Industrial Tooling Corporation (ITC), the Tamworth-based cutting tool specialist, has recently purchased its second Rollomatic Nano6 grinding centre — the first two installations of this model in the UK.

The second machine is capable of producing cutting tools as small as 0.05mm diameter thanks to its hydrostatic guideways and ITC’s prior investment in a centralised coolant system for all its grinding centres that maintain coolant temperature to +/-0.2deg C – emphasising the high standards of quality control the company maintains for all its cutting tools.

The purchase stems from ITC’s communication and commitment to its customer base that has seen the demand and subsequently the expansion of its standard cutting tool ranges down to 1mm diameter.

Kevin Ford, ITC’s production manager, said: “Essentially, the new machine will be used alongside the first Nano6 for producing small tools up to 2mm diameter. Both machines will complement the existing Rollomatic 620 and 629 machines we have for manufacturing tools up to 6mm diameter.

“The first Nano6 machine enabled us to do a range of small tools, both standard and customer specials. It also gave us the facility to extend the range of existing standard tool ranges downward to 1mm.

“The second machine gives us extra capacity but also peace of mind regarding the security of supply. Even though the entire range of Rollomatic machines is extremely reliable, we wanted to eliminate any possible supply chain vulnerabilities from only having one machine.”

With industry-wide concerns over supply chain continuity and extended lead times for products manufactured overseas, something compounded by both Brexit and the Covid pandemic – ITC says it has the stock availability for immediate delivery that is underpinned by a UK manufacturing facility.