OSG | Taps | End Mills | Drills | Indexable | Composite Tooling | Diamond Coating

06 January 2015

David Aly, Aerospace Specialist

Just because you’ve tried one forming tap, doesn’t mean you’ve tried them all. We had the recent opportunity to prove that OSG forming taps are better than the rest.

As a supplier of custom fabricated metal products and machinery, one of our customers approached us wanting to get better chip control during their tapping operation. Located in Winona, Mississippi, they have a 92,500 square foot manufacturing facility for producing fuel tanks, hydraulic tanks and custom designed machining fixtures.

After discussing the customer’s chip control needs, I recommended OSG’s EXOTAP® NRT® Forming Tap, a more stable, thread rolling tap that makes threads by compressing the work material without creating chips. Because no chip is produced, breakage due to chip packing and bird nesting is eliminated.

The EXOTAP® NRT® also has significantly reduced friction resistance because of its special threading design and surface treatment. Made from VC-10 Powdered Metal High Speed Steel, this forming tap has a longer tool life when tapping difficult to machine materials like carbon steels, alloy steels, stainless steels and aluminum alloy.

Initially, the shop foreman, Mr. William Smith, was hesitant about using a forming tap due to a bad experience with a competitor’s brand. After I showed William a presentation and a chip flow demonstration video, he was willing to give our forming tap a chance.

We approached his staff with OSG’s EXOTAP® NRT® Forming Tap in hand. After explaining the test with the operator and reiterating?that there will be no chips, we began the trial.

A few days later, I called to check in on their progress. William enthusiastically explained that he was still running the same tap. He had lost count of the number of holes produced but assured me that it was well over 1,000 holes! After such a successful run with the first test tap, he purchased more of the test size, now truly convinced that all forming taps are not created equal.

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29 December 2014

On the Job with: Ron Portwine

Featured Employee: Ron Portwine

Title: Operations Manager

Tenure with OSG: 7 years

Our operations manager at the new Atlanta office doesn’t take no for an answer. With his “go for it” attitude and dedication, Ron Portwine is always striving to learn and be better than the day before.

Ron has a desire to grow outside of the office as well. At home, he is Mr. Fix-it and always tries to improve his handy skills. He also enjoys a good game of golf, because the nuances of competing against oneself forces honesty and integrity - two characteristics that are important to him.

His passion and perseverance extend to his home and spiritual life. His faith, his wife and two daughters are what keep his life in balance. Priorities in Ron’s life are important, which he recognizes as: “First God, then job, then family, and finally self. God gives me my abilities for the job, without the job I could not take care of my family, and, of course, always take time for yourself.”

22 December 2014

EXOPRO® WHR-Ni Tap Video

Tap heat resistant super alloys like Inconel 718 without the risk of breakage using OSG’s EXOPRO^® WHR-Ni Taps. The unique rake angle combined with OSG’s powdered metal substrate improves cutting edge rigidity, while the addition of OSG’s proprietary HR coating offers superior wear resistance for significantly longer tool life.

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16 December 2014

The Story of Sterling: The History of OSG’s Parma Branch

As a leading manufacturer of cutting tools, OSG Tap & Die is best known for our high performance, quality taps. But there is less attention brought to our other namesake: the OSG Die Division. Ten years after OSG Corporation was founded in 1938 in Tokyo, Japan, Sterling Die Operation was established halfway across the globe in Cleveland, Ohio. These two companies continued to grow separately, towards a future where the two would eventually merge to become one internationally successful business.

Sterling Die Operation began as a supplier of thread rolling dies. During its early years, the company focused on manufacturing for the Aerospace and Defense industries in the late 60’s and early 70’s, and as technology progressed, worked its way into the Automotive and Industrial industries in the 1990’s.

At the turn of the century, Sterling Die Operation achieved international recognition by becoming ISO certified. To date, they have never failed an ISO audit. This accomplishment has allowed the company to expand to global markets, which ultimately made the eventual merger with OSG possible.

On June 1st, 2004, OSG Tap and Die purchased Sterling Die Operation from its previous owner, EnPro Industries, Inc. Four years later, under the name Sterling Die, Inc., OSG Fastener Products Division merged with Sterling to create a stronger overall company.

This Parma, Ohio branch of OSG is now one of the largest full-line domestic die manufacturers in the United States. This modern facility now offers a wide range of products for the thread forming industry including flat, cylindrical, planetary, trimming, rack and segmented carbide dies, along with bent shank taps, nib taps and gages. They also provide reconditioning services for OSG and non-OSG dies. By combining OSG’s global history with Sterling Die’s hardworking perseverance, we have molded a company with a well-rounded future to shape the dreams of our customers worldwide.

