How CNC Automation at Continental Diamond Tool Benefits Customers and Employee

Continental Diamond Tool has been in business since 1973, and in that time we’ve grown to rank among the world’s top manufacturers of Diamond and CBN wheels for drilling, cutting, and grinding applications. One key component of our growth has been our investment in innovation, both with our products and our processes. With our recent investment in CNC automation through robotics, we're seeing benefits to quality, speed, and employee satisfaction. Let’s look at what this new technology means for our customers and employees.

Quality Matters
Quality has been an area where Continental Diamond Tool has invested heavily in systems and automations that allow us to test and assure the accuracy of every product that leaves our facility. Robots take this a step further, producing consistent products with minimal, if any, defects. Robots are perfect for doing repetitive jobs with precision and efficiency.

In addition, automatic “error-proofing” is built into our robotic systems. Advanced software in robotics identifies when there is an issue in production and notifies our production team before it causes costly delays.

Reducing Lead Times
Before introducing robotic automation, at Continental Diamond Tool we struggled to reduce lead times on our custom products. Because each machine required highly skilled technicians to operate it, demand could easily exceed our available workforce during periods of peak production. Despite making every effort to expedite orders with on-hand raw materials and first-come-first-served policies, sometimes shipments wouldn’t reach customers until months after initial requests.

Now that all robotic machines can be remotely monitored, operators can observe production from start to finish on multiple machines. Lights-out production means even more efficient use of our facilities and quicker turnaround on orders. Now we've reduced lead times to mere weeks from design to delivery. Even with last minute orders, our robots extend our ability to put in overtime and keep up with unpredictable demand.

“With this tight labor market being what it is, CDT is always striving to become more efficient with what we have," says Jeff Gongaware, CDT Customer Service & Assistant Sales Manager. "It is not uncommon for me to walk through the shop at the end of the day and see the Robotic Arm machining blanks when all of the machinists are gone for the day. It is difficult to be to be more efficient than that.”

Better Service & Innovation
Our team at Continental Diamond Tool is always looking for ways to improve the customer experience. We strive to ensure that our customers receive nothing but quality products. When we implemented robotics into our machine shop, repetitive and maintenance tasks were delegated to robots. The resulting increases in efficiency and revenue has freed up both our human and capital resources for further investment in value-added services like research and development.

"Not only has robotic automation freed our team to make better use of their talents in the areas of service and creative innovation, but none of the robots have contracted COVID yet!" jokes Nick Viggiano, CDT President.

By integrating CNC automation into all phases of production, we have found we have been able to innovate more quickly while also ensuring the high quality of our parts. As a result, CDT is able to better serve our customers.

Better Job Satisfaction
An ongoing myth in manufacturing is that robots are replacing humans on the shop floor. While it’s true that robots are making many of our processes more efficient, CDT has found that automation actually makes life better for our workers. With mundane tasks being performed by robots, our employees can focus their energy elsewhere on bettering production efforts in more impactful ways.

According to CNC machinist Ron Fuller, “It has definitely improved efficiency and productivity in numbers, while also allowing me more time to focus on other projects at the same time. Prior to using the robotic arm, I was producing about 50-60 parts per day and now the arm allows me to produce 80 parts per day."

Repetitive, strenuous tasks tend to pose health and safety issues for CNC machinists and operators. By delegating these tasks to robots, there is less risk for workplace injury. And without this highly physical, repetitive work, we now find we have a wider pool of candidates who are willing and able to perform production work.

“In manufacturing in general, the pool of qualified or interested candidates is currently a bit shallow," says Kathy Fell, Human Resources Manager. "However, CDT is able to take what seems difficult and turn it into an opportunity with the idea of modifying job roles.”

For example, CDT has begun hiring recent retirees who want to reenter the workforce. They may no longer want to do heavy machining work, but with robots they can use their expertise in new ways, while working part-time schedules as productive as their full-time positions used to be.

Today CNC operators at CDT are focused on more enjoyable tasks such as programming and preparing multiple machines, designing new products, improving production strategies, and general monitoring of the production line. Robots are making the jobs of our CNC operators more rewarding, as they can produce more with less effort.

Working Smarter
To be successful in business, we have to be good stewards of our resources. By investing in CNC automation, Continental Diamond Tool is able to produce higher-quality products faster and with less waste. This equates to happier customers, greater employee satisfaction, and a stronger financial standing for us as a business. By working smarter through automation, we are all seeing the benefits.