V - The magazine of the VOLLMER Group - 2018

THE TOOLMAKER TOMSKY INSTRUMENT IN TOMSK, RUSSIA MANUFACTURES ROTARY TOOLS USING VOLLMER TECHNOLOGY The Russian company Tomsky Instrument was founded in the darkest hour of European history: It was 1941 – in the mid- dle of World War 2. At the time the German armed forces were outside the gates of Moscow. In order to secure the produc- tion of the companies there, around 30 businesses were re- located by rail to the city of Tomsk in Western Siberia, a good 3,000 kilometres away – including Tomsky Instrument. PRECISION FROM TOMSK FOR MORE THAN 75 YEARS "Our predecessor company was called 'Frezer', in German 'Fräser' meaning milling cutters, and was already one of the largest tool manufacturers in the country", states Sergey Shvartsev, Director of Tomsky Instrument. "With the relocation to Tomsk we changed the name, but not our business mod- el. We have been developing, manufacturing and distributing high-quality cutting tools worldwide for more than 75 years." Despite the unfavourable starting conditions, apart from the war Siberia also experienced an extremely harsh winter in 1941, Tomsky Instrument was already manufacturing the first tools in Tomsk three months after the set-up of the new company. Today the company specialises in the manufacture of carbide tools and employs over 300 people. The company is one of the leading manufacturers of rotary tools for metal­ working and woodworking in Russia. Some of the products manufactured include milling cutters, drills, reamers, sinks or taps made from HSS (High Speed Steel) and especially carbide. Every second company in Russia that uses rotary tools is on the customer list of Tomsky Instrument. The company also exports its tools to all continents. TOOLS FOR METAL AND WOOD CUTTING "Whether it is for the manufacture of aeroplanes, trains or cars, our milling cutters and drills are in action worldwide when companies cut metal and plastic", adds Sergey Shvartsev. "But our tools are also used in the petrochemical industry and timber processing – i.e. in industries that are strongly repre- sented here in Western Siberia." The region east of the Ural Mountains has huge depos- its of oil and natural gas and possesses vast woodlands in the Siberian taiga. For example, Lesosibirsk, the Russian capital of the timber industry, is only roughly 500 kilometres away from Tomsk, as the crow flies – a stone's throw in terms of Siberian dimensions. And whoever strolls through Tomsk and marvels at the famous timber houses with their delicate carvings can assume that they were produced with milling cutters from Tomsky Instrument. German roots in remote Siberia CENTRE OF SCIENCE FOR MORE THAN 100 YEARS But it is not only the proximity to customers that makes the location of Tomsk attractive for the tool manufacturer. Since the end of the 19th century Tomsk has developed into the science and cultural capital of Siberia. More than 20 percent of the good 600,000 inhabitants are students, who are reg- istered at the Tomsk State University, Polytechnic University of Tomsk or one of the dozen other educational institutions. "In Tomsk there are over 120,000 students, many of whom have a technical discipline, which in turn benefits us when we are searching for young engineers for our development and research", says Sergey Shvartsev. "In addition, we also work closely with research institutes in order to jointly develop innovative production processes and to test new high-alloyed steels for our tools." SIBERIAN TOOL MANUFACTURER RELIES ON VOLLMER Since 2017 Tomsky Instrument has been using VOLLMER technology for machining its carbide tools. Two V Grind 360 sharpening machines sharpen drills, milling cutters or ream- ers around the clock. It is tradition that one relies on German expertise and know-how in Tomsk. Although Tomsk is six time zones and 6,000 kilometres away from Germany, there are close links between the two cultures. There are currently approximately 13,000 Russian-Germans living in Tomsk and it was German architects who built the Polytechnic Universi- ty in 1896. The current President of the Tomsk State University also has German roots: His name is Georgiy Mayer. And who- ever wants to quench their thirst in Tomsk is happy to drink a pitcher of beer - brewed with hops and based on a recipe from Germany. The cold beer tastes best in the Krüger Bar, which is no longer owned by the founding family. Today the brew- ery belongs to the Mayor of Tomsk. Following in the Siberian-German tradition, his name is Ivan Klein. www . tiz . ru VOLLMER IN ACTION! Two VOLLMER tool grinding machines V Grind 360 with the HP 160 automation solution guarantee high-precision rotary tools at Tomsky Instrument. The V Grind 360 , with its two ver- tically positioned spindles, boasts modern kinematics which enable multi-level machining. The workpieces can be ground at the optimal pivot point of the C axis on both grinding spindles. This spindle positioning solves the common problems related to fixed and floating bearings, which leads to more precise re- sults when machining workpieces. The HP 160 pallet magazine for the VGrind enables automatic machining at any hour of the day. The magazine can hold up to 272 workpieces and automat- ically feed them to the grinding machine. SERGEJ SHVARTSEV (RIGHT) AT THE CONTROL DISPLAY OF A V Grind 360. 10 11 INSIGHTS