October 5, 2021
CERATIZIT S. A., Mamer, Luxembourg (headquarters), 5 October 2021
A century of experience is not only a reason for the Luxembourg-based CERATIZIT Group to reflect on the past. It is also an opportunity for the cutting tools and hard materials specialist to use its 100 years of in-depth experience as the basis to talk at EMO in Milan about new solutions and services for cutting tools today and in the future.
The CERATIZIT Group has given the go-ahead for a look back at 100 years of company history and experience at this year’s EMO in Milan. When Dr Paul Schwarzkopf founded Metallwerk Plansee GmbH on 24 June 1921 he not only paved the way for the industrial manufacture of tungsten and molybdenum products – and thus for countless product developments of modern life – he also laid the foundations for the CERATIZIT Group resulting from the 2002 merger of Plansee Tizit and Luxembourg-based CERAMETAL.
Tooling the past, present & future
“We are proud of our 100 years of expertise, adding up in the end to a fruitful combination of pioneering thinking and innovative creativity,” explains Thierry Wolter, Member of the Executive Board. This experience forms the basis for the development of technologically ground-breaking and intelligent products, which ensure that CERATIZIT’s customers can always face the challenges of the future with confidence.
Process optimisation as a basis for sustainable production
Efficiency and productivity are the cornerstones that connect economy and ecology. They are thus decisive for the promotion of sustainability in industrial production. Therefore, the CERATIZIT Group actively supports its customers when it comes to the optimisation of cutting processes, as states Andreas Kordwig, Director of Product Management for the Cutting Tools division of the company: “Today our solutions are already helping customers to save energy and raw materials in production and consequently reduce the ecological footprint of their products.” Since the beginning of the year, CERATIZIT has been offering a service for process optimisation under the motto ‘We optimise your process – challenge us!’ This service has also been available for customers in Italy since September.
New possibilities of support thanks to digital solutions
Comprehensive service is a result of CERATIZIT’s company approach. But how does that work when on-site support is limited because of restricted access due to the pandemic, or when the customer needs help in next to no time? This is where the new ‘LiveTechPro’ app comes in. The app allows the customer to contact the competent application engineer directly when support is needed. And it enables the engineer to provide support as if they were on site: using videos from the smartphone or tablet, details can be marked and discussed, and problems can be solved very quickly. It is even possible to connect with virtual reality (VR) systems.
The possibilities for support go even further if the customer uses the monitoring and control system ToolScope from CERATIZIT. With the new software edition 12, customers can allow the application engineer to access ToolScope remotely to adapt the parameters. “Thanks to innovative digital solutions, we do not have to be physically present at the customer’s production site to see what is going on. We can see what is happening in the machine, analyse the problem and optimise the machine settings remotely,” says Andreas Kordwig.
In 2022 programming of FreeTurn will become even easier
Over the past months, the ecosystem around High Dynamic Turning with FreeTurn has been getting closer and closer to being complete thanks to the broad support of the industry in terms of machines, control and software. Soon programming will become even easier: with a new programming tool that generates machining trajectories for dynamic roughing and finishing, which will be published in 2022, FreeTurn will work in every mill-turn centre – independently of the CAM software used.
For over 100 years, CERATIZIT has been a pioneer in developing exceptional hard material solutions for machining and wear protection. The private company, with registered offices in Mamer, Luxembourg, develops and produces highly specialised cutting tools, indexable inserts, rods made from hard materials and wear parts. The CERATIZIT Group is the global market leader in various application segments and successfully develops new carbide, cermet and ceramic grades, such as for wood and stone working.
With 7,000 employees at 30 production facilities and a sales network with over 50 branches, CERATIZIT is a global player in the carbide industry. The company's international network includes subsidiary Stadler Metalle and joint venture CB-CERATIZIT.
The technology leader is continually investing in research and development and holds 1,000 patents. Innovative hard material solutions from CERATIZIT are used in various sectors, including mechanical engineering and toolmaking, in the automotive and aerospace industries and in the oil, gas and medical industries.