Superior Toot Service, Inc., Wichita, Kansas, has recently installed its fourth ANCA CNC grinding machine and is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The firm specializes in industrial tool and cutter grinding, manufacturing and resharpening.

Founded in 1987 by Steve and Ellen Shofler, Superior Tool Service was started in the family's garage at the request of a customer.

Today, the company is in a custom built 6000-sq.-ft. facility (with a drive-up window) and features the new 11-axis ANCA CNC grinder with a CLX pallet loader ( the second one in the nation) as well as three other ANCA CNC grinding machines with 7 to 10 axis capabilities.

The new ANCA features upgraded software and new capabilities that will help Superior Tool Service serve a customer working with composites.

The shop also includes a wide variety of conventional grinders (22), a surface grinder, Starrett comparator and assorted support equipment. Tolerances can be maintained and measured to 0.0001.

"We are successful because of our great customers and our dedicated staff," noted Steve Shofler, a 32-year industry veteran. "We enjoy taking on the customers' challenges."

Ellen Shofler commented "Its been a fast 20 years. Our talents complement each other quite well ... he is the tooling expert and I have the ac count] counting/finance background. Hiring good people has also been key to our success."

Ellen is also 2nd VP of the Wichita Manufacturers Association, a 90-year-old group dedicated to supporting area manufacturing.
The company can modify, sharpen, size and radius a wide range of Hi speed and Carbide cutting tools including: end mills, mill cutters, comer rounding tools, gear hobbs, breaches, taps, reamers, piloted reamers, drills, step drills, countersinks, lathe tools and form tools.

Superior Tool Services' manufacturing capabilities include Hi Speed and Carbide end mills, line reamers, broaches, chamfer tools, porting tools, lathe tools and combination tools that do 2 or more operations at once, thereby saving the customer time and money. The company also produces prototypes.

The company's 14 staff has a broad knowledge of materials that customers use, everything from acrylic to Hastelloy and they modify clearance angles on their tools to match the material for longer tool life. The company motto is "Our tools are so sharp you can cut your costs with them!"

Versatile and affordable 2D and 3D CO2 laser machines, as well as performing profiling actions, offer also the possibility to bevel cut, and to cut 3D cubic components, tubes and profiles as well

Space gear MarkII Versatile and affordable 2D and 3D CO2 laser machine is a genuine Mazak innovative concept to offer a Multi Function laser cutting machine. No compromise on the cutting accuracy and feedrate. The Space Gear cuts in 2D with the same speed and accuracy than a normal 2D laser cutter.

But Space Gear offers also the possibility to bevel cut, and to cut 3D cubic components, tubes and profiles as well.

A new generation of laser resonator plus a proven constant-beam length delivery system provides unsurpassed cutting performance - anywhere on the table.

The laser resonator is integrated into the machine base casting to ensure reliable and stable cutting performance.

The cutting torch is equipped with a non contact 3-dimensional profiler which together with off-line teaching delivers exceptional productivity.

Several sizes and laser power are available depending of the customer application.

Cuts accurate tubes with 6-axis thanks to the 6-axis cutting torch and NC controlled rotary table the Space Gear cuts a wide variety of accurate pipe joints.

Space Cam generates also the programs to make the jigs The appropriate software is particularly required for cutting 3D parts.

Space Cam was especially developed for this application.

Space Cam generates the 3D cutting programs but also the programs to cut the jigs for supporting the parts during the cutting operation.