b'More Efficient Broaching ineffective. having a knowledgeable, experi-Our team came up with an in- enced partner outside your com-novative macro that can be sharedpany can be a valuable resource.working, break it. Thats becausewith engineering teams to speed always doing the same thing likelyup the introduction of CNC broach- Augment Tooling Selection will get you to the same place overing. The tool is very versatile andand Managementand over. Sometimes we need crit- works on any machine. As I men- To put those tips in more con-ical thinking and to rely on strate- tioned earlier, CNC broaching cancrete terms, I invite you to use us gic allies to do the heavy lifting, in- unlock a tremendous amount ofas your tooling concierge. Just as cluding analyzing problems andvalue on a shop floor. a concierge at a fancy hotel as-finding solutions. It is a formula forTip No. 3: Challenge the statussists with making dinner reserva-successifthe relationship is basedquo.Nobody knows everything.tions, securing theater tickets and on reliable data rather than on as- Remember the old saying that onebooking sightseeing tours, we com-sumptions, intuition or emotion. plus one equals three? Encourageplement your expertise by under-When you do a back-of-the-enve- strategic partners outside the com- standing your complex machining lope calculation or a more detailedpany to think beyond their normalapplications, comprehending the analysis, you might find that yourboundaries about how to makechallenges of those applications, overall equipment effectiveness your shop more productive anddeveloping custom tooling for your how youre using your equipment relative to its potentialmay beIn our professional and personal lives,much lower than you thought. Its human nature to believe that re- time is the most precious commodity.peatedly doing the same thing and achieving good enough results isprofitable. Regardless of how far be- applications, recommending the the best that we can do. Ive fallenhind the curve that you might be right broach or other type of tool-into that trap on multiple occasions,one or two generations of technol- ing, maintaining your tooling inven-and maybe you have too. I encour- ogy are common in my experiencetory and quickly delivering tooling.age you to stay out of it by:you have to start somewhere. Specifically, our applications en-Identifying bottlenecks in all as- Although change can be pain- gineers will look at a 2D or 3D draw-pects of your operations. ful at first, it will be worthwhile ining of your part, understand the Determining the cash eatersthe long run, and youll ask your- capabilities of your machines and on the production line and any- self, Why didnt we do this ear- help you program your job with where else in the company. lier? The this might be smallthe best tooling, setups, feeds and Taking actions to eliminate ob- investments in new holders, newspeeds. We also leverage our tech-stacles by doing things that initiallytooling, new CAD/CAM softwarenical knowledge and business re-may be unnatural or uncomfortableroutines, new macros or new train- lationships to connect customers but can help improve your bottoming, all of which can pay off big. Ifwith respected brands of broach-line, as well as team morale. your experiences resemble thoseing tools, reamers, microdrills, mul-For instance, many of our cus- that Ive had at Pilot Precision Prod- tifunctional tools and much more.tomershavemachinescapableucts and in previous lives, someBy delegating those responsibil-of using modern CNC broachingshort-term pain for long-term gainities to us rather than having your tools and processes. But surpris- will be worth every penny. team members use their valuable ingly, the companies have CNCs orWith millions of tool and tool- time, youll likely see improvements CAM software that does not offerholder references, tens of thou- in productivity, profitability and mo-broaching toolpath support. It mustsands of machine types and thou- rale that may have been elusive be programmed from the groundsandsofCAD/CAMsoftwarebefore.up, which is time-consuming andtricks or shortcuts at your disposal,When it comes to selecting the right tooling, its essential to wisely choose your partners. Although about the authorbuying from a catalog or online Marco Morgado is director of global sales operations atmight be easy, youre gambling that Pilot Precision Products in South Deerfield, Massachusetts.your expertise will suffice. Maybe it For more information, call 413-350-5200 or visit www. will, or maybe it wont. Why take the pilotprecision.com. chance?CTE36JANUARY 2023 Broaching.indd 36 12/15/22 1:39 PM'