Text: T Murrali
Advancement in technologies in forging and casting has made the quantum of metal removed minimal. While the trend does benefit many users, especially the auto components manufacturers who are working on light weighting and next generation components, is it reducing the role of the metal cutting tool maker? Actually no, according to Tyrolit, a leading supplier of innovative solutions in grinding, cutting, drilling, honing, dressing and polishing. The Austria based company, founded in 1919, is looking at this trend as an opportunity to develop new products while also offering solutions to their customers.
The speciality of Tyrolit, which belongs to the leading manufacturer of crystal component jewellery, accessories, lighting and interior design – Swarovski, is in providing cost-effective solutions focusing on product quality, consistency and the lower cost per component.
Subrahmanya Kumar, Country Sales Manager – India, SBU Metal Precision, Tyrolit India SuperAbrasive Tools Pvt Ltd
Speaking to Auto Components India, the Country Sales Manager – India, SBU Metal Precision, Tyrolit India SuperAbrasive Tools Private Limited, Subrahmanya Kumar V, said that the basic purpose of grinding is not merely material removal but to give the final size and accuracy of the part thereby conforming to quality parameters of the finished goods.
“Today, with the advancement in technology, the amount of material to be removed from the raw materials till finished goods are made, has been reduced to some extent. This also could be the case for grinding. There are also some other processes that can be adopted, like grinding as in the case of turning, or hard part turning as in the case of grinding, or also using laser technology which require neither cutting tools nor grinding wheels etc. In my opinion, if some areas in grinding go away then there are some more areas coming in from the other new applications / processes; so I don’t think the business potential is going down; it can only go positive with the growing economy,” he said.
For example, in case of transmission parts like gears, for some applications they used to go without grinding, but nowadays the trend has changed with manufacturers going in for grinding to meet customer demands like reducing NVH of the vehicles etc. So the potential for gear grinding has increased, he pointed out.
Tyrolit, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of bonded grinding, cut-off, sawing, drilling and dressing tools, is a system supplier of tools and machinery. As a systems partner the global company offers grinding technology total solutions to reduce grinding costs by improving the cut-off and grinding processes. It resolves customer-specific problems on site and also provides marketing support to its partners worldwide.
The global company is known for innovations and the testimony to this is that about 30% of the sales every year come from products that are less than 3 years old. “All these are done by more than 100 people involved in research and development at Schwaz, Austria. They contribute by developing new, customer focused and environmentally friendly technologies through new bonding systems. This is done mainly to focus on various demands from the customers like enhanced productivity as well as reduced cost of manufacturing. In certain applications like manufacturing solid carbide round tools, Tyrolit has helped customers in almost halving the time for manufacturing. This will result in productivity benefit which will more than nullify the cost of the wheel,” explains Kumar.
Not only reducing the grinding time but the company has also been working on increasing the life of the wheel – to produce more number of parts out of the wheel. So both the properties of the wheel together are helping to reduce process time and increase its life. Typically, the grinding wheels lose their profile after running for some quantum of time and hence they have to be dressed (re-profiled). The company’s technology has helped customers extend the time after which they have to redress the grinding wheels for correct profile. “This creates extra capacity for the customers that can be utilised to address the increased volumes to a certain extent,” he said.
Tyrolit has its customer base segregated into different business units – automotive, bearing, gear grinding, aerospace and steel industries, served by an inclusive team of marketing and application engineers. Of late, more and more customers who are in to manufacturing crankshafts and camshafts, are going in for high productive solutions such as super abrasive grinding wheels – CBN (Cubic Boron Nitrate) that are more productive. The life of the grinding wheels is high and the number of parts they produce before the dressing is also more; in addition, the time for grinding is also reduced. Unlike the conventional wheels the super abrasive wheels have a core of steel or some other material, with a layer of super abrasive for 5mm to 8mm. These can again be re-tipped or reconditioned after the layer is consumed; the tool can be used for nearly 5 times before going in for a new core.
Ergonomics
When steel is used as a core material the wheel becomes heavy making it difficult while handling. To overcome this, Tyrolit has developed a core in a new material based on carbon fibre. The weight of the wheel will only be 20% while the stiffness will increase considerably. Besides, it provides dampening effect, thereby improving the quality of the part produced.
The company gets signals on the emerging trends from different sources – some directly from the customers and some from the machine builders. As technology progresses, the machine manufacturers are able to make machines with spindles that can work on higher wheel speeds. Tyrolit works in tandem with them to increase capability of the wheel speeds. However, with higher peripheral speeds safety is critical and this calls for new improved bonds, he said.
Tyrolit has 29 manufacturing facilities spread across 12 countries but still not one in India. “We have been in India as a trading organisation for the last 25 years and as an independent company since October 2009, giving customers total cost reduction solutions. If we have to grow bigger the management will have to set up a plant here. As of now it is all imported from Austria; hence local presence would make us much more competitive. We are very optimistic of growing the business in India. The team is being expanded to have a better reach to the customers. We have business associates in all the industrial cities,” says Kumar.
As the company grows the business it hopes to expand the network too. It has different families of products for specific application areas. “For example, we have CSS Ultra for external cylinder grinding; we have Strato Ultra for aerospace, Mira Ultra for gear grinding applications, Roll Star for roll grinding and steel industries. Also, we have Startec XP-P for tooling industries. Well trained technical staff in the local team helps our customers in effectively using these various products,” he added. (END)
BOX
– Turnover: Around Euro 600 Million.
– Employees: 4,512 of whom 1,123 work at
the headquarters in Schwaz
– Employees in R & D: 105
– Production facilities: 29 in 12 countries
– Sales companies: In Asia, America, Europe, Australia
– Distributors in more than 65 countries
