Heule Tooling Recognized for Innovation
Their BSF tool is a finalist for the Swiss-American Business Council Innovation Award.
Posted: January 29, 2019
Heule Precision Tool (Balgach, Switzerland) announced that their BSF tool has been selected as a finalist for the Swiss-American Business Council (SABC; Chicago, IL) Innovation Award for 2018. Their automated Back Spot Facing tool was chosen for its ability to reduce production costs while improving product quality in high production manufacturing environments. The tool is manufactured at their factory in Switzerland and distributed to North American customers through Heule Tool Corporation (Loveland, OH), their U.S. subsidiary.
Members of the SABC were invited to submit an entry for this award of any innovative product or service that has been launched within the last three years and has strengthened the U.S.-Swiss business relationship. The judging committee looked at the following criteria:
- The innovation was launched by an organization based out of the Midwest, that is Swiss or U.S., in close collaboration with a Swiss organization.
- Did the product or service meet an unmet need?
- How unique is the product or service?
- What new value has been created for the end user?
- What financial evidence or market acceptance information?
The BSF tool is ideal for counterbores up to 2.3X diameter, ranging in size from 6.5 mm to 20.5 mm (0.256 in to 0.807 in). It is sold standard-stock, then shipped the next day from the Loveland warehouse. This unique tooling works without an anti-rotation device, change of spindle direction or any machine adaptations, allowing components to be spot faced in the same direction as the bore is drilled. This saves the time and cost of turning the workpiece while allowing the spotfacing of difficult-to-reach areas like yoke forks, screw-head countersinks, and more. The blade expands using centrifugal force when activating the spindle, and retracts from coolant pressure, which moves a piston to depress a pin which retracts the closed blade into the housing. A simple swing mechanism, combined with the internal coolant pressure system, yields optimal cutting performance for consistent spotfacing and fewer scrapped parts.
This tool works both vertically and horizontally, with replaceable carbide-coated blades for extended tool life that are ideal for gear housings, yokes, engine casings, and other parts in a wide range of materials.
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