On the Job with: Kevin McPherson


Featured Employee: Kevin McPherson

Title: Regrind Lead

Tenure with OSG: 3 years


Regrind Lead with OSG for three years, Kevin McPherson is always working to improve the quality of his department. Before coming to OSG, Kevin got his Bachelor’s degree in Business Management from Valdosta State University and worked in CNC. At OSG, he enjoys working with his team to find the best solutions to keep up with customers.


Away from work, Kevin is a family man who likes to keep moving, either by running, riding his motorcycle, or traveling to go see his daughter. He also believes in the importance of disconnecting from phones and computers as much as possible to spend quality time with his wife on the weekends.


Kevin learned his best habits from his father, who he calls his hero. “He taught me the importance of a good work ethic and honesty.”


WHO-Ni Drill, WHR-Ni Tap, UVX-Ni End Mill - Total Solution Video

When tapping, drilling, and milling heat resistant super alloys like Inconel 718, you need tools that can take the heat. OSG provides a total solution tooling trifecta for these tough machining applications.  With the rigid substrates, tailored geometries, and advanced coatings on our EXOPRO® WHR-Ni Taps, EXOPRO® WHO-Ni Drills, and EXOPRO® UVX-Ni End Mills, you can tap, drill, and mill without the worry of rapid wear or extreme breakage.


Check out these tools at work:




On the Job with: Lisa Ryan

Featured Employee: Lisa Ryan

Title: Customer Service Manager

Tenure with OSG: 12 years


Lisa Ryan, Customer Service Manager at our California office, always tries to live every day joyfully. She’s been with OSG for 12 years and is confident in her work knowing that customers are happy and satisfied with their orders.

 

To keep her joy alive, Lisa loves spending time with her niece and enjoys watching her grow (although a little too quickly). She’s also passionate about her church and her faith. Currently, she serves on two hospitality committees and helps out by cooking breakfast for the church band.

 

But Lisa’s passions go beyond her local endeavors. With a strong desire to travel and see more of the world, Lisa is on a personal quest for discovery and always wants to learn more about herself and others. Even when she doesn’t have the chance to physically travel, she sets a goal to meditate daily so she can continue living a thoughtful and joyful life. 



EXOCARB® WXL® and WXS®


For milling pre-hardened and hardened steels, you need an end mill that won’t wear down. OSG’s premium high performance carbide end mills, the 
EXOCARB® WXL® and the EXOCARB® WXS®, are specially designed for rigidity and performance in even the toughest materials and milling applications.


The WXL® is specifically tailored for nonferrous materials and mild steels up to 55HRC, and can withstand up to 1100 degrees Celsius. The WXS®, on the other hand, is made for hardened steels like D2, A2, S7, H13 and CPM, milling up to 65HRC and able to withstand up to 1300 degrees Celsius.


For added strength, our WXS® and WXL® have thicker core diameters and are made of the hardest carbide possible for incredible wear resistance. The higher coating oxidation temperature and hardness keep these end mills performing long after the competition wears out.


Ideal for the Mold & Die industry, the WXS® and WXL® utilize high precision geometry with a +/- 5um radius tolerances for both corner radius and ball end mills, eliminating the need for benching and reworking.


With hard carbide materials combined with high precision, the EXOCARB® WXS® and WXL® are the top hard milling solutions.



Heading to HOUSTEX 2015


We’re taking tooling to Texas for this year’s HOUSTEX Show. Located at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, HOUSTEX runs February 24 through 26, 2015 and features the latest innovations in manufacturing technology, speakers, and interactive product demonstrations.

 

OSG will be featuring a variety of tools at this year’s show. To showcase our newest innovations, we’re featuring our all-purpose EXOTAP® A-TAP designed to excel in a wide variety of materials and applications and the EXOPRO® WHR-Ni, a spiral point tap for nickel-based alloy applications. We’re also bringing the EXOCARB® WDO Drill series, our high performance coolant-fed carbide drills for ferrous and non-ferrous materials, and our EXOPRO® UVX-Ni End Mills with a variable helix design to reduce vibration in difficult-to-machine materials like nickel alloy. Plus, we will showcase some of our indexables from our high performance PHOENIX series, such as the multifunctional PSE shoulder cutter and ultra performance PHC cutter for maximum metal removal rates.

 

We’re excited to be a part of another great HOUSTEX show! Come down and see us at Booth #258. Register today.



Aero Rougher for the Tough and Nasty
Chris Presley, District Manager

Inconel – oh no! Its a tool killer. Its too tough and nasty to cut!”

This is a common customer reaction when dealing with Inconel. It is a difficult material, but should it make shops run for the hills? Absolutely not! Common in the aerospace industry, Inconel is one of the toughest high temperature resistant materials. However, with the correct tool, it too can be easier to machine.

One of my customers working with Inconel was in need of a 5/8” end mill for a new project involving an aerospace engine part that they were quoting. After examining the job, we realized that removing all the material would be the biggest challenge.

