Tips on machining vol.11
More profit with fewer tools
ーDisadvantages of increased number of tools and solutions to reduce the numbersー

Manufacturers of industrial products have successfully reduced the number of components through low-cost design. At the same time, however, they are facing increased difficulty in machining due to more and more complex workpiece shapes. On many shop floors, machine operators are required to use a variety of cutting tools to deal with diverse shapes. So ever-increasing tools may be one of their biggest headaches.
In this article, we will visualize disadvantages of increased number of tools and discuss the ways to reduce their numbers.

The increase in the number of tools carries the following disadvantages: (1) increase in tool management burden, (2) deterioration of machining accuracy, and (3) prolonged machining time.

(1) Increase in tool management burden

This has been a deep-rooted issue. You can easily imagine that the increased number of tools makes their inventory management cumbersome. But the management burdens are not limited to tool inventory; it also involves tool life, machining conditions, number of holders, setup times and storage space.
This can be likened to an iceberg on the sea. The issues that we can see are just the tip of the iceberg. There's a lot more under the surface, which may increase both man-hours (labor cost) and overhead cost, possibly leading to a decrease in the profitability of the shop floor as a whole.