In addition, the insert cutting edge is designed to generate light cutting force and stable cutting even under heavy chip load. The inserts are available in grade AH3135 boasting high fracture toughness and AH120 with wear resistance for long tool life in various materials.

ATA’s rotary cutting tools in turn are used by companies around the world to remove materials and in finishing products. Customers include contractors and subcontractors in automotive, aerospace, marine/ship building, oil and gas and other industries.

“This is the largest burr manufacturing facility in the world,” said Hector Diaz-Stringel, president of the Akron company. The facility’s history goes back to SGS Tool’s burr division, which Ireland-based ATA bought about six years ago.

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Horrigan noted that the business park originally was a racetrack that went out of business. Now, the repurposed site is a success story, he said.

The Akron facility and its 102 employees make 3.5 million to 3.7 million of the 8 million tungsten carbide burrs ATA manufactures annually and exports them globally, Diaz-Stringel said. ATA has two other factories in Europe.

That uncertainty revolves around the imposition of new tariffs by the United States and other nations and talk of even more tariffs to come, he said.

“This is definitely a big improvement,” the 67-year-old Rootstown resident said. “The lights alone, I can see a lot better. Because of our growth, we had to get a bigger building.”

“What we offer our customer is a solution that can finish any metal piece,” said Sophia Heslin, ATA’s group marketing manager based in Ireland.

Reporter Jim Mackinnon covers business and county government. He can be reached at 330-996-3544 or jmackinnon@thebeaconjournal.com. Follow him @JimMackinnonABJ on Twitter or www.facebook.com/JimMackinnonABJ

Engagement of a tool’s cutting edge with a workpiece generates a cutting force. Such a cutting force combines tangential, feed and radial forces, which can be measured by a dynamometer. Of the three cutting force components, tangential force is the greatest. Tangential force generates torque and accounts for more than 95 percent of the machining power. See dynamometer.

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ATA’s recent move to the new 60,000-square-foot facility in Ascot Industrial Park from a 40,000-square-foot building in nearby Cuyahoga Falls is all about the future, Diaz-Stringel said.

Besides its exported burrs, ATA Tools also imports raw materials, all of which can be affected by tariffs, he said.

ATA targets growth both in specific industries and geographically, he said. The company is eyeing South America as a new export market, he said.

The specialty manufacturer, which makes high quality tungsten carbide burrs and cutting tools used to finish metal and composite products, opened up its new facility on Ascot Parkway in Akron to customers and other guests for a few hours.

Besides having acres-more space available for additional expansion, the Akron facility features open office plans up front and a clean, modern and well-lit factory floor at the rear.

Both TungUniversalSlot and TecTangentialSlot are indexable slot milling cutters with unique insert features. Traditional slot milling cutters require two different shapes of inserts in pairs, using one shape for the right corner and the other for the left, in order to complete the slot profile. Both TungUniversalSlot and TecTangentialSlot incorporate a double-sided insert, allowing one side to be used for the right hand and the other for the left hand. TungUniversalSlot has six cutting edges per insert and TecTangentialSlot 4 cutting edges per insert. These insert features contribute to significant improvement of cost-effectiveness with less tool investment and inventory management.

High density and excellent chip evacuation provide increased productivity for various slot milling applications

“We started this journey a couple years ago,” he said. “This building was already here. With minor tweaks, we made it our own. We’re very happy with the result. We are set for the future.”

Cost-effective double-sided inserts with multiple cutting edges, with one side for the right hand and the other for the left hand

Loosely, any milling tool. Horizontal cutters take the form of plain milling cutters, plain spiral-tooth cutters, helical cutters, side-milling cutters, staggered-tooth side-milling cutters, facemilling cutters, angular cutters, double-angle cutters, convex and concave form-milling cutters, straddle-sprocket cutters, spur-gear cutters, corner-rounding cutters and slitting saws. Vertical cutters use shank-mounted cutting tools, including endmills, T-slot cutters, Woodruff keyseat cutters and dovetail cutters; these may also be used on horizontal mills. See milling.

“We export from this facility to more than 60 countries,” Diaz-Stringel said. “But we still have geographies that are not fully explored.”

“We have seen a strong economy, really going back to late 2017,” he said. “But we see a lot of uncertainty.”

Tungaloy is adding new insert radius sizes to its TungUniversalSlot and TecTangentialSlot slot milling cutter series.

Machining operation in which metal or other material is removed by applying power to a rotating cutter. In vertical milling, the cutting tool is mounted vertically on the spindle. In horizontal milling, the cutting tool is mounted horizontally, either directly on the spindle or on an arbor. Horizontal milling is further broken down into conventional milling, where the cutter rotates opposite the direction of feed, or “up” into the workpiece; and climb milling, where the cutter rotates in the direction of feed, or “down” into the workpiece. Milling operations include plane or surface milling, endmilling, facemilling, angle milling, form milling and profiling.

Due to popular demand, the new standard radii sizes include 0.4 mm, 1.0 mm, 2.0 mm, 3.0 mm, 4.0 mm and 5.0 mm.

Tim Roberts, a quality inspector, said he’s been with the company for 18 years. He’s 38 and lives in Suffield Township.

Metal-removing edge on the face of a cutter that travels in a plane perpendicular to the axis. It is the edge that sweeps the machined surface. The flat should be as wide as the feed per revolution of the cutter. This allows any given insert to wipe the entire workpiece surface and impart a fine surface finish at a high feed rate.

“All this talk about tariffs and trade wars, that brings a lot of uncertainty not only for ATA but for the markets that we serve,” he said. “It’s hard to tell whether this robust economy we’ve seen the last few months is going to continue the next six months.”

Gene Gharky, who has worked at ATA and its predecessor for 32 years, said the new facility helps his job as a profile technician, which involves the early stages of tool building.

“It allows us to grow,” he said. “When we were in Cuyahoga Falls, we were landlocked. ... We have a lot of aggressive plans for growth.”

In talking to open house guests, Diaz-Stringel said the previous facility was only about a mile away.

Ability of the tool to withstand stresses that cause it to wear during cutting; an attribute linked to alloy composition, base material, thermal conditions, type of tooling and operation and other variables.