Value not price gives improved subcontract machining performance

A fire in a machine tool proved to be a catalyst for change for a Worthing-based subcontractor of high precision engineered components.

"We had been using this particular oil on our sliding head section as it was a considerably cheaper per litre option than those on offer from suppliers, such as Jemtech," says Tim Osman, Roscomac's sliding head supervisor.

The fire gave Roscomac the incentive to switch cutting fluids to Blasomill 22, which has a much higher flash point than what they had previously used. Jemtech's technicians drained the coolant tank, cleaned it and refilled it with Blasomill 22 in under two hours.

The improvement witnessed by Roscomac was instant, with tool life increasing from 300 to 3,000 parts per insert and insert changes occurring every 40 hours rather than every four. The consistency of size on the threaded element of a particular part was also improved dramatically, resulting in a requirement to check only one in 250 parts instead of the previous almost 100 per cent inspection.

The existing performance issues had been investigated but as Mr Osman explained: "We looked at everything to solve the problems, new inserts and machine alignments; ignoring the oil completely, despite being told by Jemtech's Mark Drummond that it was at the heart of the problem. That was until the fire. What was a challenging job is now so, so, easy to manage."

Brian Greenslade, Roscomac's production manager, added: "Switching to Blasomill 22 from Jemtech is a perfect example of how all manufacturing companies should look beyond the price of a product and concentrate on its value to the business. The benefits that we are gaining, such as process security, reduced oil use, increased tool life, better working environment, are far outweighing the price saving per litre offered by our previous oil."

Author
Michael Richards

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Supporting Information

Related Companies

Jemtech (UK) Ltd
Roscomac Ltd

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