility for unattended production on ANCA’s most affordable tool grinding machine.


For further information, please contact:

Johanna Boland
Group PR and Communications Manager, ANCA
M: +61 407799779
Johanna.Boland@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