SGS Carbide Tool invests over £500,000 in Rapid Response Unit

SGS Carbide Tool (UK) has invested over £500,000 in a new, Rapid Response Unit. Located near to the company's Wokingham headquarters, it will provide direct support for solid carbide cutting tools being reground to as new condition for customers in the aerospace and aero engine industries, as well as capacity support for high volume cutting tool production.

Wokingham-based SGS Carbide Tool supplies some of the most advanced solid carbide cutting tools currently available, providing high performance cutting solutions from stock as well as bespoke cutting tools designed and manufactured to meet, and exceed, customers' exacting specifications.

The Rapid Response Unit will operate as a self-contained manufacturing cell, and will be staffed by two highly skilled and experienced tool and cutter grinding technicians. The total investment by SGS includes a modern, 6,000 ft2 facility, a new Walter Power Helitronic 6-axis CNC tool and cutter grinding machine, and two Walter machines of the same specification that have been fully refurbished by the German machine tool company, as well as a new Walter Helicheck to ensure the company's stringent quality standards are being adhered to.

Adding to production efficiency, the Helicheck automatic non-contact machine can measure complex cutting tools in one operation, including features like rake angle, helix angle, lead, relief angle, profile scan, and concentricity. It can also measure grinding wheels and just about any part that fits the capacity. A Helicheck can even scan a profile and modify the grinding program to automatically correct any deviation from the desired form.

Internal Sales Manager, Gerry Cook, explains: “The simple fact is we are too busy producing new products in our Wokingham headquarters to provide the level of service we would consider acceptable to customers having tools reground. We made a strategic decision to create the Rapid Response Unit and it has proved very successful with the customers it supports. As a quality focused company we would have installed all new Walter grinding machines, but we could not wait the 9 months quoted for delivery. So, to provide the additional capacity to the new machine we had two very good machines refurbished to 'as new' condition at Walter's factory, to hold the tight tolerance levels customers expect from SGS.”