Software cuts turnaround time: Medical Manufacturing

By United Grinding North America Inc.

Dew Tool Grinding Services Inc. opened in 1983 as a one-man machine shop, and Tim Kirst became co-owner in 2000. Since starting straight out of high school at an aerospace shop, he has spent his entire career in the machine shop business and has seen a lot. One thing he’s certain about is the importance of investing in the latest grinding technologies, including software.

“It’s just good business to keep up with the advances in modern manufacturing,” he said, “from both a business success and customer experience perspective.”

As a specialty toolmaker, Dew Tool Grinding Services always has relied heavily on the software of its tool grinding machines. However, as they aged, the Oak Creek, Wisconsin, shop realized that it needed the functionality and capabilities of newer versions of tool grinding machine software not only to meet customer deliveries for more complex tools but to boost its overall competitiveness.

Dew Tool Grinding Services makes specialty cutting tools for valve and medical device manufacturers, as well as for job shops that produce parts for companies, such as Deere & Co. and Caterpillar Inc. The shop manufactures three types of cutting tools: basic high-speed steel, carbide and carbide-tipped tools. In fact, the company is one of few shops in the area making carbide-tipped tooling.

Helitronic Tool Studio is CAD/CAM software for design, programming, simulation and production. Image courtesy of Walter

The shop is a longtime user of tool grinding machines from Tübingen, Germany-based Walter Maschinenbau GmbH, a member of Bern, Switzerland-headquartered United Grinding Group, having purchased its first machine in 1999 and a second in 2006.

“Walter machines are the best fit for what we do,” said Kirst, who doubles as operations engineering manager. “We’re not a big regrind house. The business lies in more technical step tooling. And the software the Walter machines come equipped with, even in 1999, is far better than that offered by other manufacturers’ machines. But once we learned of the new Helitronic Tool Studio software and all it could do, we knew it would provide us with the boost in efficiency, cost savings and speed we were looking for to be more competitive in today’s manufacturing environment.”

Helitronic Tool Studio, which is CAD/CAM software for design, programming, simulation and production, came with Dew Tool Grinding Services’ new Walter Helitronic Basic five-axis machine. The extremely rigid gantry-style machine sharpens and grinds a wide spectrum of precision tools and offers complete machining in single-clamping cycles. The Walter Helitronic Basic’s field of applications covers all rotationally symmetrical tools for machining metal, as well as special tools and parts with complex geometries.

The software combines ease of programming with great flexibility. Operators easily can program machining steps and movement sequences for rotationally symmetrical standard tools and specialty tools. In operation, the tool depicted on the CNC display corresponds with the tool being machined — a feature based on the tried-and-true method of “What you see is what you grind.” This means that, as early as the design phase, Dew Tool Grinding Services can review a finished part via 3D simulation. If necessary, the shop can correct programming before the grinding wheel ever touches the part, saving time and money.

“The leap from Walter Window Mode, which was the software on the older machines, to Helitronic Tool Studio has just been absolutely phenomenal,” Kirst said. “Turnaround time means everything for our shop, and it was the one area that had over the years grown to be a challenge for us. With our new Walter and its Helitronic Tool Studio software, we’ve been able to speed up delivery from three or four weeks down to only two, allowing us to better compete. Our customers always knew they were getting a good custom tool from us, and now they’re getting it faster, which is improving their experience. That’s where I see the difference.”