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03 December 2014

VGx - More Than Just Variable

Jerry Von Bokel, District Manager

To stay competitive, companies need to keep overhead under control to reduce unnecessary cost. To do this, customers often want to eliminate sub-contracting and choose the most efficient tool for in-house production. This is where OSG’s HY-PRO^® CARB VGx variable geometry end mill series comes into play.

One customer located in St. Louis, MO came to us when they were just starting to cut their own parts for the power generation industry. Previously they were sub-contracting this work to other vendors, but the customer knew that it would be less expensive to produce the parts in-house. They already had a couple machining centers in the facility to do emergency work. All they needed was to find the right tooling to perform the production of their own parts. The lead machinist found success with a competitor’s end mill, but he was open to trying? something new if ?it would benefit? the company. I? suggested OSG’s HY-PRO^® CARB VGx end mills.

The VGx series features chatter-free machining of a wide range of materials and milling applications. The VGx’s variable index and eccentric relief design helps eliminate chatter by breaking up harmonics that are produced during normal milling operations. For further stability and minimal wear, the VGx’s raised land configuration and OSG’s TiAIN coating keeps the VGx end mill cutting consistently at accelerated speeds.

With its sophisticated design, the VGx excels in difficult-to-machine materials, such as carbon, alloy steels, cast irons, stainless steels, titanium and nickel alloys, while maintaining high metal removal rates. This keeps inventory cost low due to the reduced need to stock multiple cutters.

We decided to run a test with the VGx versus the competitor’s end mill. The customer was cutting 410 Stainless Steel using a 1/4” and a 3/16” with .03 corner radius. We first ran the competitor’s end mill at 75 SFM, 4,800 RPM, and 38 IPM. To compare, we then ran the 3/16” VGx end mill at 290 SFM, 5,900 RPM, and 23 IPM. By using the VGx, we reduced the cycle time by two minutes on the 3/16” and by three minutes on the 1/4” cutter. Not only did we save the customer time, but the VGx produced twice as many parts for increased overall productivity.

After all the tests had been completed, the operator was still trying to wear out the OSG cutter with no success. The VGx End Mill far surpassed his expectation and was able to run with any materials that they cut, which finally sold the customer on the VGx series. They now stock over? 40 different styles of the HY-PRO® VGx End Mills and are ready to tackle any materials that come their way, proving that the “V” in VGx not only stands for “variable” – but “versatile” as well.

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25 November 2014

OSG Opens Southeast Regional Service Center

We are expanding our presence in the Southeast by opening a new Regional Service Center at 5324 Georgia Highway 85 in Forest Park, Georgia. Set to open on December 1st, the 21,198-square-foot facility will stock a complete line of cutting tools, with over 25,000 SKU's for OSG taps, end mills, drills, indexables, as well as other products including thread gages and holders. We expect to create at least 10 new warehouse and customer service positions with this expansion.

OSG's primary objective is to significantly improve service levels to customers in the Southeast by reducing delivery times. With the opening of this facility, our customer support is now available nationwide from the Eastern time zone through the Pacific, where OSG already operates a facility in Placentia, California. The Atlanta facility also creates a second fully functional warehouse operation to service customers in the event of an operations outage at the main headquarters operation in the Chicago-area.

"We are very excited to expand our operations into the Atlanta area. This new facility will help improve our order fulfillment times to customers in the Southeast and give them another reason to look to OSG for their cutting tool requirements," said OSG President, Mike Grantham.

24 November 2014

On the Job with: Tom Schlueter

Featured Employee: Tom Schlueter

Title: Senior Production Control Planner / QA Supervisor

Tenure with OSG: 36 years

During Tom Schlueter’s 36 years with OSG, he has worked his way from Machine Operator all the way up to Senior Production Control Planner and QA Supervisor at the Parma, Ohio office. No matter what position he is in, Tom believes in always doing his best and the importance of honesty. These traits have certainly helped him grow at OSG over the years.

In order to do his best, Tom relies on and values his teammates, saying that they are “what makes everyone’s future bright” at the company. He is often complimented on his training skills, which helps the team continue to grow and develop.

When Tom isn’t planning production control, he’s coordinating family trips to Disney World. He always puts family first, spending as much time as he can with his wife, daughter, and two puppies. The work and home life balance is hard to achieve, but Tom’s years of experience have taught him that simplicity is best, and that even “a visit to an antique mall on a Saturday afternoon” with his family can make all the difference.

17 November 2014

EXOPRO® WHO-Ni Drill Video

The EXOPRO^® WHO-Ni drill series from OSG can take the heat when processing Nickel Alloy, Inconel 718 and other hardened steels.

