Cutting tools from Kyocera - Focus on profitability

As José Agustin-Payá, Product Marketing and Technology Manager in the Cutting Tools Division at Kyocera Fineceramics GmbH in Neuss, explains: "We focus systematically on our customers' goals – and that means ongoing process reengineering and therefore improved cost effectiveness: in short, lower costs." Kyocera manufactures the Ceratip range of high-quality cutting tools. Its products embody state-of-the-art precision engineering which is enhanced continuously. To this end, the company "borrows" technologies from its other product sectors and applies them its tool development operations.
Agustin-Payá emphasizes that "our customers benefit from the know-how of one of the world's largest electronics groups with numerous years' experience in the field of tool manufacture." An outstanding example is the so-called Sensor Tool System. This is an "intelligent" cutting insert which Kyocera has specially developed for the mass production industry – for the manufacture of brake disks, for example. This was a case where the company made use of its own synergies by adapting a technology employed in its electronics division for the purpose of tool production. The principal focus of the tool system is on cutting costs: the Sensor Tool System detects undue wear and tear or damage right at the cutting edge and alerts the machine control immediately. This method provides an automated process check and reduces the amount of scrap and spoilage accordingly.
As José Agustin-Payá points out, "although a Sensor Tool cutting attachment costs just about 15 percent more than a standard silicon nitride indexable insert, it can trim process costs by as much as 40 percent." He, too, regards process reengineering as the key to increased productivity and is convinced that "simply by making the changeover to different cutting tools and cutting materials, such as certain mixed ceramics or other Advanced Materials, and using them effectively, customers can increase their productivity by between 25 and 50 percent."
Kyocera is a specialist in this field as well. For years, the company has been manufacturing not only high-grade hard materials but also carbides and coatings, and in particular tools in the so-called advanced materials sector, including cermets, ceramics, silicon nitride, CBN and PCD. The company is the number one international producer of the cutting material cermets.
All Kyocera tools are tailored to the individual requirements of customers and are used in general engineering machine building, vehicle construction, component supply industries, and tool, die and mold manufacture.

Headquartered in Kyoto, Japan, the Kyocera Corporation is one of the world's leading manufacturers of fine-ceramic components for the technology industry. The strategically important divisions in the Kyocera Group, which comprises more than 160 subsidiaries, are Information and Communications Technologies, Products to Increase the Quality of Life, and Environmentally Friendly Products. The technology group is also one of the largest producers of solar energy systems worldwide.
With a workforce of more than 56,000 employees, Kyocera posted net sales of approximately € 8.84 billion in fiscal year 2003. The products marketed by the company in Europe include laser printers, digital copying systems, analog and digital cameras, microelectronic components, fineceramic products and complete solar systems. The corporation has three independent companies in the Federal Republic of Germany: the KYOCERA MITA DEUTSCHLAND GmbH in Meerbusch, the Yashica Kyocera GmbH in Hamburg, and the Kyocera Fineceramics GmbH in Neuss and Esslingen.
The company also takes a lively interest in cultural affairs. Through its own Foundation, the Group sponsors the prestigious annual Kyoto Prize, which honors the lifetime achievements of prominent scientists and artists. The prize money – € 400,000 (50 million yen) for the recipient – is among the highest of any private award of its kind.