Innovative high-power countersinks and step drills are powerful tools, the purpose of each one is to support efficient and effective work in the industry, trade and craft sectors. With over 70 years of experience in development and design of tool products and as well as more than one million articles produced on an annual basis, Exact GmbH & Co. KG in Remscheid ranks among Europe’s leading manufacturer and developers of precision tools. The performance optimized ADVANCEDLine is regarded as a particularly successful product line in the EXACT’s investment portfolio which offers the industrial user considerable benefits and added value. Just in time for the International Hardware Fair in Cologne, the successful line will be complemented by a newly developed step drill version with impressively high coefficients of performance.
EXACT’s strategy has always been based on its firm principle: “Always keep the user’s perspective in mind. This is in order to provide optimal support and care for our most important target group, our national and international retailers, and bearing in mind important factors relating to the precision tool technology. How this works in practice is through maintaining close, trusting and collaborative relationships between the company and its partners, in order to respond to their feedback. In this way, we are well positioned to implement our clients’ requirements effectively and after that are able to introduce new product developments while maintaining a strong focus on the customers and their objectives.
As a result, by coordinating this process with our customers, we can develop out-of-the-box projects and conceptions. This solution provides greater productivity and efficiency, helps with costs and time saving, and, what is particularly beneficial for the retailers, it carries a potential for developing new business models. For the purpose of meeting some a particular customers needs, special versions and small series of tools are also produced and offered.
Large range of new product developments
EXACT supplies the core areas of drilling, countersinking, tapping and deburring and has made a large number of new product developments in this area. This can be regarded as proof of a sustained high level of innovation in the production of the highest quality precision tools. The products which the company offers have the trademarks EXACT as well as EVENTUS by EXACT. The first line consists of in-house manufactured products with the label “Made in Germany” and aspires to meet the highest industrial standards, whereas the trademark named EVENTUS by Exact offers a reliable industrial quality with a convincing price-performance ratio. EXACT produces these tools adhering strictly to detailed specifications and technical requirements. A large number of successful Private Label brand concepts at home and abroad round off the company’s range of brands.
EXACT ADVANCEDLINE ¬– countersink with up to 50 per cent longer service lifetime
Presenting the high-performance product ADVANCEDLine in 2017, EXACT has continued its successful company tradition and set new standards in the field of countersinks. Due to the numerous innovations and process optimization measures undertaken by the company, the high-performance levels already attained were extended even further. One of the distinguishing characteristics of the countersink relates to the EXACT ADVANCEDLine design. It has been given their new harmonious cutting flute geometry which gives the technical characteristics that enhance the products’ service lifetime. The service lifetime is up to 50 per cent higher than has hitherto been achieved and offers an up to 25 per cent faster countersinking process based on the innovative sinking techniques applied. At the same time the special cutting geometry of the countersinks prevents uneven wear of the cutting edges. In addition the optimized grinding process allows a high true running accuracy while notably reducing the force needed to operate it. Further significant tools characteristics and functions are an optimised chip removal, extremely silent concentric running and a substantial reduction in axial forces . The whole range of ADVANCEDLine precision tools is equipped with the patented ROTASTOP-Shaft with an asymmetric design. On the ADVANCEDLine this completely prevents tool slippages in the drill chuck thanks to its increasing form, which tightens in the drill chuck. This ensures a one hundred per cent torque transmission in every workplace situation.
Hardware Fair Cologne presentation of the new ADVANCEDLine step drill
EXACT excels in a number of innovative product developments in the core areas of drilling, countersinking, tapping and deburring
The large number of product developments in the core areas of drilling, countersinking, tapping and deburring is what characterizes the company EXACT. During this year’s Hardware Fair exhibition in Cologne EXACT will once again present an expanded ADVANCEDline range and introduce to the public a new step drill with exceptional performance characteristics. The tools of this range match seamlessly with the high quality requirements of the ADVANCEDLine and both will be available from June 2020 either singly in the standard sizes Ø 4-12mm, Ø 4,-20mm and Ø 6-30mm or as a set. Among other optical and technical characteristics of the ADVANCEDLine step drills, their “turbo-tip” is highlighted as being an important new element, which will make centering and tapping actions more efficient and effective. A special highlight in this regard are the four optimized spiral flute taps, which revolutionize the overall drilling process.
