No tolerance for error

When it comes to product quality, Lexington Cutter has no tolerance for cutting corners. The ISO-certified manufacturer of precision carbide-tipped and solid carbide cutting tools is committed to continuous improvement in order to provide the necessary tools, equipment and working environment to deliver high-quality products that meet or exceed the expectations of customers.

So it’s ironic that one of the Bradenton, Fla.-based company’s many impressive customer success stories came as a result of producing a step drill that had looser tolerances than the tool it replaced. But the story also demonstrates Lexington Cutter’s ability to design and produce tools to each customer’s specific applications.

Lexington specializes in producing keyseat cutters, milling cutters, reamers, end mills, drills and similar tools used in the automotive, aerospace and other industries requiring metal removal tools. For one such customer, Briggs & Stratton Corp. in Auburn, Ala., Lexington was asked to evaluate a project that used custom carbide step drills on large runs of cast iron flywheels. The goal was to reduce the cost of production through tooling.

A Briggs & Stratton production supervisor contacted Jason Mathis, a salesman with cutting tools distributor Max Tools of Montgomery, Ala., to review the operation, which used a step drill to rough out a tapered bore in the flywheel of a generator engine. Operators then used a carbide-tipped tapered reamer supplied by Lexington Cutter to achieve the required size and finish. Mathis invited Lexington Cutter vice president of sales Junita St. Esprit and vice president of technical services Jim Trammell to make an onsite visit and gather application data required to present a tooling recommendation.

St. Esprit and Trammell learned the current step drills cost about $500 each, and produced up to 1,100 parts per drill. The operation needed to produce 30,000 parts per month. One of the first things they realized was that the step drill being used was over-engineered for the job.

“They were using a tool with specifications that would be appropriate for a finishing tool, not for a roughing tool,” says Trammell.

The current tool also was manufactured out of a cobalt high-speed steel body using a high helical flute design that held very tight tolerances, which is not required in a roughing operation or when machining cast iron. Lexington recommended a drill made from a medium carbon tool steel body with a straight flute design and opened up the tolerances of the drill to meet the demands of the application.

“They had tolerances on their previous drill that were too tight for what they were doing. When you start loosening those up, it makes a difference in the cost of the tool,” says St. Esprit.

At $288, the purchase price for the new tool was almost 50 percent less than the cost of the current tool. Perhaps even more impressive than the cost savings, however, was the improved performance the new tool demonstrated after a test run. Lexington Cutter’s step drill produced 11,000 parts per drill, which was 10 times the production capability of the tool it replaced. The previous tool generated a tooling cost of $0.454 per part, compared to just $0.0262 per part for the new tool. Based on the production run of 30,000 parts per month, the new tool generated monthly savings of $12,850.

“The design changes alone reduced the cost of the tool by nearly one half,” Trammell says. “The performance improvement was a bonus.”

He says Lexington Cutter’s tool lasts longer because of its beefier design. The previous tool tended to fracture easily because of the high helix and sharp corners.

“We changed some of the clearance angles and straightened out the flute and made a beefier tool,” he says. “If you hold the two tools together, you can see there’s quite a difference.”

Lexington is currently performing additional test runs at other Briggs & Stratton locations with similar production challenges.

Award-winning effort
The dramatic cost savings earned Lexington Cutter the 2007 American Eagle Value-Added Manufacturer Award from the Industrial Supply Association. In order to win the annual award, a manufacturer must demonstrate exceptional documented cost savings or productivity improvements for the end-user.

“Winning the American Eagle Award is great for our company,” Trammell says. “It shows that we’re able to get out there with customers and work not only with our distributors and manufacturers’ reps, but directly with the end-user to make everyone a winner.”

St. Esprit says the award is especially meaningful because it demonstrates how two relatively small companies in the industrial supply channel can partner to support large customers. “This shows customers that we can document savings just like larger companies do. But as a smaller company, we can provide more personalized service.”

Although Lexington Cutter has worked on several projects at Briggs & Stratton since 2002, Trammell says this is the first time the company decided to document the savings. (Click here to read Lexington Cutter’s documented savings report.) He now realizes the value of putting cost savings in writing.

“Many times, we’ve shaken hands, said ‘Great job!’ and patted each other on the back. Until you start putting it down on paper, it’s just a pat on the back. There’s a big difference between that pat on the back and actually putting proof of $12,000 a month savings in front of a customer,” he says. “With savings like this, rest assured that we are currently testing tools in other departments at Briggs & Stratton.”

This article was prepared exclusively for ValueAddedPartners.org, Copyright 2007.

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