The name of US company Great Lakes Custom Tool Manufacturing (GLCT) says it all: GLCT produces special tools from its base on the shores of Lake Michigan, one of North America’s five Great Lakes. In order to machine tools and circular saws tipped with carbide or PCD, the toolmaker relies on 19 Vollmer machines. Recently, Vollmer supplied GLCT with a VPulse 500 wire erosion machine and a QR 270 disc erosion machine, among others.

“We have developed from a local sharpening service into an international manufacturer of special tools for woodworking and metalworking,” says GLCT CEO Ray Martin. “Our combination of products, services and support, along with a company culture of investment and innovation, is the reason behind our success both on the American market and globally.”

When GLCT expanded its business premises to almost 10,000 sq m in 2018, five new Vollmer machines arrived at the factory, including a VPulse 500 wire erosion machine with an external loading system for up to 16 tools. This successor to the QWD range can sharpen significantly faster than its predecessor thanks to a new type of generator technology for PCD cutting edges.

“With the VPulse generator, the new machine is at least 20% more productive than our previous QWD machines,” says Martin. “What’s more, the surface quality of the cutting tools is better than ever, and the VPulse 500 has the latest Vollmer programming system, which offers an intuitive user interface. This means that we not only save production time, but avoid machining errors.”

Even in 2020, a year when Covid-19 was wreaking havoc across the world, a new Vollmer machine reached Lake Michigan: a QR 270 disc erosion machine that can sharpen the tooth tops of PCD-tipped circular saw blades.

For further information
www.vollmer-group.com