If you ask a group of machining company owners what their goals are, they probably all want to reduce set-up times, speed up changeovers and increase machine uptime.

However, if you ask the same business owners which technologies they use to work more efficiently, the answers are very different.

As the ongoing shortage of skilled workers in the manufacturing industry fuels interest in productivity-enhancing solutions, more and more small and medium-sized companies are recognizing the savings potential of tool presetters. These external measuring systems record tool lengths, diameters and offsets before the tools are installed in the machine.

"It's not uncommon for us to encounter shop owners who mistakenly believe that presetters are not for them," explains Dietmar Moll, Sales Manager at ZOLLER Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan. "But as soon as the device is in their workshop and they see the results, we often just hear: 'I wish we'd bought it earlier'."

That's exactly what happened to ProCam Services LLC, a family-owned CNC contract manufacturer that Tom Bassett II founded nearly 30 years ago in western Michigan. Initially skeptical of presetters, his doubts quickly disappeared after he purchased the ZOLLER »smile 420« about five years ago and integrated it into the workflow of his busy operation.

The device measures cutting tools precisely in the micrometer range - in just a few minutes. Internal ZOLLER tests show that measurement with a presetting device is at least 45% faster than via the machine control. The external set-up relieved the machine operators, who previously spent valuable spindle time probing the tools. Now an operator can measure the tools for the next job while the machine is still running - so ProCam gained additional production time.

In the first year after the presetter was introduced (2019), sales increased by 300,000 US dollars, and by a further 700,000 US dollars the following year. Bassett attributes the majority of the 1 million dollar increase to more efficient processes and increased machine productivity.

"I don't think I've ever purchased a piece of equipment that has changed our work so fundamentally," says Bassett. "There are a lot of things you think, 'We should have bought that earlier' - but nothing has had as much of an impact as the ZOLLER."

Do presetters fit into high-mix/low-volume operations?

Bassett's current opinion is very different from his previous one. For a long time, he was convinced that presetters were unsuitable for companies with many different, small orders and frequent changeovers.

Since its foundation in 1995, ProCam has positioned itself as a flexible contract manufacturer that scores with short delivery times and top quality. The employees process 20 to 30 different orders every day - for industries ranging from aerospace and automotive to agriculture.

The 3,500 m² facility has eight milling machines (3-, 4- and 5-axis machines, vertical and horizontal), three lathes - including one with six axes - and two CNC milling centers. This equipment enables maximum flexibility for a wide range of materials and batch sizes.

"Some customers call in the morning because their system is down - and we deliver the spare part in the afternoon," says Bassett. "We usually only have a backlog of around two weeks because we get through the orders so quickly."

Every minute that passes with set-up is a minute in which the machine is not earning money. So it's no wonder that, according to the Top Shops Survey 2019 by Gardner Intelligence, more profitable stores use presetters more often. According to the survey, 55% of stores with more than $180,000 in revenue per employee (an indicator of high profitability) use a presetter - compared to just 29% of the least profitable businesses.

Bassett did the math himself: How much time does his team spend each day probing tools and checking concentricity? The result: 30 to 60 minutes per job. Multiplied by the number of orders per day and machine hour, the result was an enormous loss of time - and correspondingly high opportunity costs. "At first I thought that couldn't be right," he recalls. "But then it became clear: we simply had to have this machine."

Precision and repeat accuracy

Today, presetting the tools with the »smile 420« is the first step of every job at ProCam. As well as saving a considerable amount of time, the device has achieved a level of repeat accuracy that cannot be achieved manually. The high-precision SK-50 spindle, optics and image processing camera provide exact data for every measurement.

"We used to have large deviations between shifts," says Bassett. "The day shift measures differently to the night shift - and you end up with quality problems or rework. With the ZOLLER, this no longer happens because every measurement is identical."

The measurement data is automatically transferred to the machine control system - typing errors are eliminated. Bassett even developed his own program to transfer the data to several machines simultaneously. "The system is now so deeply integrated into our process that we are much more flexible than before," he says. "I can no longer imagine working without it."

Convincing employees of the added value

Although the figures were convincing, Bassett also had to convince his machine operators of the new system. Until then, everyone had been using their own methods - with feeler gauges, 1-2-3 blocks or paper strips.

"When they check the concentricity, it takes one to five minutes per tool - with 15 tools per job, that quickly adds up to 45 minutes," explains Bassett. "With ZOLLER, we're done in under five minutes."

One particularly skeptical employee was allowed to make the comparison: He was asked to touch his tools "the old way" and compare the results with those of the presetter. "I said: prove to me that the device is wrong," Bassett recalls with a laugh. "After a week, he wasn't touching anything manually."

Today, the entire team trusts the »smile 420«. "It simply takes work off our hands," says Alex Bassett, shift manager and son of the company founder. "You have so many things on your mind - it's good to know: The ZOLLER is right. It gives you peace of mind and security."

More than just a presetter: a strong partner

In addition to the presetter, Bassett has now also purchased ZOLLER tool holders and, after IMTS 2022, the »powerShrink 600« shrinking unit. "We are still in the early stages, but we are already seeing significant improvements in tool life, cutting speeds and feed rates," he says. "Our tool life has roughly quadrupled."

Alex Bassett is also delighted: "The tool runs more stable, no wobbling, no chatter marks - the surfaces are much better. It simply has a positive effect on everything."

According to Dietmar Moll, many companies discover other solutions from the ZOLLER portfolio that further improve their processes after purchasing a presetter. "The presetter offers the best cost-benefit ratio - low investment, great effect," says Moll. "But with ZOLLER, you're not just buying a device, you're buying access to a complete ecosystem of smart manufacturing solutions - and a strong partner who supports the customer's success."