Range of inserts “Although the company is very strong in tapping, drilling and threading, what is not commonly known in South Africa is that YG-1 manufacture and supply a vast range of turning and milling inserts. The company has spent over $US 100 million in this area of development over the last five years and recently inaugurated another dedicated plant in Chungju, Korea to manufacture carbide inserts, including end mills.”

“We are positive about the South African market and are expecting a major growth in the region now that we have a dedicated team of sales and management staff that are operating as a fully functional subsidiary. The South African staff will have access to all of the technical know-how and developments at the South Korean headquarters, as do their colleagues around the world,” said H K Song, Founder and Chairman of YG-1.

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Shariff DMC recently launched its DMC2 desktop CNC machine capable of cutting any metal while maintaining a 0.01mm tolerance. The machine is packed with features, including XYZ automatic probing, high-pressure flood coolant, and closed-loop motors, allowing users to boost their in-house manufacturing to higher levels. The DMC2 also boasts an all-steel frame with aluminum side panels, lubrication system and hand pump for all rails and ball screws, coolant pump with variable flow rate, and an integrated chip tray for ease of cleaning.

“YG-1 also develops its own coatings for its products, which includes diamond, PVD and CVD coating. Currently they have just over 50 coating machines in the manufacturing plants and aim to double this number by 2020.”

“We are targeting to equip as many machines as possible with our vast range of products covering HSS, milling, drilling, turning, threading as well as boring. The YG-1 company was established in 1982 and has been growing as a leading global manufacturer in the cutting tool industry. YG-1 operates its global business through nine overseas production sites including the United States, Ireland, South Korea and China, has 30 sales subsidiaries and has a presence in 75 countries.”

“We have more than 5 000 employees working globally across various functions of R&D, production, sales and marketing, supply chain, finance and human resources.”

South Korean-based company engaged in the manufacture and distribution of cutting tools also investigating the possibility of opening a local manufacturing plant.

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“We are so confident of the local market that we are investigating the possibility of opening a local manufacturing plant. For some time we have wanted to have a permanent presence in South Africa but only now has the opportunity arisen,” concluded H K Song.

“More recently the company has set up a production facility in India and expanded its production and R&D facilities in Korea where it is regarded as the number one cutting tool manufacturer in that country and now among the top five in the world.”

“Machining is now becoming increasingly advanced with machine tool builders manufacturing more sophisticated machines with higher speeds and accuracy. We as YG-1 have to keep up with the technological advancement in the metal cutting field. To this end YG-1 has two R&D centres operating in South Korea, one in Songdo and another in Chungju.”

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“This is just the beginning of a journey. YG-1 has an established name in South Africa and we intend to grow that reputation and increase our market share in HSS tooling and carbide cutting tools. The local metal working industry will now be able to benefit from having a dedicated team that will only concentrate on supplying YG-1 products to a broad spectrum of engineering companies,” said Hockly who set up the company in October 2017.

YG-1, whose cutting tools have been widely distributed in South Africa for many years, has decided to open up a subsidiary in South Africa. The South African subsidiary company – YG-1 South Africa Pty Ltd – is based in the Brentwood Park, Benoni area of Gauteng and is headed up by Lance Hockly, who has been in the cutting tool industry for a number of years.

Shariff is currently offering the DMC2 CNC machine on Kickstarter and is available as either a DIY kit ($3,200) or fully assembled ($4,300). Both the kit and the assembled unit come with the same components — a rail alignment tool, a 16-piece collet set and wrenches, a Mach3 and GRBL controller, and a set of probes.

“The products find applications across industries, such as aerospace, die and mould, automobile, oil and gas, power, electronics, general engineering and medical equipment. We will be holding a sizeable amount of products and stock to cover all these fields of metal cutting. In fact clients will now be exposed to a greater array of YG-1 products, which they were not in the past.”

The DMC2 can utilize tools ranging from 1mm to 13mm with an included collet set. This consists of end mills, ball mills, chamfer mills, and even miniature insert tools for producing mirror surface finishes. What's more, it packs a custom breakout board that handles all electrical signals and wiring, simplifying all electronics and makes setup a breeze. The board is designed to interface with either a Mach3 USB CNC controller or STM32 USB GRBL controller. Both controllers come with all DMC2 CNCs so that you can use either. Users can also opt for other controllers/software combinations such as LinuxCNC, although they will need to wire the step, direction, and e-stop signals to the DMC2 controller board.