Drilling performance can be substantially improved due to the distribution of power to four instead of two cutting edges; this results in lower transverse forces and a reduced rate of wear. Particularly advantageous to the user are the additional taper taps and reamers which extend the cutting forces per cutting edge, increase the tool life and reduce so-called “chattering” during the drilling process. This leads to a notable increase of the overall cutting speed and drilling qualities if you look at burr formation, circularity and distortion which are significantly improved. All technical upgrades and innovations included in the ADVANCEDLine of the step drill design are based on the many years of experience acquired by EXACT in the development and the further refinement of precision tools.
Experience and knowledge of producing and coating techniques comes together
As with many of the other precision tools in the product range of EXACT, which comes to around 8000 products, countersinks and step drills can also be provided with high performance surface coatings per customer request. Produced in the headquarters in Remscheid by modern fully automatic PVD coating plants, our PVD coatings offer substantial improvements on tool life and operating efficiency. As one of the very first manufacturers, EXACT put into practice the idea of precision tool manufacturing and surface coating together. In this way the company can respond to special usage and materials requirements by providing the customers with individual solutions. The proportion of tools with surface coatings currently supplied to customers is now more than 25 percent and rising.
EXACT can offer many coating processes; here you can see the Titan Pro version
Different coating processes in use
EXACT offers two different PVD coating technologies: one with sputtering and one with arc vaporisation. In the first technique, surface raw materials (such as titanium) are vaporised in a vacuum and are deposited, in the presence of reactive gases, onto the constantly moving products to be coated, thus forming a very hard layer which ranges from 1 to 4 μm. For comparison, a human hair is approximately 40 μm thick. In the PVD arc process, the vaporization of solid ultrapure coating materials such as chrome, aluminium or titanium is achieved by arc discharge. As a result, the vaporized material is largely ionized and high energy plasma is created. The metal ions in the plasma accelerate onto rotating substrates and form a compound with the reactive gases in the chamber, after a BIAS voltage has been applied. This process results in the formation of a very thin layer, which remains deposited on the workpieces.
The market demand is rising
The rapid growth in demand for coated precision tools is apparent when looking at the sales figures for the ADVANCEDline products. The company recently delivered the 250.000th countersink with a Titan Pro coating. This specially designed violet coating is particularly suitable for high-alloy and VA steels. The Titan Pro coating is distinguished by extremely high production quality, very favourable wearing properties and a good thermal stability. The tool life is substantially increased. Customers can additionally choose between coverings with golden titanium nitride or grey & violet titanium carbonitride layers. We work on developing our coatings in close cooperation with research facilities and organizations. It is the goal of these co-operations to find new and innovative ways of developing and producing surface coverings which are of the highest quality.
Multifunctional packaging system with many options
Our established brand concepts, as well as extensive marketing and sales support solutions, are key factors of our ambition, which is to give a wide ranging assistance to all traders and retailers of our company products. Since the launch of the ADVANCEDline, a newly designed multifunctional packaging system has been proving its value in use. Its development has been related to the importance for us, as a company, of guaranteeing an optimum presentation of the products we offer to our customers to support their purchasing decisions. In addition to all the important technical product information, our new packaging system also contains high resolution videos for different applications, retrievable within seconds by using a QR-code on the customers smartphone. These videos document in an impressive way the performance of the new EXACT precision tools. The new product packing, high quality in terms of graphics and colour design and provided with magnetic closures, also contains lots of relevant and useful information: the Unique Selling Proposition, on special product features information on recommended areas of application and information on other available product versions.
