Product Manager Touts Real-World Value of Tool Presetters in Influential Aerospace & Defense Publication

Tool presetters offer an array of benefits; chief among them:

• Maximized spindle usage
• Precise and repeatable measurements for consistent performance, even in extreme tolerance applications
• Reduced operator error
• Increased setup efficiency thanks to stored tooling data
• Improved tool life

In the Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing Yearbook published by SME, our Tool Measuring Systems product manager, Doug Sumner writes, “In the precision, no-room-for-error world of aerospace, manufacturers need sophisticated tool presetting like airplanes need wings.”

He goes on to note, however, that the practice offline tool presetting has yet to take root in widespread form across the industry. Admittedly, different shops have different needs, but to Doug, the discrepancies between what shops are producing and the varying levels of presetting systems they employ today is a bit baffling.

He has found one consistency, that those taking the time and making the effort to install advanced systems are enjoying significant payback. In the yearbook released this September, Doug tells the story of three such customers specializing in aerospace manufacturing and how they’ve successfully implemented sophisticated presetters in different ways.

Below is one of the real-world examples he shares. (Because of the sensitive nature of the aerospace industry, company names are left out.)

Company A uses a large number of multiple-insert cutters, most between 12 and 36 inserts. In order to maximize tool life and reduce costly titanium scrap, every cutter requires 100% inspection of all inserts. By adding a full CNC presetter, they were able to do this while the crib operator was replacing the inserts on the next cutter. Now they can also determine when a cutter body is worn to the point that it will affect part quality and catch incoming cutters that are not made to spec before they disrupt production. And because they presetter is doing the full inspection, they have a record of the measurements for every single cutter with years of history if the need arises because of an audit.

To read more of Doug’s take on presetter applications in aerospace and two other real-world applications in the Aerospace & Defense Manufacturing Yearbook, click here.