6 Reasons High-performance Tooling Is Worth the Money

Our products cost a little more. We know it. Our customers know it. It’s not a secret and we don’t hide from it. That said, the value they provide is undeniable; we’ve done the wear experiments, conducted the comparison testing and written the case studies. The numbers and real-world savings realized speak for themselves. 

When you invest in high-performance tooling, it’s just that—an investment. One that’s certain to pay back.

But there’s more to the value story. A peek behind the curtain at tool engineering reveals how high-performance tooling is more than just faster setups, better runout control or longer tool life and less frequent changeovers. High-performance tools are more than the best materials. Each and every design and production decision are made with end user success in mind. Here are just a few of the principles of high-performance tools and how those come to life.

1. Extra features are designed into each tool to protect them from the environment and provide durability. 

For example, we include an oil fitting on all of our fine boring heads, which requires additional machining of the tool to allow oil to access the critical micrometer screw. Our competition suggests our tools require this and their tools do not. This is not true. We could eliminate this feature as they have, but long term, the customer has no way to service the tool themselves without the oil fitting. 

We also use a nickel coating on all external surfaces of our boring tools. Again, not necessary, but highly beneficial to help prevent the tools from rusting.  

Another factor to help the long life of our tools is the highly precise and accurate machining and grinding of all assembled parts. Strict control of all tolerances makes for an assembled tool that’s rigid and tight, lasting for many years in operation.

2. Tools are designed to be easy to use and safe to handle. 

Our tools use clamping wrenches that provide operators with handles which won’t slip and do not apply pressure points to the hands. The precise clamping threads are precision ground to minimize stick slip and friction during the clamping and unclamping process.  

Our fine boring heads are all made with either inch or metric scale screws, so the adjusting accuracy of a tool that is adjusted to an inch correction is absolutely true—no conversions on the dial face of a metric tool to contend with. One hex wrench can be used for all the screws on the same tool.

3. Changing a tool should never change the performance of the programmed operating parameters.  

High-precision tooling provides the confidence that changing a cutting tool will not require modifications to the program. Fine boring heads, for example, have a unique clamping system that ensures the tool diameter will not change under the most severe conditions, such as high RPMs, intermittent cutting or high-speed tool changers. 
Rather than using a simple set screw that contacts directly against the tool carrier, we have designed additional features into the tool to amplify the clamping forces when applying standard torque to the tool.

4. Workpiece scrap should not be the result of tooling uncertainty or performance.

Trial cutting with a tool to measure for first-cut performance and results is not necessary. It’s wasteful and time consuming. With high-performance tooling, the accuracy and dependability of the tools after assembly and presetting will provide the expected results.  

5. Using high quality tools in your shop can be rewarding for the shop floor team.  

When operators consistently have to contend with subpar tooling, there are inevitably negative effects on morale. No one likes to feel the pressure to perform and make high quality parts with tools that don’t measure up.

6. High-performance tooling exceeds industry standards in a number of ways, particularly at the taper.

ASME, DIN, ISO and JIS provide all manufacturers with the same dimensions and tolerances of various tool holder types. It is very important for everyone to produce tooling and spindles according to these industry standards to ensure compatibility from any source. 

Our belief is that we should produce every tool holder taper to our own stricter control of this important specification; rough grinding, finish grinding and artificially aging these parts guarantee the highest level of accuracy and surface finishes. No one makes a more accurate tool holder taper than BIG DAISHOWA. It’s the core of our product and the shared culture of striving to be the best in the world.

Explore our Document Library to see specifications and performance metrics for all of our high-performance products. You’ll find the latest brochures and catalogs and even more evidence that better tooling is worth the money.

Product Breadth Infographic