ANCA Announces its Tool of Year 2023 Winners

ANCA just announced the winner of their prestigious “Tool of the Year” contest for 2023. ANCA conducts this global competition each year for the cutting tool industry. Results and more information are in the attached press release and a video link of the announcement at EMO is below. I hope you’ll share it with your readers.

 The ANCA Tool of the Year Awards marked its sixth year with a record attendance of hundreds of industry professionals at the awards ceremony and gala dinner held at EMO Hannover.

• EMUGE-FRANKEN, a renowned German cutting tool manufacturer, took first prize for their multi-functional carbide tool infused with ceramic material, promising extended tool life and unparalleled performance.
• JG Group from Poland secured first place in the Virtual Tool Category for the second consecutive year with an impressive simulation of a Dachshund – or more commonly known as the sausage dog, that used 24 profiles just to create the head of its character.
• This year’s awards held a special significance as ANCA announced Lena Risse from Risse Tool Technology GmbH as the winner of the inaugural Female Machinist of the Year award. This initiative aims to promote diversity in the cutting tool industry and provide positive role models for women and girls considering careers in this sector.

Pat Boland, ANCA Co Founder said: “This year has been marked by exceptional enthusiasm, boasting an impressive array of entries and showing a remarkable complexity in the design of both real and simulated tools. The competition was fierce, but EMUGE-FRANKEN, a globally renowned cutting tool manufacturer hailing from Germany, has truly set itself apart. Their combination of ceramic materials and tungsten carbide posed a significant manufacturing challenge, and effectively extended the performance and lifespan of the cutting tools.”

“JG Group’s whimsical ‘sausage dog’ entry added a delightful touch to the competition, underscoring the remarkable flexibility of our software and the impressive results that can be achieved when blending creativity and expertise. Moreover, we were honored to introduce the inaugural “Female Machinist” category at ANCA. Recognizing women who are choosing to enter our industry is paramount, and we extend our heartfelt congratulations to Lena, the deserving winner of this historic category.”

Tool of the Year winner quotes

Diether Ahrens, Head of Business Unit at EMUGE-FRANKEN, commented on their award-winning tool, saying, “ANCA and EMUGE-FRANKEN have a long-standing technology partnership that has enabled us continuously to be innovative. Our team designed and ground an outstanding competition milling cutter based on the new FRANKEN Cera-Cut line. An exclamation mark in function and appearance and thus also a bit of our DNA for innovative special and standard tools for milling.”

Rauf Öztürk, Director of Business Development from TURCAR and one of the members on the 2023 judging panel, congratulated EMUGE-FRANKEN on their achievement, stating, “Congratulations to EMUGE-FRANKEN on their well-deserved triumph. It’s a testament to the power of innovation, teamwork, and unwavering determination.”

Grzegorz Reszka, CEO of Most Innovative Tool winner JG Group said: “Winning the Virtual Tool Category for the third time is a great honor for us. We are pleased that the high competencies and creative approach of our team have been recognized again.”

“Preparing for the project and writing down the initial assumptions, we decided to combine creativity with children’s imagination. And this time our team rose to the challenge, not stopping at previous victories. The project of a virtual elongated dog resembling a dachshund was very popular with the audience and showed us how much potential we have in our design team.”

Grzegorz Reszka concluded, “We would like to thank everyone who voted and helped us to win the competition, which was extremely well-attended by international companies.”

The ANCA Tool of the Year Awards celebrate excellence, innovation, and diversity in the cutting tool industry, recognizing the passion and creativity of industry experts like Lena Risse, EMUGE-FRANKEN and JG Group, who are shaping the future of precision tool manufacturing.

Made on ANCA

Winner: EMUGE-FRANKEN

Their winning entry was a complex, multi-functional cutting tool with edges consisting of carbide and ceramic material. Using iGrind to its fullest, this tool makes the most of the profile software’s flexibility, employing layers and segments to assign operations efficiently. Demonstrating exceptional precision in profile measurements and 3D edge radius measurements, the tool closely aligns with its intended specifications and stands out for its accuracy.

Second place: ARCH Cutting Tools

ARCH Cutting Tools continues to create another outstanding multi-functional cutting tool with the required accuracy. Once again, it proves to be a functional tool to replace multiple processes, thanks to its use of profile software, segments, and other iGrind operations during its creation. The cutting edges exhibit consistent 3D edge radius and good levels of profile accuracy.

Third place: TDM Cutting Tools

This tool has been designed to replace multiple processes, and it’s the result of combining profile software, segments, and various iGrind operations. With its profile and edge radius meeting satisfactory standards, it’s worth noting that this is a complex tool overall.

Virtual Tool Category

Winner: JG Group

The head of this character was created using 24 different profiles. The process involved the strategic utilization of coolant holes on the initial blank, as well as helix correction, cross-sectional profiling, forming flutes from solid materials, and various profile operations. This is an example of how ANCA’s flexible software can be used – or misused!

Second place: Hengrui Precision Tools (Jiaxing)

The tower was created with multiple fluting operations and cross section profile. What’s noteworthy is the hollow section in the middle, which impressively forms a helical rib with a hollow interior. Overall, this simulated tool reflects a significant amount of dedication and creativity in its design and construction.

Third place: ZMK Kazimieruk

This beer mug is perfectly timed for the lead-up to Oktoberfest! It showcases a creative approach of using cross-sectional profiles to craft the interior of the mug, a unique method to carve out the pocket in the handle, and profile software to create the distinctive indents around the mug. This attention to detail and innovative design makes it a standout piece.

machines.anca.com

ANCA is a market leading manufacturer of CNC grinding machines. It was founded in 1974 in Melbourne, Australia where the company still has its global headquarters. ANCA has offices in the UK, Germany, China, Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and the USA as well as a comprehensive network of representatives and agents worldwide.

ANCA CNC grinders are used for manufacturing precision cutting tools and components across a diverse range of competitive industries including cutting tool manufacture, automotive, aerospace, electronics and medical.