The Myth of Cutting Tool Cost

Productivity in economics refers to a measure of output from production processes compared to a unit of input. In manufacturing, that unit of input refers to everything from toilet paper to your CEO's company car. This cost/benefit ratio is determined by every shop differently and individually. In cutting tools, this decision is often deterred by the idea of costs. However, the cost of cutting tools should only be a small portion of determining your shop's machining productivity. Whether you are using very expensive cutting tools or lower-cost insert technology, it is the productivity of the tooling that should be considered when you are determining the actual cost of the tool. This article will evaluate machining productivity by comparing tooling cost to tooling productivity.