Danish tool manufacturer puts its trust in VOLLMER 2020-12-09

Danish tool manufacturer, TN Værktøjsslibning, is a name that may be a bit of a mouthful, so they often shorten it to TN Slib. The word "Værktøjsslibning" means "tool grinding", and that is exactly what the company does: It produces coated, solid carbide milling cutters and drill bits, which can be made to order or can be chosen from more than 50 standard models. The Bjæverskov based company also offers resharpening services and advice. At the beginning of 2020, TN Slib decided to purchase the VGrind 340S tool-grinding machine, which Biberach-based sharpening specialists VOLLMER introduced to the market a year earlier. The VGrind 340S is a newer iteration of the time-tested yet highly innovative machine concept on which the VGrind series is based.

Leading Danish tool manufacturer
TN Værktøjsslibning (TN Slib) is one of Denmark's leading tool manufacturers located approximately 50 km south west of Copenhagen. Among the central tenets of the company's vision are high product quality and a focus on customer relations that are founded on mutual trust and cooperation. The company employs 25 members of staff that work to produce, coat and resharpen solid carbide tools such as milling cutters and drill bits. TN Slib specialises in developing bespoke stepped milling and drilling tools in close collaboration with its customers. Currently, its customers hail primarily from Europe, but it is attracting ever increasing interest from businesses from further afield. In order to increase the quality and precision of its cutting tools, the manufacturer invested in the VOLLMER VGrind 340S grinding machine at the start of the year.

The open dialogue with VOLLMER is valued
"We see great potential in our collaboration with VOLLMER, both now and in the future," says Torben Nielsen, founder, owner and CEO of TN Værktøjsslibning. "When we met at EMO 2019 in Hanover, we were very impressed by VOLLMER. We particularly liked the friendly, in-depth exchange in which we discussed optimising the grinding machines for our specific requirements."

TN Slib makes around three quarters of its sales in the production of bespoke, solid carbide tools. The company also offers standard tools for cutting metals such as steel, aluminium, cast iron or copper. TN Slib's customers are chiefly in the medical technology, aerospace and automotive industries. In order to improve the performance and operating life of its tools, TN Slib coats them using two dedicated coating machines. A new CNC milling centre was procured specifically for the purpose of testing different coatings. Around 5% of the company's sales come from its resharpening services.

A grinding machine for delicate milling cutters and drill bits
Using the VGrind 340S grinding machine, TN Slib seeks to drive forward the development and production of small milling cutters and somewhat larger drill bits with diameters of between 0.3 and 8mm. Delicate tools like these are facing increased demand in the manufacturing industry because of the ever tighter spaces encountered in mobile devices, medical equipment and automotive technology. VOLLMER designed the VGrind 340S specially for machining small solid carbide cutting tools. With its two vertical spindles for different grinding wheel sets, the grinding machine allows for multi-level machining. This enables TN Slib to cut down on non-productive time and further improve tool quality. Five optimally configured CNC axes achieve interpolation with short travel distances for the linear and rotational axes, which in turn reduces the time required to machine workpieces and allows for incredibly tight tool tolerances.

TN Slib produces tools around the clock without human intervention
A key factor in TN Slib's decision to purchase the VGrind 340S was that the machine has the versatility to produce both small and large batches. The proven NUMROTOplus software enables three-dimensional simulation of production processes and makes it possible to carry out collision monitoring in advance. To allow the company to operate the grinding machine around the clock, tool manufacturer TN Slib opted for an optional automation solution. This came in the form of the HP 160 pallet magazine, which allows up to 900 workpieces to be fed-in for unmanned machining of tools with different shank diameters.

"Medium-sized tool manufacturers like TN Værktøjsslibning are increasingly using machine tools that are tailored to their specific requirements," says Jürgen Hauger, CEO of the VOLLMER Group. "The basic concept behind our VGrind product family enables us to configure sharpening machines on a modular basis and optionally adapt them to processes that are desirable for tool machining – especially for custom toolmaking."