Tool manufacturer from Thailand relies on VOLLMER 2025-03-19

Since 2019, Thai tool manufacturer N.S.T. Machinery has achieved enormous growth in the PCD sector with VOLLMER erosion machines. Using several other machines from the Biberach-based sharpening specialist, such as the VHybrid 260, the Thai company wants to continue its success story with carbide tools as well. N.S.T. Machinery is also building a 5400-square-metre production hall, which they plan to occupy by the end of 2025. With these investments, the company aims to grow beyond Thailand and acquire international customers from sectors such as automotive, medical technology, electronics and the watchmaking industry, primarily with microtools.

The Thai town of Bang Wua has around 13,000 inhabitants and belongs to the province of Chachoengsao. The rural region is progressively attracting industrial companies, due to its proximity to the megacity of Bangkok. The tool manufacturer N.S.T. Machinery Company Limited set up shop in Bang Wua in 2011 and has been a customer of Biberach-based sharpening specialist VOLLMER for five years. VOLLMER has been represented in Thailand for many years, and founded the VOLLMER Asia Pacific subsidiary in Bangkok just two years ago. Its customer N.S.T. Machinery is only 30 minutes outside of Bangkok, which makes personal on-site support very easy.

Opening up new markets with the VHybrid 260

N.S.T. Machinery's range includes machining tools made of carbide, HSS (high-speed steel) or PCD (polycrystalline diamond). Within just a few years, the company has developed into a leading manufacturer of precision tools for the aerospace, medical technology, automotive and electronics industries. The company, with its 80 employees, currently serves around 160 customers generating an annual turnover of around five million euros. "We receive incredible support from VOLLMER Asia Pacific. If we have a problem, the VOLLMER service team is on hand immediately, either online via a video call, on the phone or even on site in person," says Narong Yimnuam, Managing Director of N.S.T. Machinery Company Limited. "And because we are convinced by the VOLLMER technology and support, we recently invested in a VHybrid 260 grinding and erosion machine, which will enable us to produce carbide tools of VOLLMER quality in future."

N.S.T. Machinery can use the VHybrid 260 to grind or erode up to 100 per cent of both carbide and PCD tools in a single set-up. The VHybrid 260 is based on multi-layer machining, which is implemented through two vertically configured spindles. The lower spindle can be used both for grinding and for eroding. Due to the robust kinematics and the VPulse EDM high-performance generator, N.S.T. Machinery can use the machine to produce the smallest microtools with diameters of 0.45 millimetres or less with the highest precision, performance and surface finish.

Five wire erosion machines for PCD machining

"Our aim is to make a name for ourselves as a specialist in cutting tools both in Thailand and abroad, and to position ourselves on the global market in the long term with advanced technology and high-end quality," adds Narong Yimnuam. "We have grown enormously, especially since entering the PCD sector five years ago. Five VOLLMER wire erosion machines from the VPulse and QWD series played a central role in this." Four of the five VOLLMER wire erosion machines are VPulse 500 models. N.S.T. Machinery uses them to manufacture a wide range of PCD tools, from end mills, stepped reamers and moulds to special drills and step drills. Thanks to simultaneous path interpolation along five CNC axes, the machining tools can be eroded precisely in a single set-up. As with the VHybrid 260, the centrepiece of the VPulse 500 is the VPulse EDM generator, which ensures a higher removal rate or improved surface quality. Due to the eroding wire, N.S.T. Machinery can use the machine for precise machining even of complex geometries and small inner radii these structures are typical for multi-stage tools and bell-shaped tools. The relevant automatic settings enable unmanned tool machining around the clock.

N.S.T. Machinery scores points with microtools

"With its technologies and services, VOLLMER aligns perfectly with our own company motto, which is as follows: Quality, precision, compliance with deadlines and the provision of innovative solutions for complex tool machining," emphasises Narong Yimnuam. "By collaborating with VOLLMER, we also want to improve the qualifications and know-how of our employees, in order to tailor our tools even more precisely to the requirements of our current and future customers, which is why a VGrind 340S will soon also be part of our machine fleet."

The VOLLMER VGrind 340S tool-grinding machine was put into operation at the end of 2024. It can be used to produce delicate microtools in particular, such as those used in the medical, electronics and watchmaking industries. Also with two vertically configured grinding wheels, the VGrind 340S can achieve highly efficient grinding of even the smallest carbide tools with diameters between 0.3 and 12.7 millimetres. The machine also features a tool steady rest to ensure optimum concentricity, and can optionally be fitted with a back rest for longer drilling tools.

"From Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia to Taiwan and the Philippines, we support numerous medium-sized companies such as N.S.T. Machinery, which have recently achieved enormous growth with their products and innovations," says Andreas Böhm, Managing Director of the VOLLMER Group. "That's why we founded our VOLLMER Asia Pacific subsidiary in Bangkok two years ago, so that we can provide our customers in Southeast Asia with even more efficient and customised on-site support."