MMC Magazine

Thank you for reading YOUR GLOBAL CRAFTSMAN STUDIO vol. 6.

Volume 6 features the automobile industry. It is a fact that the growth of our Advanced Materials and Tools Business has been supported in no small part by the advancement of the automobile industry. Our customers in the automobile industry have taught us many important lessons, and I believe their support has been instrumental in helping us to expand our business.

There are five major parts to the automobile engine, the so-called 5C’s; and most of the tools used to manufacture the 5C's are specialized. The manufacture of these special tools presents major challenges because of the need to incorporate a wide range of design perspectives while bringing to bear the most advanced know-how available to satisfy customer requirements. We sometimes, for example, re-grind inserts used in certain processes to intentionally reduce their size for further use on other applications. Designing tools for use across different processes requires us to be completely familiar with each of these processes and the quantity of inserts to be used in them. In addition, it is also important to design tools in such a way as to make it easier for the customer to conduct acceptance testing after delivery, to make it easier for the customer to sort for disposal, and also make it simpler for the customer’s production & technology and procurement divisions to understand. With a spirit of empathy, we are responsible for making special tools for our customers.

YOUR GLOBAL CRAFTSMAN STUDIO is the brand message from the Advanced Materials and Tools Business. It expresses our desire to respond to the wide variety of customer requests to ensure that the tools we manufacture meet and exceed expectations. We rise to the challenge of manufacturing the finest specialized tools for the automobile industry. In addition to the wide application of special products, the use of standard products has increased. The telephone book-size catalogue contains more than 30,000 products and with such a vast array, it makes it a daunting task for customers to select the most appropriate tools and cutting conditions by themselves. Individual customer needs include the necessity to reduce processing costs, increase productivity, prioritize the finished surface, utilise a safe chip processing system and also to reduce vibration, noise and burrs. To meet these varying conditions, we must be increasingly prepared to provide comprehensive solutions. Such solutions include a wide variety of services such as seminars for young engineers, process testing in environments similar to those found at the customer’s site, technical services such as on-site product line inspections and the proposal of new tools developed through CAE analysis.

While our Research & Development Division continues to prioritize the performance of individual products, we also continue to provide customer-oriented consultation services.

In June 2017, we opened the Central Japan Technical Center adjacent to the Gifu Plant. We are looking forward to seeing automobile industry customers there to showcase our ability to p

Koichi Ikenaga

General Manager
Research & Development Div.
Mitsubishi Materials Corporation
Metalworking Solutions Company