Industry News

Ceratizit USA Inc. has joined forces with several companies to make ventilators.

Rod Landrum has filled a position of Application Specialist at GWS Tool Group.

Bloomfield, CT – Dapra Corp., an American manufacturer of indexable carbide milling tools and inserts, is pleased to announce an initiative to support U.S. shops that are pivoting their manufacturing processes to supply the medical industry in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Erie, PA—Eriez® announces the appointment of Brian B. May Co. as the company’s exclusive manufacturing sales representative for the Metalworking market in North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.

As an industry #ANCATooloftheYear celebrates the knowledge and imagination of cutting tool craftsmen, creating tools with the perfect geometry, profile and finish that shape and build our world every day.

According to the 2017 McKinsey report "Making it in America – Revitalizing U.S. Manufacturing," the manufacturing industry is responsible for 35% of the nation’s productivity growth, 60% of its exports and about 70% of private sector R&D spending. These figures point to just how impactful American manufacturing is to the U.S. economy. Visionary American manufacturers have the opportunity to lead the evolution in this industry, which is the basis for the growth/investment strategy of ARCH Cutting Tools (ACT).

When making a cutting tool, I tend to think of a drill, endmill or other metalcutting tool being produced on a CNC tool and cutter grinder in a factory. A book by Bradley Richardson, however, describes how to make a different type of cutting tool with manual tools and equipment in a nonproduction environment. Published by Fox Chapel Publishing Co. Inc., Mount Joy, Pennsylvania, “Making Your Own Bush Knife: A Beginner’s Guide for the Backyard Knifemaker,” details the process of creating a custom knife.

The Oregon Manufacturing Innovation Center Research and Development (OMICR&D) has welcomed Sumitomo Electric Carbide Inc. as its 30th member. Sumitomo, whose U.S. subsidiary is headquartered in near Chicago, also has other several other U.S. based cutting tool manufacturing facilities, and its main headquarters is in Hyogo, Japan.

September 2019 U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $195.9 million, according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report collaboration, was down 4.3 percent from August's $204.7 million and down 7 percent when compared with the $210.6 million reported for September 2018. With a year-to-date total of $1.8 billion, 2019 is up 0.2 percent when compared with 2018. Please note there were revisions to August 2019.

Arch Cutting Tools hired Charlie Novak Jr. as Arch Specials business development and coordinator. He will be located at Arch-Mentor and report to Brent Sheerer, product manager for Arch Specials (dotted line to Jeff Cederstrom, divisional president of Arch Cutting Tools). Novak joined the company on Nov. 11, Veterans Day, as the toolmaker honored those who’ve served.

Somma Tool Co. announces its acquisition of the Max-Bar Tool Co. Max-Bar is a leading manufacturer of carbide cutting tools and holders for Swiss-style CNC machines. The Max-Bar product line offers toolholders and carbide inserts in six separate IC sizes to cover all manufacturing applications.

At first blush, hardness and toughness may seem like interchangeable concepts, but they actually exist at opposite ends of a continuum that defines indexable and solid tool performance, particularly when it comes to carbide inserts. Harder inserts offer greater wear resistance for superior performance and tool life in hot cutting environments, while tough inserts can handle greater impacts and stressors for the highest feed and depth of cut. For any given application, there is an optimal balance of hardness and toughness – and toolmakers have worked diligently to establish metallurgic principles to offer a range of tools that can meet the diverse needs of manufacturers.

ARCH Cutting Tools announced that the Richards Micro-Tools product portfolio is being rebranded as KEO Micro Tools.

Waukesha, WI—Walter, a cutting tool manufacturer has announced the appointment of two new regional channel development managers to support its overall sales organization, channel partner relationships and aggressive business growth strategy.

L Squared Capital Partners and GWS Tool Group announced that L Squared has partnered with GWS management to recapitalize the GWS. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Hyperion Materials & Technologies Inc. announced that it signed an agreement to acquire Arno Friedrichs Hartmetall GmbH & Co. KG and its affiliates (AFC), a global solutions provider in premium tungsten carbide blanks used in the manufacture of high precision rotary cutting tools for drilling and milling applications.

IBC announces that WIDIA Products Group, Latrobe, Pennsylvania, has joined the IBC industrial buying group as a preferred supplier. WIDIA is a leading manufacturer of precision metalcutting tools utilized in CNC machining operations.

ARCH Cutting Tools is facing the same talent shortage as the cutting tool industry overall, but the company is meeting the challenge with an aggressive workforce development strategy aimed at Millennials and Generation Z. In partnership with Delta College, ARCH Cutting Tools hosted an Introduction to Machine Tools Forum at its Flushing, Michigan, facility June 6 for five students interested in careers as machinists.

Hoffman Estates, IL – At the first general session of NTMA’s annual meeting in Tucson, Chris Kaiser, president/CEO of BIG KAISER, presented a donation for $6,675 to benefit the NTMA’s National Robotics League (NRL).

Kaiser Tool Company was founded in 1964 with the purpose of supplying small lathe cutting tools.