Chasing profitability: Inspection Efficiency

A parts manufacturer never wants to tell its biggest customer that it cannot deliver parts on time because the manufacturer cannot get a cutting tool. That was the potential scenario for Concept Metals Group Inc.’s machining division in Comstock Park, Michigan, said Engineer/Supervisor Chad Schwierking.

He said Concept Metals Group produces about 50,000 of those shafts per year, which require 5/16″-8 threads on the ends of them. The manufacturer threads them on a manual Brown & Sharpe cam- and gear-driven screw machine. The parts are made with 12L14 or 1215 steel.

Schwierking said the thread chasers that Concept Metals Group was using had unacceptably long lead times and an inflated price tag. The company needed a better option.

“I just started to try and find other companies that were making chasers that could be delivered in a reasonable time, not 16 to 18 weeks, and they weren’t going to charge us three to four times normal pricing,” he said.

The die head is displayed in a manual Brown & Sharpe screw machine. Image courtesy of Concept Metals Group

Schwierking tried to obtain the thread chasers from at least three other companies but determined they were distributors of the chaser that Concept Metals Group already was purchasing. He eventually found Quality Chaser Co. in Romeo, Michigan.

“Quality Chaser was the first one I had run across that was actually making the chaser,” he said.

Schwierking requested and received chasers to test. He tried the first style on the Brown & Sharpe machine and said he noticed go/no-go inspection gauge issues in which either the “go” wouldn’t go on or the no-go would. In addition, there were finish problems, such as thread tearing and “hairs” on the threads.

“Your inserts need to be cutting freely and accurately in order for the gauging to work,” he said.

It might seem logical for an end user to continue searching for another tool manufacturer to find a solution, but based on his 25-plus years in the machining industry, Schwierking said he can tell when a toolmaker is willing to make the changes needed to get a tool functioning properly.

“They either will tell you right off the bat that they’re into making the changes to whatever you need,” he said, “or they just say that they can’t do that. There was never a time that they said, ‘We don’t think we’re going to be able to figure this out.'”

While not an off-the-shelf product, Quality Chaser reports that it often makes custom chasers for customers to maximize performance and customer satisfaction.