I Finally Saw the Real Numbers on Tool Wear from a Supplier Audit

I was going through an audit report from our carbide supplier last week and it showed something that caught me off guard. They found that 40% of our end mill failures were from running too fast on feeds, not the tool quality itself. I always figured it was random or just bad batches, but they had the data right there. We lost over 3 grand in tooling last quarter alone because of that. Makes me wonder how much else I've been blaming on the wrong thing. Has anyone else run an audit like this and found something surprising?

2 comments

2 Comments

kelly.keith16d ago

Man that's rough but good on you for checking the data.

skylerm5516d ago

That data audit thing sounds like it stung but yeah, that's the kind of stuff that actually saves you money. I read a study a while back from a big machining magazine that said like 60% of tool failures are actually from human error in speeds and feeds, not the tool itself. It's wild how easy it is to just blame the supplier or a bad batch when really it's our own setup causing the issue. That three grand loss is a tough pill but at least now you know exactly where to dial it back. Maybe check your coolant setup too, I've heard that can mess with tool life more than people think.