This year, besides showcasing our latest technology, ANCA is set to celebrate the art of tool making. The perfect tool requires a combination of art and engineering. Our customers have cultivated and refined their craft over the years to design beautiful tools and applied science to achieve a sub-micron surface finish and superior cutting performance.
Pat McCluskey, joint Co-Founder at ANCA comments: “In over 40 years working in the tool and cutter grinding industry I have been inspired by our customer’s expertise and passion for grinding tools. In recognising their craft, our team at ANCA have dedicated themselves to designing even better technology solutions so that our industry can continue to evolve.”
“Our technology has advanced light years since then. As well as showcasing our latest products at IMTS we want to celebrate the deep grinding knowledge and daily dedication of our customers to create beautiful tools that have in turn helped shape our world. We know that grinding a tool is a craft, a passion and not just a task for many of our customers. Grinding the perfect tool is as much about art as it is about science,” Pat concluded.
Alfred Lyon, Cutting Tool Supervisor at AB Tools said: “The grinding of rotary cutting tools takes craftsmanship and is considered art by myself and many others in the round tool industry ( as well as the machining community). On many of the various social media platforms the passion for the craft is inspiring. I am happy to be a part of a competition that would showcase the talent and capabilities of the tool grinding community.”
To find the Tool of the Year ANCA will hold a competition for customers to submit their favourite tool with the winners being judged and announced live at IMTS. The prize is a trip for two to ANCA’s headquarters in Melbourne, Australia to see firsthand how the technology is created at ANCA and meet the team who are dedicated to finding even better solutions for our customer.
Judging panel
- Pat Boland, Joint Co-Founder and Managing Director at ANCA
- Pat McCluskey, Joint Co-Founder and Managing Director at ANCA
- Alicona – measurement of surface finish
- Zoller – measure profile and diameter
- Alfred Lyon, Cutting Tool Supervisor, AB Tools
The competition will be based on the passion and the craft of tool making and celebrate our highly skilled tool grinding community.
How to enter 1) Share a photo or video of your tool being ground on an ANCA machine on your LinkedIn, Instagram or Facebook using #ANCATooloftheyear18 hashtag. 2) Visit www.anca.com/Tool-Of-The-Year-2018 to complete an entry form with full name, company name, email address and social media handles. 3) Social Media submissions will run from 27d of July to 20st August 2018. 4) ANCA will gather all entries and will post on the ANCA Facebook page as an album on 20st August 2018. 5) You are encouraged to promote the competition album with your networks to gain likes on the image. 6) The five finalists will be selected by the number of likes (passion) they achieve on their picture. 7) Finalists are announced on 25th August 2018. 8) Finalists will send the actual tool to IMTS, along with name and logo of their company to be displayed on the ANCA stand. 9) A judging panel pick the winning tool based on the craft, strict measurement criteria.
At IMTS the top five tools will be judged on the following criteria:
- Best surface finish in Ra (roughness average) value on the flute or gash surface
- The tool the that is closest to the nominal tolerance as stated on the drawing in terms of diameter and profile (i.e. if the tolerance on diameter is +/- 0.010mm and the tool is measured to 0.005 then this will rank favourably)
- Tool that has been ground to the tightest tolerance as per the drawing (i.e. the tool with the lowest tolerance will rank favourably)
- Level of complexity (i.e. in terms of the number of steps, profiles will rank favourably)
Criteria for entry:
- The tool must be made on an ANCA machine
- The organisation or individual must follow ANCA’s Facebook page
- Material: Carbide or HSS
- Length: Between 50-(2”)- 150mm (6”)
- Tool size diameter: 6mm (1/4)”– to 25mm(1”)
- Tool: Must contain at least one step diameter or profile consisting of a radius
- Flutes: No restriction on the number of flutes
For more information and to fill out an entry form, visit www.anca.com/Tool-Of-The-Year-2018
