The “Lone Hero” of Precision Cutting Tools
A profile of EST
Founded in 1990, Ever Sharp Tools (EST) is a national-level high-tech company specializing in developing precision cutting tools and providing process technology services. It is the first independent listed company in this industry, and the market shares of its complex precision cutting tools have ranked first in China and third in the world for years. As a winner of “Second Class Prize for National S&T Progress Award” “The First Set in Key Areas of China”, etc., EST has developed from an “Invisible Champion”, a “Little Giant” into a “National Single-product Champion Enterprise”.
On October 7, the self-developed 300 MW F-class heavy-duty gas turbine of China was produced for the first time in Lingang Section of Shanghai Pilot Free Trade Zone, which indicates that the self-developed heavy-duty gas turbine of the maximum power and the most advanced technologies have started the complete machine testing, broken over 70-year foreign technological blockade against China and achieved 100% localization in producing the main units of gas turbines.
It is rarely known that the precision cutting tools used in processing the turbine disc mortise, a core part of this gas turbine, were manufactured by EST, an enterprise located in a county Haiyan.
Known as “industrial teeth”, precision cutting tools are important parts of the equipment manufacturing industry, and the key to CNC machines. Like a “lone hero”, EST has made constant technological breakthroughs in precision cutting tool manufacturing to secure a voice for “Made by China”. For example, it has participated in the manufacturing of China’s first gas turbine used for large ships, the assembly of the aircraft wings of the first C919, new energy vehicles and national defence aviation engines.
EST has proved to the world that China is capable of producing precision cutting tools.
The breakthrough from “0” to “1”
In September this year, AMB Metal Processing Exhibition 2024 was held in Stuttgart, Germany. In face of so many foreign merchants, Chen Errong, 78-year-old chairman of EST, said emotionally, “Our Chinese precision cutting tools have won international recognition for their top quality.”
Now he still remembers more than 20 years ago, he first went to Germany with EST precision cutting tools to participate in the Exhibition, but few visitors came to his booth in three-day exhibition. Some foreign merchants walked away immediately the moment they found it was an enterprise of China.
“I want to prove to the world that China is capable of producing precision cutting tools,” said Chen Errong. As a graduate from Department of Mechanics Zhejiang University in 1970, he is “stubborn” and has been committed to manufacturing precision cutting tools.
Struck by the Asian Financial Crisis in 1998, EST’s market share of milling cutters, its main products, shrank sharply. There was no profit at all in face of the severe price war.
EST was confronted with a life-or-death crisis. Fortunately domestic auto industry ushered in a period of boom then. Chen Errong found that the equipment and cutting tools for domestic car production were all imported. In his market research, he was usually told the tools made in China could not meet the accuracy requirements in car manufacturing.
Chen Errong decided to produce our own precision cutting tools for car manufacturing.
In 1999, he mortgaged all of his assets to take a loan of 850,000 Deutsche Marks (equivalent to over four million yuan) and introduced a set of equipment from Germany to produce car broaches.
This kind of broaches had never been produced by a domestic company before. Since then he stayed in the workshop every day to test the cutting tools day and night. “The precision cutting tools we produced were good just one second ago, but soon it refused to work. According to the design, it could have cut 100,000 rings, but it stopped when it just cut 70,000 ones,” said he.
It was a matter crucial to the survival of EST. Once it failed, EST would completely “disappear” for ever.
Once he makes his decision, he will never give up. After numerous failures, EST’s car broaches were produced successfully in 2000, which was the first domestically produced broach for car manufacturing.
Although the broach was produced, another barrier appeared in expanding the markets of the broaches. At the very beginning, no one dared to buy domestically produced equipment, let alone the product of a small county-based company. Chen Errong explained to potential consumers one by one, provided them with free products first and then made payment when they felt satisfied. Nevertheless, almost no company chose his broaches because they were afraid to damage their own production with his precision cutting tools,” said he.
Finally a company of Shanghai bought their broaches. A few days later, Chen Errong received a phone call from this user, “Your broaches are no worse than German ones. At present price, we place an order with you.”
Excellent quality promoted the development of EST.
On the basis of original products, EST produced the domestic first super broach in 2008 that could do the same job that three common broaches did before, which shortened a component’ production time from 40 minutes to three minutes.
In 2009, EST produced China’s first automatic transmission spiral inner gear broach used in car manufacturing. Now this kind of broaches can be produced only by six companies in the world and only one in China ...
Led by Che Errong, EST has achieved one breakthrough after another, reached the top of the precision cutting industry and proved to the world - China is able to produce high-quality broaches.
The slightest errors may lead to great errors, even if the deviation is just as thin as 1/140 of a hair.
