CERATIZIT puts Alitech in pole-position

Based in Silverstone, a short walk from the world-famous race circuit, Alitech Precision is a subcontract design, concept delivery and manufacturing company that specialises in the motorsport industry. To serve this demanding market, Alitech has invested in high-end machine tools, CAM software and cutting tools from CERATIZIT.

Alitech opened its doors for business in 2014 with a 3-axis machining centre and CAM package. As the business evolved, it moved to fully simultaneous 5-axis VMCs. Specialising in the design of motorsport solutions and taking concepts through to manufacture, the company works with everything from high-performance road cars to F1 teams in the ‘motorsport valley’. With high-precision and lightning-fast turnaround times a customer pre-requisite, Alitech demands the same from its suppliers – that is why the company relies on CERATIZIT for its cutting tool solutions.

Looking at how the company has grown since its inception, Alitech Precision Parts Ltd Managing Director Darren Cudd says: “We started with conventional entry-level machines and as we got into 5-axis machining, we quickly realised you get what you pay for. We haven’t looked back since we bought our first Hermle machine and we now have four with a fifth machine on order.”

Discussing CERATIZIT, Darren adds: “The relationship with CERATIZIT is not too different to what we have with our customers. We manufacture parts to a very high level and we need very good tooling to do that, especially some of the more specialised tools like long gun drills and bespoke cutters. We work closely with Nev, our CERATIZIT engineer, and we have an ongoing unofficial competition. If Nev gives me a number regarding machining parameters – I always have to try and beat it. Luckily, we know that our machines are more than capable of doing what Nev suggests, so we always try to push as hard as we can.”

The Northamptonshire company machines a diverse range of materials and CERATIZIT is always on hand to meet any challenge. As Darren says: “We are on board with a lot of racing teams and this has changed the nature of our machining. For example, our pallet-loaded Hermle C22 UP machine spent 4.5 months straight, just cutting titanium through the winter rush. It’s been a fantastic learning curve and Nev has been there all the way recommending the right tools. We got dialled-in on speeds and feeds pretty quickly and we are getting excellent tool life, which has been above what we were expecting to see.”
As a forward-thinking company, Alitech is happy to sacrifice tool longevity for productivity rates. Commenting on this, Darren says: “Being in the motorsport industry, parts are often required in less than 24 hours, so we are always looking at the bottom line. The hourly rate of the machine is typically more than the cost of the tool cutting the part. So, it’s simple math - if we’re going to blow two tools to make a job in half an hour instead of 1.5 hours, it’s a simple equation. However, the quality and longevity of the CERATIZIT tools always go beyond our expectations.”

Looking at specific tools, Darren highlights the performance of the CERATIZIT 3-flute rippers, saying: “We have some large parts that are roughed on a 3-axis before 5-axis machining. The roughing cycle was around 4 hours and this is now down to less than 1.5 hours. This is credit to the length of the flute and how hard you can push the CERATIZIT rippers. We now find that we are limited by the power of the spindle rather than the tools.”

As a company that operates around the clock, Alitech has invested in a CERATIZIT ToolSupply vending to ensure that production is always running. Darren says: “The vending has been a ‘game changer’. We can be running automated manufacturing on our 18 pallet machine and we may have 5 or 6 sister tools for each tool on that job. Even if we pre-order tools on what we think we will need, things don’t always work out as you wish. It is here that the vending machine comes in as a safety net to make sure our machines are always running – its removed tool breakages as a ‘failure mode’ from our business.”

It is often said that Centro-P or ER32 toolholders are not suitable for rough machining, Alitech has not only debunked the myth, but taken it a step further – applying Weldon Lock toolholders from CERATIZIT to eliminate tool ‘pull-out’. Darren suggests: “Traditionally, you look at two factors when roughing. Firstly, can the spindle turn the tool, and secondly, will the tool take the stress before it breaks? We found the limits on both factors. We were pushing so hard that a third concern arose - are you pulling the tool out of the collet during machining? Centro-P’s are fantastic but when you lean on them as hard as we do, they can pull out of the machine. To overcome this, Nev recommended the CERATIZIT Weldon shank collets. They drop straight into the Centro-P, lock onto the Weldon shank and we have achieved some pretty ludicrous numbers on how hard we can rough machine jobs.”

“We also use the CERATIZIT shrink-fit system for machining the large complex jobs that other machine shops will shy away from. This includes jobs like engine blocks where we need very long series heat shrink holders to reach ludicrous angles and depths.”

CERATIZIT tooling now accounts for 95% of the tooling supplied at Alitech. Recalling the incremental switch from a multitude of suppliers, Darren recalls: “Time is money and we are often here six or seven days a week. In the busy seasons, we really don’t have a spare hour to call around cutting tool companies for products and support. The CERATIZIT website and App just make it so easy to jump on, find exactly what you want within two or three minutes, click ‘buy’ and it’s here the very next day. CERATIZIT really is a ‘one-stop-shop’ and we now buy everything from end mills and ball nose cutters to specialist titanium drills, long gun drills, T-slot cutters, collets, shrink fit and much more.”

Adding to this, Sales & Production Manager at Alitech Ben Philips comments: “When I joined Alitech, we were predominantly buying Centric-P’s and heat shrink holders for HSK and BT40 machines, but CERATIZIT helped us to diversify from primarily aluminium machining to heavier metals and superalloys.” Looking to the future, Darren concludes: “We cannot get another ounce of machinery into our factory, so we have been holding off for the last year or two to try and make a big leap. We will make this huge leap to a site that would be five times larger than what we currently have, from 3,500 to 14,000sq/ft. As we evolve, our success will be reliant upon the strong relationships we have with both our customers and our supply chain partners like CERATIZIT.”