Lancashire-based subcontract manufacturing specialist Woodbrook Precision continually invests in the latest machine tools, supported by cutting tool solutions from Ceratizit UK. 

Indeed, Woodbrook’s managing director Stephen Hogg says that Ceratizit has been instrumental in enhancing the productivity of the company’s new machinery.

Stephen’s father founded the second-generation business more than 35 years ago.

Initially investing in three-axis Mazak VMCs with rotary tables and turning centres with live tooling, more recent acquisitions have included two 3.5-m bed Mazak VTC800/30SR five-axis machining centres and a five-axis Mazak CV5-500. As the business has shifted from machining steel and aluminium to stainless, super duplex, titanium, Inconel, carbon fibre and Hastelloy, Ceratizit UK has risen through the ranks to be the cutting tool partner of choice.

“Over 10 years ago, Ceratizit was one of many suppliers but, as I took control of the business, it became evident that Ceratizit had the best-performing tools and their service was far beyond anything else,” says Hogg, who can cite many successful examples.

“We recently implemented Ceratizit facing and parting-off tools, and it reduced the component cycle time on 400-off job from 1 minute 58 seconds to 1 minute 26 seconds. Furthermore, Dragonskin CircularLine DLC-coated solid-carbide end mills have cut cycle times on an aluminium part from 3 minutes to 1 minute 20 seconds, while more than doubling tool life.”

On another 100-off repeat order for stainless steel aerospace fixtures, the company needed to reduce its cycle times to maximise margins and reduce costs. Ceratizit introduced a high-feed indexable end mill, reducing our cycle times from 38 to 26 minutes per part, with a tool life improvement of more than 20%.

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