Whether you use a lot of cutting tools or sometimes find yourself desperately lacking the right tool, you’ve probably considered making your own—or at least sharpening your worn tools. But how do you decide if taking tool grinding in-house is the smart decision? It’s a question GKN Aerospace Engine faced, and principal manufacturing engineer Jeremy St. Pierre walks us through the considerations. Plus, he offers priceless advice on best practices if you make the leap.

Cost savings lead to two-year payback

CNC tool grinders and the required ancillary equipment represent a significant investment. So GKN’s management asked St. Pierre to study its tool consumption and project the potential savings it could achieve by taking tool grinding in-house. One key factor, explained St. Pierre, was the fact that many of the tools could be reground multiple times. For example, he pointed to tapered ball-nose end mills, which can be sharpened to the desired “true form, every time.”

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