Cylindrical Grinding Doubled Revenue in 24 Months

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Smithstown Light Engineering, a precision manufacturer for the medical industry, collaborates with Swiss grinding expert Tschudin. Five Cube 350 machines will produce 120,000 parts per month and further drive growth.

In 2021, Tschudin delivered the first Cube 350 centerless grinding machine to Smithstown Light Engineering, a leading Irish manufacturer of precision parts for the MedTech industry. This marked the starting point of an extraordinary success story.

The catalyst was a project we had won. The Tschudin Cube 350 was new to the market and offered exactly what we needed for manufacturing parts for orthopedic applications: a granite machine bed, top precision, flexibility, speed, and automation.

Gerard Henn, CEO von Smithstown Light Engineering

Four years later, the company, headquartered in Shannon with production facilities in Ireland and Rzeszow (Poland), operates four Cube 350 grinding machines, with a fifth soon to be delivered. With these five machines running around the clock six days a week, Smithstown will achieve an output of 120,000 parts per month.

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The flexibility of the Cube 350 has proven to be a decisive factor, as it minimizes setup and dressing times and enables high production volumes. Gerard Henn: "We were able to develop our company dynamically. Within 24 months, we doubled our revenue. The collaboration with Tschudin has played a significant role in this success."

Automation is the Key

From the very beginning, state-of-the-art automation solutions were of great importance. Dr. Henn: "Automation is the only viable way to produce in Ireland and meet the customers' price requirements. Thanks to the customized robotic solution, one operator manages all the machines and is supported by two technicians for setup and troubleshooting as needed."

Marc Tschudin, CEO of Tschudin, emphasizes the importance of the company's in-house automation expertise: "In close collaboration with the customer, we develop and optimize specialized automation solutions—from the initial technical discussions and sales process to installation and after-sales service. For Smithstown, we developed three loading and picking programs tailored to different pallet sizes. With these three programs, they can handle their entire range of parts, ensuring maximum flexibility and quick changeovers."

At Smithstown, constant reinvestments ensure a modern machine park at a high level. "We chase micrometers when it comes to tolerances. We don't just talk about it; we achieve it," explains Dr. Henn. "That's why we must ensure that our specialists work on high-end machines and achieve the highest precision."

Chris Boraston, Managing Director of Advanced Grinding Solutions and representative of Tschudin in the United Kingdom and Ireland, has been involved from the beginning: "It was remarkable how analytical and swift the decision-makers at Smithstown acted throughout the entire process. This determination, combined with their clear vision and close relationships with OEMs in the medical industry, are the main reasons for the company's impressive growth."

The professional exchange and customer support remain a cornerstone of successful collaboration. "The openness of the Tschudin team, their constant effort to further improve the machine, the close exchange, and the personal relationships make the collaboration a true pleasure. We see Tschudin as a long-term partner in centerless grinding," says Gerard Henn, "The support is fantastic."

The centerless grinding machine Cube 350 is designed for manufacturing parts with a diameter of up to 0.8 inches and for plunge grinding parts with a length of up to 7 inches (optional 8 inches). It is equally capable and thorough in through-feed grinding of parts. The machine can be equipped with various automatic loading options as well as pre- and/or post-process measurement systems. The Cube 350 offers maximum efficiency with minimal space requirements. The changeover time is reminiscent of a Formula 1 pit stop: in just six minutes, the grinding and control wheels can be changed, allowing the next series of workpieces to be seamlessly produced. The compact centerless grinding machine has a footprint of only 8.5 feet × 5.6 feet and has been specifically developed for processing small parts and small batches. Its ergonomic design is unique, as the machine can be operated from both the left and right sides.

A further increase in efficiency is possible with the carbon spindle developed by Tschudin. By minimizing thermal expansion, consistently high production accuracy is ensured at all times. Time-consuming warm-up of the machine, for example, on Monday morning after the weekend, is no longer necessary.

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