These high performance drills incorporate OSG’s exclusive WXS nano-coating, which has been developed specifically for high heat applications. Internal coolant holes offer further heat resistance and chip evacuation, while a slow helix angle provides ultimate rigidity with minimal wear even after hundreds of holes.

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12 November 2014

Tools to Shape the Future

Actions speak louder than words, and we at OSG are using our new tagline – “Shaping Your Dreams” – to inspire outreach. In an ongoing effort to get more young people interested and prepared for careers in manufacturing technology, we donated over $85,000 in new tooling to Chicago-area colleges.

Mike Grzybowski, Regional Manager for OSG, has delivered tools to College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Joliet Junior College and the College of Lake County in Grayslake. Students involved in these manufacturing programs will now have access to training with industry-leading tools which will better prepare them for going into the field.

Grzybowski most recently visited the College of Lake County where instructor Jeff Hines received the donation. He was extremely appreciative of the tooling as well as the decimal charts, safety glasses and catalogs that OSG additionally provided. In reviewing the technical information within the OSG catalogs, Hines realized the valuable information it contains and will look to it for teaching lessons in the future.

Dave Szumowski, Mechanical Production Technology Instructor at Joliet Junior College, also received a visit from OSG. Szumowski truly appreciated the thought and generosity of OSG to think of Joliet Junior College and donate such a large amount of tooling for their program. He recognizes the importance of fostering an ongoing relationship with OSG moving forward, including hosting OSG guest speakers and more.

When visiting College of DuPage, Grzybowski delivered the cutting tools and other training aids to Jim Filipek, Coordinator of Manufacturing Technology. Having worked in manufacturing and machining for years before retiring and becoming a teacher, Filipek knows the importance of being trained with quality tools from the start.

“This action by OSG allows us to train the workforce of tomorrow with the tooling of today!” Filipek was grateful for the donation and believes the addition of OSG’s tooling is going to help their program tremendously.

Reaching out to these local colleges is one way that we can improve the future of students looking to go into the manufacturing industry. By providing the quality tools they need to learn the trade, we are certain to get engineers and machinists who are better prepared and more driven in the field for years to come.

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05 November 2014

EX-SUS-GDR Drill Reduces Cost per Part on Stainless Steel Exhaust Header

Darrel McCoy, District Manager

The 41st Annual Barrett-Jackson Auction located in Scottsdale, AZ. is no ordinary auction. It is “The World’s Greatest Collector Car Events™,” which captures the essence of a passionate obsession that collectors and enthusiasts share throughout the world. I was fortunate enough to attend the auction where I saw lines of gorgeous vehicles and watched a $50,000 bid shoot up to $250,000 in 30 seconds, all for a used car!

Many of the high performance vehicles displayed in the auction had employed the exhaust manifold design, also known as the exhaust header design, for car tuning. Exhaust headers are one of the easiest ?bolt-on? accessories? for improving? engine ?performance because they make? it easier for? the engine to? push exhaust? gases out of ?the cylinders. Most headers ?for naturally aspirated? engines are ?manufactured ?in mild steel, while headers for turbo charged engines, on the other hand, are often manufactured in 304 Stainless Steel.

Recently, one of my customers from Las Vegas, NV, who is a header plate manufacturer, called regarding a drilling operation in 304 Stainless Steel. He had been using standard cobalt drills but was not able to produce a good hole and had encountered some abnormal sound during the operation. To solve the problem, the customer had to pay to water jet at $40 ?per part. Not only were they losing money, they also had to extend their lead-time by using an outside vendor.

After a careful examination of the application, I recommended OSG’s EX-SUS-GDR drill from the EX-GOLD® series. OSG’s EX-SUS-GDR drill is manufactured from premium high-speed steel, ideal for stainless steels, mild steels and aluminum alloys. The addition of OSG’s TiN or TiALN coating improves wear-resistance and prolongs tool life.

During the first test, the EX-SUS-GDR drill also encountered the abnormal sound, producing a long thick chip and breaking after the second hole. I was concerned with the chip formation while the customer was concerned with the sound, breakage and no parts. I knew that once we had the chip formation under control, the sound and tool life would increase. So, starting off slow, we increased the 10 mm EX-SUS-GDR drill to 480 RPM with 0.009 IPR. With these simple adjustments, we were able to produce 120 holes and finish the job with no trouble whatsoever.

At the end of the day, this customer was not only able to produce holes efficiently and effectively, but they also eliminated the need to utilize an outside vendor, reducing lead-time and cost per part.

The success of large auto events like the 41st Annual Barrett-Jackson Auction depend on having consistent, working parts in all of their cars. By using our EX-SUS-GDR drill combined with the right cutting tool strategy, our customer was able to produce parts more efficiently, allowing them to continue to supply cars with headers that hold up under the spotlight.

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