Gühring South Africa upgrades regrinding facility

Gühring South Africa first opened its regrind facility in Port Elizabeth, Eastern Cape in late 1999. The 180m² factory served its purposes until a new 873m² factory was built in 2010 in the Greenbushes area of Port Elizabeth and the company moved to these facilities.

“Gühring offers a complete reconditioning service for carbide end mills, including refurbishing of used tools and the addition of corner radius. In addition to standard helix end mill designs, our reconditioning division can also recondition Gühring variable flute and variable helix carbide end mills,” explained Gerald Green, Managing Director of Gühring Cutting Tools South Africa.

Upgrades and new equipment investments
Continuous improvement, maximum quality and productivity are some of the principles by which Gühring operate. In this regard, Gühring South Africa has invested heavily in making sure it can deliver on these morals. Continued Green: “Recently Gühring South Africa has added a new cylindrical grinder, an energy efficient compressor, as well as a wheel dressing machine capable of dressing single and multiple wheel packs, thus improving efficiency.”

It’s worth regrinding! “Take, for example, the solid carbide deep hole drill RT 100 T from Gühring: This is a deep hole drill with internal cooling and a TiAIN coating. For the example, we have chosen the common dimension with a diameter of 10mm and a diameter-length ratio of 25xD. Depending on wear, the tool can be reground three to five times.”

Further additions include a new laser engraving machine and Green says: “We are also upgrading the coating facility with a new coating plant including ancillary equipment such as an automated washing machine, etc. This equipment has started arriving and should be complete during the third quarter of 2022.”

62% cost savings by regrinding your tools
“Used tools like new again – this is what we offer you through our regrinding service. In our regrinding centre, we restore the original geometries and layers of the worn tools and thus also their original performance. This allows you to reuse tools instead of replacing them and reduce your total cost of ownership: For some Gühring tools, the cost savings due to regrinding are up to 62 per cent!”

“Why should you have your tool reconditioned when it reaches the end of its lifetime? There are several reasons for this: On the one hand, we owe it to the environment to use resources sparingly, because the global stocks of raw materials for carbide tools (cobalt and tungsten) are limited. On the other hand, reprocessing also makes sense in terms of economic efficiency,” said Green.

“Investing in a new tool every time you notice wear is expensive – and also unnecessary for many solid carbide tools. Because the quality of the tool core and the cutting material has not changed. Only the cutting edges need to be sharpened. The cost of such regrinding represents only a fraction of the purchase price for a new tool.”

It’s worth regrinding!
“Take, for example, the solid carbide deep hole drill RT 100 T from Gühring: This is a deep hole drill with internal cooling and a TiAIN coating. For the example, we have chosen the common dimension with a diameter of 10mm and a diameter-length ratio of 25xD. Depending on wear, the tool can be reground three to five times.”

Gühring South Africa has recently added a new cylindrical grinder, an energy efficient compressor, as well as a wheel dressing machine capable of dressing single and multiple wheel packs to their facility in Port Elizabeth

“The cost of a new tool plus three regrinding of this tool is far below the cost that would be incurred for four new tools in the same period. In this way, you can reduce the cost per tool by more than half with repeated regrinding. The diagram illustrates how tool costs are reduced with each regrind.”

“It is therefore worthwhile to obtain information about the possibilities of reprocessing the tools when buying new tools. Because the regrinding of tools offers you the following advantages:

• Restoration of original quality
• 100% performance
• Increase in profitability
• Conservation of resources and the environment

Same quality – four times the service life
“When it comes to the quality of the final product, there is no difference between the first regrind and the third regrind at Gühring. Our regrinding centres are equipped with the same grinding machines and coating systems as the new production facilities and as a tool manufacturer, Gühring knows all the parameters needed for the regrinding of your tools. This is how the regrinding is done with the original geometries and layers. You will receive a new tool with which you can continue working with the same cutting values and achieve identical results.”

“Our free pick-up and drop-off service even picks up your used tool from you and after seven to 10 working days you will get it back reconditioned. This fast implementation is only possible through short distances.”

“Our free pick-up and drop-off service even picks up your used tool from you and after seven to 10 working days you will get it back reconditioned. This fast implementation is only possible through short distances.”

“And when your tool is finally worn out, we will even buy back the carbide from you – to recycle it,” concluded Green.

Fourth generation
Founded in 1898, Gühring has successfully evolved to take the place as one of the leading manufacturers and suppliers of rotary cutting tools.

Gottlieb Gühring started the company with 17 employees manufacturing a small range of twist drills, spirit levels, screw clamps, fastening chains and plumb bobs. In 1964, the current owner and Gottlieb’s grandson, Dr Jörg Gühring joined the company. Today, Oliver Gühring represents the fourth generation of the family, sitting alongside his father as part of a four-man executive board and taking responsibility for sales and marketing activities.

Gühring says you can make 62% cost savings by regrinding your tools

Gühring has a presence now in most countries throughout the world. There are 46 sales companies globally, 31 production plants and 47 service centres and the tooling range has grown significantly comprising some 1 850 tool types, including 45 000 standard tools.

Headquartered in Albstadt, Germany, Gühring has three facilities in this area: the original building where the business began which still manufactures HSS drills and special tooling; a fully functional PCD design and manufacturing facility; and a recently acquired factory in Onstmettingen that is used exclusively for the assembly, service and support of its own range of grinding machines.

In addition, a nearby complex in Sigmaringen-Laiz is home to four vital aspects of Gühring’s business: R&D, OEM support, the manufacture of carbide tools and taps and apprentice training. In its tap and threadmill manufacturing plant alone, 60 000 taps are manufactured from start to finish every week.

Please contact Gühring directly for reconditioning inquiries for non-Gühring manufactured variable flute designs.

For further details contact Gühring South Africa on TEL: 041 372 2047/46/43/38 or email info@guhring.co.za