Diamond tooling specialist DK Holdings’ sales manager, John Emptage and composite product manufacturers, Nowadays Technologies’ production manager, Evaldas Rutis reveal how JEC World 2022 brought them together, developing a diamond tooling solution for a very bespoke requirement.
JEC World opens its doors to the global composite community in Paris at the end of April, enabling partners, peers and industry specialists to meet and share latest trends within this ever-changing sector.
Q) Hello John. Can you tell our readers a bit more about DK Holdings?
DK Holdings is a world-leading manufacturer and supplier of off-the-shelf and bespoke diamond tooling solutions across the composite manufacturing sector in industries such as aerospace, automotive, renewable energy, as well as companies such as Nowadays Technologies who manufacture components for the water desalination and water treatment industries. We operate out of our ISO-accredited production facilities in the UK and export to over 120 countries worldwide. Many of our longstanding partnerships started off by exhibiting at tradeshows such as JEC.
Q) Hello Evaldas. Please give us an overview of Nowadays Technologies and what you and the team do?
Nowadays Technologies is a manufacturer of composite pressure vessels produced by the filament winding method. We use glass fibre roving and epoxy resin within our Lithuania production facility. Our vision is to become the leader in the water desalination and water treatment industry worldwide, and to achieve this goal we continuously look for trusted partners to elevate our production processes. We travelled to JEC World in 2022 to look for trends in the industry - with DK Holdings’ stand very high up on our list to visit, as we were keen to see their diamond tools.
Q) John, what makes tradeshows such as JEC World vital to DK Holdings’ success?
DK Holdings has been manufacturing diamond tools for the composite sector for over 60 years, and not only do we get to meet our global partners but also companies such as Nowadays Technologies - who had a very specific requirement that they needed a bespoke diamond tooling solution for. After the show, our R&D department followed up with Evaldas and the team with several zoom calls.
Q) Evaldas, talk us through your production requirement and how DK Holdings supported you?
As mentioned, we manufacture components out of glass fibre/epoxy composite and had an issue with tool wear where conventional tools were wearing out extremely quickly due to the high drilling/milling thickness and high hardness of our product. A diamond tooling solution was the logical choice for us. DK Holdings’ R&D team was incredibly knowledgeable and part of their consultation process is to test their tooling on the material, so we sent them over samples.
Q) John, talk us through the development process of the end-product for Nowadays Technologies please?
Once the team received the sample from Evaldas, we got to work and tested a number of different tools to ensure we suggested the best possible solution for their requirement. Our team produced video and photographic evidence, as well as utilising our CAD department to draft detailed drawings. We kept in regular communication with Evaldas and his team to ensure we were meeting their exact requirements.
The result was the manufacture of two tools – a custom-made electroplated diamond holesaw with extra depth, dust slots and serrated edge, as well as an electroplated diamond combination tool to both plane the surface, open up the bore, and cut top/underside counterbores.
Q) Evaldas, in summary how have the tools performed for you?
We are very happy with the tools. When we tested drilling into a casing that has an outer and inner cylindrical surface and is quite thin, the operation was smooth and very fast which is what we wanted to achieve.
It’s great to have a partner such as DK Holdings who listens to your requirements and takes ‘from inception to the supply’ literally. Without visiting JEC World we would not have forged this partnership, so we’ll definitely continue to visit and will be back in Paris this year.