What can a cutter do if it reaches top precision? It can cut iron like mud, and can do that absolutely accurately.
“The broach with rows of cutter teeth on the surface can produce precision splines inside the smooth tooth rings that are able to be used directly for automotive assembly without any further processing,” said Chen Errong. The average accuracy error of the splines should be less than 0.5 microns, just as thin as 1/140 of a hair; otherwise they will be scrapped due to various variables such as temperature and humidity.
Such extreme precision requirements are strongly supported by superb craftsmanship.
When EST was just founded, many employees believed that the gap of a few microns could not be seen with naked eyes, so it was not necessary to take it too seriously, but Chen Errong insisted that any accuracy error should be avoided. To this end, he required all employees must keep in mind “the slightest deviations may lead to great errors”. Moreover, he wrote the sentence on the boards hang them in the workshops of EST.
It is the pursuit of excellence that helps EST overcome countless difficulties and go beyond itself constantly.
As one of the three main turbine manufacturers in China, Harbin Gas Turbine Factory undertook a national large-scale gas turbine R&D project in 2010, but the key to the success of the project was to realize the localization of the broaches of the turbine disk grooves of gas turbine turbines.
Chen Errong took the initiative to visit this factory for cooperation but was shocked because the factory proposed a harsh condition to avoid risks: If the localization failed, EST should compensate three million yuan of material costs and the contract would be canceled.
That meant two-million-yuan broaches plus previous R&D costs would be borne by EST in addition to three-million-yuan compensation, i.e., EPT would lose more than five million yuan once the localization of the broaches failed. It was undoubtedly a large sum of money for EST since its annual output value was just about 100 million yuan.
To accept the challenge or not to accept it was a question for EST. After repeated discussions with technical personnel, Chen chose the challenge in face of tremendous pressure. “No matter how risky it is, we must march forward because we are optimistic about this industrial development, and also it’s a good opportunity for us to improve ourselves,” said he.
“The whole set of high-precision broaches consist 32 ordinary broaches of different shapes. When we accepted this order, we were confronted with huge pressure because it was extremely difficult to produce such high-precision broaches then,” said Pan Mingfeng, director of the second workshop of EST, who was ever responsible for this project. According to him, they ever made hundreds of discussions on this project that year.
Finally, EST succeeded. The manager of that factory gave EST a thumbs-up, saying, “It is more accurate and durable than that of Germany.” That was the first set of such broaches made by China then, and was identified as “The First Set in Key Areas of China”. Jiaxing won such an honor for the first time... Due to EST’s experience, the insurance program was later launched in China to avoid the risks in the innovation of “the First Set in Key Areas of China”.
Since then, EST has become increasingly famous, and attracted more and more cooperative partners. Now it has established cooperative relations with such companies as BMW, Volkswagen, GM, Honda, Toyota and Geely, and some of its products are also used in the manufacturing of ships, aircraft, etc.
“Adventure, vision and great efforts” are the successful secrets for a “lone hero”.
According to Chen, EST’s success is attributed to “adventure, vision and great efforts.” Looking back at the past, he finds behind every success of EST there are tremendous pressures and risks, the vision of firmly developing main business and persistent innovation efforts.
“This is a mission almost impossible!” said Zhou Yaojuan, vice president of EST when she recalled EST’s participation in R&D of the first aircraft C919 many years ago. Now she is still afraid.
In 2014, EST was tasked with producing key precision cutting tools within four months for the assembly of the wings of C919.
Manufacturing a precision cutting tool has to go through at least 32 processes, and usually it will take one year to produce the high-precision tools used for the assembly of the wings of C919, so it is almost impossible to finish the task just within four months.
“This is challenging in China’s aviation history, and also a major opportunity for EST to achieve leapfrog development. Let’s do it,” Chen made the finial decision.
In the following days, the R&D and production teams of EST worked closely, and successfully produced the required high-precision cutting tools, which made its contributions to the manufacturing of the C919.
“This challenge is a test for our long-term efforts and continuous innovation,” said Zhou Yaojuan. In recent years, EST invests about 5% of the total output value in R&D every year, i.e., its annual R&D investment reaches no less than 30 million yuan a year. Now EST can produce 80 categories of broaching and gear cutting tools of more than 10,000 kinds of specifications.
With the rise of the high-end manufacturing industry of China, EST has entered a steady development stage. According to the semi-annual report 2024, its operating incomes increased by 12.05% year on year, showing stronger vitality.
In recent years, EST has established branch companies in the United States and Austria, i.e., it extends China’s precision cutting tool manufacturing to the American and European continents. “I gave the name to the company, meaning ‘sharp for ever’. We will continue to focus our attention on our main business and develop EST into a top precision cutting tool enterprise of the world,” said he, full of confidence in the future.