For their slotting operation, I recommended OSGs EXOCARB® Aero Rougher. Many people in the industry are familiar with older end mill designs such as the Corncob Rougher and Knuckle End Mill. Our Aero Rougher, however, is not just a typical Corncob Rougher. It is specially designed for maximum metal removal in exotic high temperature materials. The uniquely configured serrations on the cutting edge reduce friction, thereby generating less heat and requiring less horsepower than standard or variable helix carbide end mills. In addition, the combination of the shallow profile serration and the 45° helix provides a much smoother surface finish.

With it being a new project, my customer needed to make profit but also keep costs down in order to win the bid. To determine if the Aero Rougher was their best choice, we tested it against two other competitors that had a variable design.

To begin the test, we used the OSG recommended speeds and feeds for the application, 520 RPM at 2.7 IPM. With the majority of the cuts being a slot, we recommended 0.156” on the depth of cut (DOC).  In the end, the operator was delightfully surprised when he saw the results of the OSG tool performance. After several trials, the customer was able to push the Aero Rougher to 0.200” DOC. OSG scored lower in cost and provided the customer a completed part.  The competitors, on the other hand, were not even able to finish the job.

In todays competitive market, OSGs EXOCARB® Aero Rougher is able to provide users the ability to run tools with higher feed rates and deeper depths of cuts for reduced cutting time. It not only handles the tough and the nasty, but it helps eliminate stress when working with Inconel. 


EXOPRO® UVX-Ni End Mill Video

Heat resistant super alloys like Inconel 718 have low thermal conductivity, causing rapid and extreme wear of the cutting tool due to concentrated heat on the cutting zone. To combat against this issue, OSG developed the EXOPRO® UVX-Ni End Mill. This high performance end mill has a five-flute variable helix design to facilitate excellent chip shape and evacuation, while the tapered core and special edge prep rigidity protects against wear. These features allow for consistent, stable machining in side milling, pocketing and slotting operations.


Check it out in action to see the difference!


OSG Changes Name to Better Reflect Core Competencies



We have officially changed our name to OSG USA, INC. from OSG Tap & Die, Inc.

 

The corporate name change was made to better reflect the diverse array of products and services that OSG markets domestically. “It was important to change our name because of the full line of tooling products we offer to the US market beyond taps and dies,” said Mike Grantham, President of OSG USA. “Our customers have come to know us for all of the superior products we offer, so it was time to remove the “Tap and Die” from our name,” Grantham added.


Who's the Biggest Loser of 2015



Around the office, people are running to the gym and stocking up on their fruits and veggies—OSG’s Biggest Loser competition has begun! For the 6th year in a row, we’re counting calories and getting active to see who can win our fitness contest. 


The Biggest Loser is a part of our year-around wellness program, which has given us recognition since 2010 by the American Heart Association as a Fit-Friendly Employer in the Gold Category. We’re looking to continue this trend with 92 employees involved in this year’s competition—our best participation yet!


To track everyone’s weight loss, participants are weighed-in at the beginning and end of the contest with three optional weigh-ins in between. We’ve also implemented the use of the Lose It app, which tracks food intake and exercise sessions to help employees set goals throughout the contest.


By measuring weight loss percentage rather than pounds, employees who already live healthy lifestyles can participate as well. Plus, smaller challenges throughout the program allow more people to win while providing additional motivation.

As for the biggest winners of the Biggest Loser competition, a cash prize is awarded through a $5 buy-in, plus additional prizes:


- 1st Prize—50% of the pot and a $75 gift card
- 2nd Prize—30% of the pot and a $50 gift card
- 3rd Prize—20% of the pot and a $25 gift card


Kelly Turk, Compensation and Benefits Specialist for OSG, oversees the competition and recognizes the benefits of pushing wellness at OSG. “We’re already ahead of the game as far as wellness. Other companies are only now starting to incorporate fitness into their companies—we’ve been doing this for 6 years! By tying wellness into cost benefits, we incentivize people by offering discounts on their health insurance as well as other prizes. We want to encourage people to be healthy and go to the doctor to stay well long past the competition.”


We wish everyone competing the best of luck and can’t wait to see who this year’s Biggest Loser will be! 

On the Job with: Dan Volpe



Featured Employee:
 Dan Volpe

Title: Senior Inside Tech

Tenure with OSG: 18.5 years

 

Dan Volpe is a passionate and dedicated man both in the gym and at OSG. He’s been a member of our team for almost 19 years and worked hard to move from the warehouse into his current position as our Senior Inside Tech. He is also committed to living a healthy lifestyle and is enthusiastic about running and working out.

 

Dan has been devoted the past three years to getting fit. His hard work paid off, losing over 100 pounds since he started. He continues to stay in shape and encourages others to follow his lead.

 

With the help of his family, Dan stays motivated and views each day as a blessing.  He looks up to his parents and appreciates their encouragement throughout his weight loss process and throughout his life. “They are always by my side whenever I need them.”