A recently signed Preferred Partnership Agreement (PPA) between Glasgow-based Walker Precision Engineering (WPE) and Alcester-based Seco Tools (UK) Ltd (www.secotools.com), gives the former access not only to Seco’s ‘best in class’ cutting tools and tooling solutions but also to its range of technical, consultancy and support services.

The Agreement has an emphasis on continuous improvement and best-practice methods that are structured to help WPE (and other partner companies) increase their productivity levels, reduce their operational costs and optimise their machining processes via services that include: on-site and off-site technical support; process improvement projects that use the skills and experience of Seco’s ‘Component Engineered Tooling Team’; Documented Cost Reduction (DCR) programmes; customised tool design and manufacture; Seco Technical Education Programme (STEP) training courses; and regular updates on new technologies, processes and tooling developments.

Moreover, to ensure maximum effectiveness of the PPA, there are monthly planning meetings and quarterly review meetings with key personnel from WPE and Seco.

Within the first few months of the PPA being signed in December 2017, it was achieving positive results — most notably with the machining of a complex precision chassis part manufactured by WPE for a defence-industry customer.

By working in partnership with Seco’s product and technical staff, and using process improvement strategies that included a focused DCR programme, WPE has been able to reduce cycle times for this part by 40%; and at a recent monthly planning meeting, Seco technical sales engineer Douglas Austin presented an overview of My Pages.

This is the tooling company’s digital portal, which gives customers fast and easy access to Seco’s product information, cutting data, previous purchase history and test reports.

In the past, WPE staff — especially those working in the company’s design, planning and programming department — had used Seco’s Machining Navigator publication, a ‘voluminous printed-paper resource’ that provided access to the latest product information.

However, this did have some drawbacks, as WPE planning engineer David Hunter explained: “Seco’s Navigator is a good reference resource, but it is a bit cumbersome, particularly when you want to find information quickly.

"When My Pages — along with its onboard ‘Suggest’ feature — was presented to us, we could immediately see the time-saving benefits.

"These include the ability to quickly and reliably find the most appropriate tool for any specific application by searching the Suggest database.”

Key search criteria include the workpiece material, machine tool technology to be used, component shape and dimensions, machining conditions and machining priorities (such as speed and required levels of quality).

From the information supplied, Suggest will generate 2-D and 3-D models, tooling recommendations and related cutting data, program code to machine the component, and tips to help optimise the specific machining process in question.

Since signing the PPA, staff in WPE’s design, planning and programming department have increasingly relied on Seco’s My Pages and Suggest.

WPE planning engineer Kieran Murphy said: “These two systems have become vital tools, and we use them constantly. We are continually looking at ways to improve our efficiency and reduce time spent across all of our operations.

“My Pages and Suggest help us achieve these objectives in a number of ways, from tool selection and CAM planning right through to off-line CNC programming.

“Furthermore, we can check previous order history with My Pages and place new or repeat orders by clicking through to Seco’s On-Line Store.”