First Neo in North America

An interview about expectations and hopes.

In the spring of 2019, the first Neo laser processing machine was delivered to North America. The customer who invested in this machine was Shape-Master Tool Company from Kirkland, Illinois, about an hour and a half away from Chicago by car. Shape-Master was founded in 1976 as a manufacturer of natural diamond tools. Today, the company is one of the leading producers of polycrystalline cutting tools in North America, offering the industry's best edge quality. In addition, Shape-Master in the USA is a pioneer in the application of laser technology in this product range and thus the ideal user for the Neo machine.

From Don Spolum, President of the Shape-Master Tool Company, we wanted to know what aspects have led to this investment and what hopes and expectations are associated with it. The interview:

Agathon: Don, the Midwest United States, where Shape-Master is located, has a very strong industrial base. Why do your customers choose Shape-Master over a competitor?

Don Spolum: Our specialty is custom tools. We produce the right cutting edge, the right geometry and the most efficient solution for each application. With such orders, we can play out our flexibility and there we are usually much faster than the competition. In concrete terms, this means that we deliver customized tools on average twice as fast as other providers. Of course, we also offer standard tools. However, we value quality and precision in everything we do.

Agathon: How do you manage to be so much faster in terms of delivery dates than other providers?

Don Spolum: This is not least a question of the equipment with which we produce. We try to have the most productive and modern equipment in our house. Look, we want to do our job. We want to do it in high quality. And we want to be fast and optimize our costs. My personal approach is to be superior to our competitors in terms of equipment and to work as efficiently as possible. If we succeed, or since we succeed, we can deliver the right tools to our customers within a short time.

Agathon: Is there something like the "Shape-Master Mindset"? If yes, please describe it in a few sentences.

Don Spolum: We are hundred percent service-oriented and we try our best to get our customers out of trouble. That helps to repeat business and to establish a good working relationship with our customers. I’m not saying that we always offer the cheapest cutting tool in the market, but I believe in terms of number of pieces produced per insert our tools are more efficient than anybody’s tools in the industries.

Agathon: Let's talk about the Neo. With this investment you have decided not only for a machine but also for the combined process of laser roughing plus finishing on the grinding machine. Why?

Don Spolum:  We will always continue to try and find new ways we can get an order out the doors as fast and efficient as possible. So, if the combined process of laser roughing and grinding helps us to expedite cycle times, well then it’s welcome. Cycle times are money.

Agathon: In addition to PCD, will you be processing other super-hard materials as well with the Neo?

Don Spolum: We manufacture tools from both PCD and PCBN. In this respect, we will not only use the Neo for pre-processing PCD. I assume that the Neo will also help us with different PCBN applications. We’re always open to learning new things and see how things work. You know, the more we can learn, the better our decisions will be, the more efficient we will be and the more our customers will benefit.

Agathon: Did Shape-Master have any arguments against the Neo before making the investment decision?

Don Spolum: No, not really. There was one point that we critically discussed. This concerned the manual operation of the machine. That makes sense in small series. But if we're talking about lot sizes that span several hundred tools, then you will not be able to avoid an automation solution at least not if you want to exploit the full efficiency of the machine.

Agathon: How do you experience working with Agathon?

Don Spolum: Well, I think our common history speaks for itself. We had the first Agathon 350 Combi EcoDress and the Agathon first 400 Penta here in the US. We work together well and we have a good relationship. I mean, it’s been very good and awesome. But most important is service and response times. There are other machine builders on the market. But are they able to respond quickly when needed? Are they able to make sure the machines are up and running? Well, Agathon gives us the service we need. So we are happy with that.