Five Questions with Mark Backus
This month we catch up with Mark Backus for our Five Questions interview series. A Sales Engineer at Sandvik Coromant for 15 years, Mark always enjoyed providing tooling solutions for his customers, tooling up machines and working with machine tool dealers and builders. So, it made perfect sense when he moved to his current role as Product Specialist for Machine Integration/Tooling Systems. Working on the Product Management Team for the Central and Western United States for the past four years, Mark especially enjoys working with so many people in the organization. We asked Mark five questions about his current role and what he likes most about tooling up machines and helping customers.
Sandvik Coromant: What do you want people to considerbefore buying a new machine?
Mark Backus: I want people to consider their entiremanufacturing process including their current and future production needs forfaster ROI and profitability. Only looking at the cheapest machine with thefastest delivery date and capacity that suits current production needs is notthe best strategy. They need to ask questions such as, “What is the mostcost-effective manufacturing process for the parts being made on the machine? Arethere going to be frequent insert changes and many different parts that need tobe set up? What quick-change clamping units should I use?” (Of course, I’d tellyou that Coromant Capto is the best quick-change system on the market!)
My recommendation is that people think about business andproduction goals at the earliest stages of the planning process – we call this“Right from the Start.” They should consider machines and tooling that reducethe production time of the components they make now but also look ahead tofuture needs. I also recommend that they select a machine that will becompatible with the latest technology in software, tool holding and cuttingtool solutions.
SC: What common mistakes are made when shop owners orpurchasing agents buy a new machine?
MB: In the traditional method of implementing a machine, acustomer buys a new machine for the quickest installation date to get it makingparts as fast as possible. A run off is done, but that typically takes place afterthe machine is already on the shop floor. Then, due to lack of planning, old processes may beduplicated and now since the machine is busy, there may be a higher cost per component,and it may never be looked at again for productivity increases in the future. (Seefirst image at the bottom of the page.)
SC: What can people do differently to re-think theirmachine buying process?
MB: The key is to use Right from the Start. As I mentionedbefore, more time and effort should be put into the planning stages of theprocess to make sure they have the best machine and tooling for maximumefficiency. This ensures that the machine is productive and profitable from thebeginning and the payback time on the new machine is typically up to one yearquicker. I have known people who only looked at what machine they couldget in the quickest delivery time and at the cheapest price, using the cheapesttooling they could find to put on it. I’ve seen rusted, old beat up tooling puton a brand-new machine in an effort to save money! When in reality, this didnot save money at all. By going this route, the machine arrived without thefeatures and options they needed, and the tooling was wrong which made badquality components that were not able to meet the tolerances or be machinedefficiently. (See second and third at the bottom of the page.)
SC: But what if buying a machine right now is not anoption?
MB: If money is tight, the economy is slow, or it’s just notthe right time to buy a machine, customers can look at other ways to be moreproductive by retrofitting older machines with more efficient tooling solutionslike Coromant Capto quick change tooling or other cutting tools until the timeis right to buy a newer one. Try our
calculators
that can instantly show ROI for such solutions.
SC: There are lots of tooling companies out there –what makes Sandvik Coromant different in your opinion?
MB: We have the best people in the industry that can provide ourcustomers the best technical solutions, support and service. We also havethe best overall product offering that provides the complete manufacturingsolution to our customers. Our innovation of new products (includingdigital) keeps us ahead of the competition. These things make us different fromother tooling companies and our customers view us as their partners to be more productiveand profitable.
Bonus question: What is your favorite Sandvik Coromant tool and why?
Asthe Machine Integration/Tooling Systems guy, I have responsibilities for abunch of different tools (Silent Tools, CoroChuck 930, CoroBore, Machine Adapted Clamping Units and all adapters and interfaces like Coromant Capto,Cat-V, HSK, etc.), so that would be like asking me which one of my kids is myfavorite!
Iwill say that my favorite tools are the ones that have the Coromant Captointerface. It is one of the greatest innovations that we as a company haveintroduced to the world. It has so many incredible benefits that I tool upmachines with Coromant Capto products whenever possible because I know we willhave great results.
For questions about tooling up machines, please contact Mark at mark.backus@sandvik.com
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