How an aviation customer saves $33.33 per part with help from Nachi and All Industrial Tool Supply

Choosing the right make and model of tool, and deciding how to use it for optimal performance, are both critical factors that can contribute to the overall success or failure of a job. All Industrial Tool Supply, as well as our supplier partners, can assist you by auditing your tool choices and machining processes to help you find opportunities to save on tooling costs, reduce waste, and improve finished work quality.

Background

Our customer, Company X* machines high quantities of aluminum and titanium for use in the aviation industry. Company X was experiencing challenges with broken drills on a particular project. This failure was causing increased tooling costs and material waste. Working in tandem with Cary Schlegel from Nachi Cutting Tools, Nate Craine (Field Sales Engineer, All Industrial Tool Supply) helped develop both a new tool recommendation and a new machining process that solved the broken drill problem for Company X.

With these minor changes, Company X realized a 67% cost savings on each finished piece. Read on to learn how.

*Company X wishes to remain anonymous due to the nature of their business as a subcontractor to a global aerospace manufacturer. All Industrial respects your privacy as a customer and the need for confidentiality in certain industries.

Broken drills during the test process

During the first attempt, the drill broke. It followed a gun drill that previously broke in the part, causing the tool failure. There were challenges keeping everything lined up, holes drilled were not concentric, and had runout.

During a second attempt, the drill again broke, this time due to an error in process. The cross holes were machined before the deep hole drill, which created two problems:

• Coolant pressure was lost
• Chips were escaping to an unknown location

As a best practice, such deep hole drills would be better without interruption. If interruption is unavoidable (such as a cross hole requirement), reducing the feed by 50% through the interruption can help.

A new drill and new process was successfully implemented

After reviewing the process used by Company X, Cary Schlegel from Nachi recommended a change - drilling the deep hole first, then following up by drilling the shallow cross holes afterwards.

Company X needs to make 40 parts (80 holes) to complete this job. Nachi’s twist drill saves them both money and time on this project.

67% savings on tool costs

By utilizing Nachi’s recommended drill and new process, Company X was able to realize a savings of $41.33 in machining costs per part, simply by switching to a higher-quality drill that costs $8.00 more per part - a total net savings to Company X of $33.33 per part (67.4%).

Although the Nachi tool is slightly more expensive upfront, the increased tool cost more than pays for the big savings in the machining cost. Take a look at this cost savings summary and performance data:

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All Industrial Tool Supply can review your existing business challenges and make recommendations to help you operate more profitably. This service is provided at no charge. Please get in touch so we can help.