In July 2018, the Sandvik Coromant Center, Pune, was started to help customers. How well is this ‘Center' equipped to help the round tools clientele?
The Sandvik Coromant Centre in Pune is a strong statement from our parent company on its commitment to serve the Indian market. Entrenched in its construction and running is the vision of Sandvik Coromant's "Shaping the future together" philosophy. The centre offers world class training to Indian customers on metal cutting, coming true to the brand promise of sharing knowledge. Its appeal is enhanced by the fact that customers can also develop metal cutting process for their components which they may find challenging in their normal course of development. Solid round tools range is an integrated part of overall product offer from Sandvik Coromant. The capabilities of these products are showcased through rigorous demonstrations on the modern machines. Additionally, the same is also broadcasted live to reach many more customers who can watch the same in the comfort of their offices. Overall, the Sandvik Coromant centre is able to build the confidence and competence of customers who wish to enhance their own productivity through usage of modern solid round cutting tools.
How much is the round tools business contributing to the overall Sandvik Coromant business?
The market potential for Solid Round Tools is growing at an increasing pace and we see lots of opportunities for us in this area. Having seen a strong growth in Asian markets during past few years, we are keen to increase our presence in this area even more. Through a combination of great products and services backed by our digital offerings we are in a great position to serve our customers in this region.
Are Round Tools more suitable for some sectors?
The use of solid round tool is widely spread across industry segments. Along with increased usage of high-end machine tools, these products can greatly enhance productivity and efficiency in metal cutting applications. The demand for higher accuracies and the increasing nature of high complex features on components is generating lot of demand of good quality and reliable solid round tool products and reconditioning services. Sectors like aerospace, automotive and medical component industries are increasingly adapting the usage of these tools.
What are the benefits of using Solid Round Tools?
Solid round tools are mainly adapted to meet the increased demand of accuracies and productivity in machining operations. Generally used as finishing tools, their role is a very important one in meeting the required quality features in the component. It is very important to select the right tool and the recommended cutting tool parameters. These days with the advent of high-speed machining concepts, sometimes these tools are used for making the complete component from start-to-finish, thus eliminating the use of multiple tools in the process. One more feature which distinguishes these tools from conventional indexable tools is the possibility of reconditioning. With a reliable reconditioning service, the customer should expect 100 percent of the tool performance for a minimum of three times. This brings in cost effectiveness. We offer world class reconditioning services from our Production unit in Pune.
How is the industry responding?
The response of the industry has been overwhelming which has surpassed our expectation. We strongly believe that this portfolio will continue to drive our image of being a total solution provider coupled with strong support services in front of the customer.
What are the major themes that you see in the metal working industry?
At a very broad level, we see the themes that are being played are issues regarding increasing knowledge gap, focus on sustainability and digitisation. When it comes to the metal working industry, we see a new trend of light, but strong materials increasingly put into use. Examples like Titanium, Inconel and composites are the now sought after especially in the aerospace industry. Today, machine tools can do so much more even if we compare this with a decade ago. Multi-axis machines are now common place which reduces the set-up time drastically for the components. This is being supplemented by widespread usage of CAD/ CAM which leads to process optimisation and improved productivity. In every industry segment, we see complex featured components and this puts pressure on manufacturers to meet quality and productivity. Batch sizes are getting smaller and there is increased customisation demand for the cutting tools. Digitisation and automation along with 3D printing process are being now increasingly adopted by manufacturers.
Will the trend of digitalisation get bigger?
There is a growing awareness among Indian companies about digital manufacturing and the evidence comes in the form of numerous initiatives taken by Indian companies to embrace digitisation in their manufacturing facilities. There is a genuine demand for information and knowledge in this area due to the realisation that digitisation will become the cornerstone for long-term competitiveness of companies. Sandvik Coromant's latest offering of digital solutions built on the foundation of decades of experience in the field of metal cutting promises to fulfil that need in machining area. We offer digital solutions broadly classified into pre-machining, machining and post machining spheres. Round tools like solid carbide drills / endmills require reliability along with productivity and enhanced tool life. These values can be easily enhanced through Digital Machining products like CoroPlus® ProcessControl and MachiningInsights. In particular, the tool monitoring systems closely track what is happening at the cutting point and feedbacks corrective action thus enhancing the tool performance and preventing breakages. Overall, the customers can expect to see a quantum leap in their round tools application area through a combination of world class products and digital solutions.
In November 2018, Sandvik Coromant acquired US based Dura-Mill. How are you leveraging on it?
DuraMill is a recent acquisition by Sandvik Coromant and it will vastly contribute to our round tool business in the US market. The acquisition enhances an already strong position and product offering in North America and primarily within the aerospace segment. The acquisition is aligned with Sandvik Machining Solutions' focus on growing the round tools business. Dura-Mill will add even stronger capabilities for managing customized end mills.
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