Case Study - SintoGrind TC-X 630 & Vomat Filtration at Allied (Tooling) Ltd
In 2019, Poole-based toolmaker Allied (Tooling) Ltd switched to oelheld UK’s SintoGrind Gas-to-Liquid coolant and invested in a Vomat FA240 microfiltration unit to serve their existing Walter Helitronic Power CNC machines, and new ANCA MX7. We recently caught up with CNC Manager Martin Wright to find out how the new coolant and filtration combination have been performing since they made the switch…
Could you tell us a bit about your business and the key quality challenges your processes face?
“Allied (Tooling) Ltd is blessed with an extremely diverse customer base encompassing wood working, window manufacturing, general engineering, aerospace, luxury marine, prestige automotive and motor racing for example. Quite rightly our customers demand consistent quality and high performance levels from the tools that we manufacture and this needs to come at a realistic price point. Whilst tolerances may vary from microns to more open limits, dependent upon application, the necessity for a quality surface finish and consistent geometry remains a constant. We produce tools in any batch size ranging from 1 offs to several hundred, the larger batches are typically manufactured overnight using the machines automatic loaders.”
And which specific processes do the SintoGrind TCX -620 and Vomat FA240 unit serve?
“We are currently using SintoGrind TC-X 630 in our Vomat FA240 which supplies both our new ANCA MX7 and our Walter Helitronic Power CNC machines. The MX7 and Helitronic machines are used in the main to manufacture (and to a lesser extent, regrind) solid carbide rotary cutters suitable for the individual requirements of the various industries we supply. The range of tooling manufactured includes standard cutters, specials made to customer requirements and, as we offer a full design service, form tools produced to customer component drawings. The machines can also be used in the production of flat form tools, D-bits and knife blades to name but a few.”
What attracted you to the SintoGrind TCX 620 and Vomat combination?
“The ANCA MX7 and Vomat FA240 together represented a significant investment in the future capabilities of our Tool and Cutter department and to achieve the finest results from them we felt it would be a false economy to utilise an inferior coolant, even if it was listed as a compatible choice for the Vomat FA240. We had some prior experience of oelheld UK from the IonoGrind that we use in our Vollmer QXD 250s, so we were aware of the level of quality and performance, at least in this application.”
“The Vomat unit was included in the budget we had set for the MX7 and supplied with the machine. As with the SintoGrind, we didn’t want to compromise the performance capabilities of the MX7 and the Vomat was seen as being integral to the purchase of the new machine. The Vomat unit came with a recommendation from ANCA and once again, cheaper options may have been available, but we were more focussed on the performance levels of the unit and durability in the longer term. The Vomat FA240 specification, rather than an FA120, worked well for us as we planned to connect our existing Walter Helitronic Power to the Vomat unit at a later date to allow us to share the benefits with that machine too, and create a small production cell.”
Have you seen any impact on your processes?
“The MX7 has never been run on anything else as it is a new machine but we have been highly impressed with the results that we have been achieving. The Walter, however, has shown a definite improvement in the quality of finish that we are able to achieve. Additionally, and it is difficult to proportion this accurately between the Vomat and the SintoGrind, wheel glazing during high load operations such as fluting from solid (the Walter does not have in-cycle white sticking) has been drastically reduced.
In practice this now means that we can often set a full pallet to run overnight on the loader instead of a reduced batch of maybe 50 to 70%. Equally, we can run higher feed rates in certain applications. This has given a significant boost to the efficiency of the section and Allied (Tooling) Ltd’s competitiveness in the marketplace. From an operator’s point of view, the SintoGrind itself is pleasant to use as there have been no health concerns or reactions whilst using it.
As for the Vomat, in the couple of years that we have been using it, the unit has required no more than routine annual servicing. The comparative cleanliness of the interior of the machines is testament to the excellent filtration and the temperature is always stable. It’s one of those machines that just sits in the corner quietly gets on with the job!
Overall, stability has been improved markedly and the ability to run increased overnight batches has been hugely beneficial – where we would have previously struggled to hold 20 to 23 microns on diameter due to thermal expansion now can run at 6 to 8 microns routinely.”
For tool and cutter grinder engineering sales or enquiries, please contact Allied (Tooling) Ltd on 01202 675767 or via sales@alliedtooling.com and be sure to follow the team on LinkedIn for the latest news, in-depth product features and product brochures available for download.
10 Year Anniversary Offer
To celebrate 10 years in partnership with Vomat GmbH, oelheld UK is offering exclusive anniversary packages for all FA120 and FA240 systems in 2021.
As Vomat's official UK partner we are uniquely positioned to offer:
Guaranteed best prices
Discounted oil prices
Approved installation
1 year remote monitoring
12 month extended warranty